Ebay problem help!

[nairb49]

Hey Guys,

Seem to be running into either snags, or just some bad people. Not sure.

Either way, I recently sold a jacket, and the buyer wrote me a litlte while later saying that the package was empty and appeared to have been tampered with.

I wrote back requesting a picture of the package (not really sure why) and he replied with this:

Hi,

I have ben in touch with my insurance company and i am insured for the value of the jacket and postage. I require the following information from you to complete my claim:
1 Date the package was mailed.
2 Invoice or auction number.
3 Description of product.
4 If loss, state parcel never received; if damage, state description of damage and if repairable.
5 Signature and date.

Could you please compose a letter including all the points above including your signature scan it and email to me? Could you please get this to me ASAP as without your details and signed letter (including signature)(just scan letter and email to me) then I will not be eligable for a refund?

If you have any problems emailing to me through Ebay then please let me know and I will give you my personal email address.

Thanks again for your help and assistance with this matter and I look forward to your replay.

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So, he's been quite polite about the whole thing, and I don't want to ********* over, but is this the correct course of action, and should I send this info?

What should I ask for in return?

Cheers guys!

 

[sho'nuff]

i dont understand why he says his insurance company insures him over the loss of the jacket and shipping.

did he pay for insurance on this item when you shipped it?

if it was obviously opened or tampered with/damaged, a complaint can be opened with the postal service and you can receive the insurance amount.


these days, i just add insurance onto EVERY package i send out for ebay, because whether the buyer chooses insurance or not,
if the package does get lost or damaged, just a simple tracking number will not save you from paypal/ebays decision to rip you of your money and send it back to the buyer. they will always side on the buyer.

insurance is to protect the seller, not an option for the buyer.

 

[nairb49]

Hmmm,

I"m not sure either. Is his insurance company going to claim from ME?

And what kind of assurance do I get that he actually didn't get it?

 

[lawyerdad]

I see nothing wrong with sending him a letter confirming the shipment info, etc. As far as point #4, you might want to say something like "I understand that when you received the package it appeared . . ." or "You have told me that . . ."
The one thing I think you want to be careful about is to avoid making or endorsing statements of fact (e.g., whether he actually received the product) about which you don't have personal knowledge.

 

[sho'nuff]

Originally Posted by lawyerdad

I see nothing wrong with sending him a letter confirming the shipment info, etc. As far as point #4, you might want to say something like "I understand that when you received the package it appeared . . ." or "You have told me that . . ."
The one thing I think you want to be careful about is to avoid making or endorsing statements of fact (e.g., whether he actually received the product) about which you don't have personal knowledge.

i agree. while still being civil, do not give away your ground.
give him benefit of the doubt in your mind, but do not make any implication on paper that would give away your position.
best thing to do is try to make contact with him on phone. speak to him. you will find out the truths quicker through this method. if he continually tries to avoid phone contact with you, i would smell something fishy.


i 'll let the more experienced and the lawyers to make the rest of the advise from here on, but let me just say this,

you cannot get absolute assurance he did not get anything or he is being fraudulent. and in the case of the seller, usually c.c. and 3 rd parties side on the side of the buyer more likely. this is the damned side of being a seller.
especially paypal/ebay, i utilize these to the minimal.

that is why i try to deal with selling here only . without paypal, if anything goes wrong, you can deal with 'village justice ' here, more effiicent , more fair and powerful. not that it ever came about that way with any of my transactions here, so far everyone has been decent and honest.

 

[sjmin209]

Quite frankly, this sounds a bit sketchy--I don't know of any kind of personal, homeowner's or renter's insurance policy that covers items sent through the mail. I would request a copy of the original forms from the insurance company, as well as a contact number for the insurance agent.

I would also insist that he file a claim with the Post Office.

 

[teddieriley]

I think he is trying to scam whoever is insuring him. It seems odd that he has some type of coverage for this event. I don't think it would be homeowners, and I don't think he is making a postal insurance claim. I agree with lawyer dad. Be careful what you represent since this stinks to me. I would also be hesitant turning over a signed statement. If anything, I would ask him if you can contact his insurer to provided the request information.

Edit: which i just realized what sjmin209 suggests.

 

[nairb49]

Some more correspondence today:

Thanks for your help with this matter.
>
>The URL for the site containg the information is http://delta.u-pic.com/Claims/ClaimFilingSuccess.aspx
>
>My claim number is #XXXX and I need to file the claim as stated in section B and not you.
>
>As stated in section B could you please compose a letter including all the points stated in the URL above and sign it? Could you please post it back to me or preferably complete the letter, sign and scan it and email it back to me? I have taken some photos which I will send with the forms to the insurance company.
>
>If you could do this as soon as possible that would be great as I would really like to get this sorted out.
>
>If you need any further information then please do not hesitate to contact me.
>
>Thanks again for all your help.


-----------------------

Any thoughts?

Many thanks for your suggestions guys, never been involved in something like this.

 

[gdl203]

I would call that insurance company, refer to that specific claim # and ask them if you can send them the letter directly for that claim

 

[mano]

Not sure if he's trying to scam anyone, but according to wikapedia, "In a contract of carriage, the consignee is the person to whom the shipment is to be delivered whether by land, sea or air."

You are the The consignor, in a contract of carriage, is the person sending a shipment to be delivered

He seems to get it straight when he states, "I need to file the claim as stated in section B" but then he confuses matters again when he asks "As stated in section B could you please compose a letter..."

FWIW, I just sent an ebay item, which was insured by the USPS and which was broken in transit. I gave the buyer (the consignee) the insurance number and he took care of everything from his end. The only info I had to send was my phone # for the post office.

My recommendation is to remind him that He's the consignee and that he's the one to handle it all from his end.

 

[gdl203]

Good catch mano!

 

[A Canuker]

I certainly do not wish to imply that I think this is a scam, but man it looks odd. Did he use Auction sniper to win the purchase, because when I googled U-Pic thats one of the links it brought up and they offer this coverage to the buyers....

Might I ask if the purchase was of a dollar size that warrents the effort involved to proceed if one was going to scam a (online) insurance company?

I would really give them a call and inquire as to if this is normal course for buisness, as they are to be writing a cheque they will have a thought on the event.

Please keep us updated as I think alot of the members would enjoy the information if it does turn out to be a scam....

 

[nairb49]

Yes, I will definitely keep you all posted, its the least I can do for all your help!

I went to the website, and actually ended up in an online chat with customer service.

They opened up the claim file, and ended up telling me that I would have to do nothing unless they contacted me themselves. So that is what I shall do, nothing.

It seems now that Mano may have hit the nail on the head, and the buyer may have just confused what I/he had to do.

btw, the dollar amount isn't huge, about 200USD.

 

[poly800rock]

nairb. heed warning, i've been jacked on ebay 2x. I only accept foreign payments if they are seller protected. Meaning i will get my money back if I prove I sent it, and #2 ALWAYS SHIP WITH TRACKING. Don't know how you canucks do it, but for .50$ the USA has tracking for domestic, and for canada/rest of the world, EMS takes care of it, ALWAYS USE EMS. Everything else is not close to being worth the hassle of being out a product AND the cost of your money. That being said, i'd much rather sell through here or the other SF to users that have have been there a while, feel like i'm selling to trusted buyers and if I buy, I know I'm going to get a product