customer states he received an empty box
Hi there,
So I had a FBM order where a customer said he received an empty box and wants a refund of the item as he never received it. Firstly we send all our packages in grey poly bags and never in a box so I'm unsure as to how he received this 'empty box'. Carrier we used was Royal Mail and it was first class small parcel with the weight of item on RM receipt showing 196 grams.
7 days later he messages me again requesting a refund saying he 'threw away the package' and never received the product. The customer ended up getting a refund through filing an A-Z appeal, I wanted to know would it be worthwhile appealing the decision? I did respond swiftly to all his buyer - messages requesting to show proof of this empty box which he never was able to. I also sent him the tracking number and screenshots of the GPS coordinates of delivery.
Many thanks in advance
16 replies
Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh
very much sounds like a scam with the old I disposed of any evidence line.
I’d appeal the a-z for sure, depending on how far you want to take it, could go as far as small claims court against amazon.
Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn
I agree with @Seller_ZJhFeE3tNKzfh you should appeal the A-Z. It doesn't impact your account in any way to appeal an A-Z and I have had the occasional A-Z overturned on appeal.
However it is most likely Amazon will deny the appeal.
It is possible that the package was opened in transit and the contents removed. I have had this happen to me a couple of times as a recipient.
Although I agree it is probably a scam. If they were genuine they would have kept the packaging and photographed it to show you the issue. In most cases I had where an item has been damaged in transit the customer has sent me photos to prove it.
This kind of scam is more likely to happen with high value items, was yours a high value item?
Seller_voW9gFQs6cI1A
Hi,
first step is to appeal the AtoZ (amazon 99.999% of the time will refuse it) even the king could guarantee it arrived and they would still say no.
then you send a letter before action to the buyer and if that fails small claims court, (they will also be liable for all court costs) assuming you can 100% prove it was delivered
Seller_LYfa6ZExTElbi
Unfortunately it's most likely a scam and is a risk of selling online.
All you can really do is appeal the decision which most likely you will still lose, was it just a standard first class parcel? I assume it was rm 24 with the gps coordinates? - you need to send anything you are not willing to get scammed over as either signed for or tracked WITH signitre as rm 24/48 by itself doesn't count - even tracked without signiture amazon will side with the buyer even with tracking showing delivered.
If you take this to court I think you will have a hard time showing this was actually delivered to the customers address (without a photo of the package at the customers door and the door open)
Seller_3CbKyZDwVWePi
Amazon did not end up refunding in the end after everything
Seller_xU4h6ZbAduf0O
Did you check the RM tracking page?
You might get lucky and see a photograph of the delivery, where you can use the delivery photograph as evidence in your claim that the parcel was not a box but a poly bag AND undamaged.
I won such a case with this evidence.
Seller_hk02yt1EBBFen
File a Complaint with the CMA: If you believe that the fraud violates consumer protection laws or regulations, you can file a complaint with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA investigates various forms of consumer fraud and can take enforcement action against businesses or individuals engaged in deceptive practices.
Seller_GNZnVcGNo6mDw
Before putting in claim with Royal Mail have you advised the customer you dispatch your orders in a poly bag and not in box. Also ask the customer to clarify whether the claim is for this order.
Personally I would not consider small claims unless the value to the order is high.
