Recently I have been reading through the forum quite a bit and found there are many people that experienced similar circumstances to what I did a while ago...
A buyer purchased an item from me (t shirt). I shipped it. They claimed that when they received it that it was torn open. They suggested it had been tampered with or stolen. They also said that the package was filled with large bubbles. I have never shipped a t-shirt with large bubbles. I ship all my t shirts in plastic ziplock bags to water-seal them against the elements. The buyer claiming there were bubbles inside made my spidey senses tingle. The buyer filed a claim. I called the actual USPS location that delivered the package. Spoke to a gentleman who assured me that if the package was delivered without the contents, they would mark it as such. He even went so far as to say "between you and me that package was delivered as you sent it." I also called ebay customer service while the case was open. They said there was nothing I could do until the buyer submitted more documentation/claim with USPS I would imagine.) I was told to be patient and that I could call back in a weeks time or so to check in on the case.
Throughout the process I was very diplomatic with the buyer and ebay. I was even reassured at one point by customer service that a decision would not be made without notifying me. That put me at ease. Then one morning out of the blue I received a notification on my phone stating that money had been moved from my paypal and that I had refunded a buyer. I called ebay, my call was elevated to "the highest authority on the matter," and I asked why they sided with the buyer without even consulting me first. I had the USPS employee's statement in my back pocket and I was hoping to debunk the claim with ebay once they notified me about next steps. However, after telling the woman on the phone about my conversation with USPS, she said that there was nothing more to be done and it is what it is. I asked what information was given that resulted in the case closing so abruptly. The representative said that she could not reveal why they sided with the buyer for the buyer's own protection. I was absolutely baffled. It made me wonder how serious a claim they made with me. And what level of authority they had involved.
The package was valuable, worth about $200. So this buyer definitely had motive to commit fraud in my opinion. Also, I went to the buyer's page, and they resell the very same item that they bought from me that they claimed they hadn't received. Coincidence? Doubt it. Regardless, I waited a while and called appeals to see if there was anything more I could do. I stated again to the appeals rep that I personally spoke on the phone with the local USPS facility and that an employee assured me that the package was delivered as sent. (Funny side note: I asked the USPS employee to put their statement in writing, they refused.) I was told again there was nothing they could do. And that if I wanted to, I could use the buyer's personal information in their ebay profile to file a report with the police. Has anyone done this and seen a positive result?
It's been a while since this situation happened, but as I said I started reading similar cases on the forum here and it got me thinking. My question is...how is it possible for the buyer to win this case when they provided no proof whatsoever? Yet I had confirmed delivery (with contents) and verbal USPS statement? Ebay has to know that there are people committing fraud, and I would bet a lot of these cases look and sound very similar.
Beyond the case itself, does anyone know if there is any way to prevent this type of fraudulent claim, period? I myself asked USPS about insurance and they said even if I had insurance in this scenario, that they delivered the package WITH the contents and that there was no evidence to dispute otherwise. And that insurance would not cover the time inbetween the package being delivered and the buyer opening it. So they wouldn't be liable regardless. So then what the heck is insurance for?
Hoping to figure out how to prevent this in the future if possible. Also hoping an ebay representative will see this and have some compassion. And perhaps shed some light on how to protect yourself / argue a better defense as a seller (aside from blocking them).
