Package delivered to wrong address but same city and zip code

[10daysafter]

I want to warn people on how I was scammed and eBay's Money Back Guarantee did not protect me.

I purchased a guitar. On the day of delivery, it said the package was delivered at or near mailbox. A guitar wouldn't fit in a mailbox and it wouldn't be left in the street next to the mailbox. Being over $750 it should have gotten a signature or at the very least been left on the porch. But I wasn't sure there was any foul play involved yet.

Eventually I went to the post office and found out the package was delivered to a different address. I opened a dispute with eBay saying I never received the package. Unfortunately the seller was smart and delivered the package to a different address but with the same city and zip code. So when you look up the tracking number it will show as delivered to the correct city and zip code. So eBay sides with the seller.

As far as proof that a signature was obtained, all the seller needed to do was provide a fake delivery confirmation that had a random signature on it with my name spelled out. I was able to see it and it wouldn't have been that difficult to make.

After several trips to the post office, I was able to get the GPS location of the delivery, a Product Tracking & Reporting showing the delivery address and also the package weight and size. Also, later, I even got a photo of the package. It was just a padded envelope, so definitely not a guitar. And it had someone else's name on it.

But unfortunately I didn't know I only got one shot at the appeal. When I made the initial dispute, the eBay rep made it sound like I had nothing to worry about. So when eBay sided with the seller, I was caught off guard and made the mistake of immediately appealing and submitting the proof I had at the time. Even though I said I would be going to the post office that day to get more proof, they closed the case and wouldn't consider the additional documentation I provided.

I also opened a dispute with PayPal and the financial institution but have encountered different roadblocks there.

All this to say, if you are a victim of a similar scam, hopefully I can share some information so you can avoid getting scammed.

[stephenmorgan]

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@10daysafter wrote:

But unfortunately I didn't know I only got one shot at the appeal.

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That is nonsense.

Based on what you have have stated and the proof that you have eBay should have decided in your favor and forced the seller to refund you.

The scam you described is a well know scam that eBay knows about.  Did you present the information from the USPS that shows item was delivered to a different address and it was an envelope.  

Read about you rights in eBay Policy and file a Notice of Dispute.  A Notice of Dispute is an appeal that the agents did not advise you about, but it is there for you to use.

Notice_of_Dispute.pdf

18 Legal Disputes User Agreement | eBay

[bonjourami]

You may want to present your case to Ebay for Business on Facebook, use the message link.

[10daysafter]

I have submitted the documents I have mentioned (GPS tracking, Product Tracking & Reporting, photo of the package) through email, Facebook, and Twitter. Different agents have given me different reasons but most commonly they said the case is closed and have already made their decision. I tried again recently and they said the case is open with the financial institution, and it is out of their hands.

Thank you for the Notice of Dispute. I will definitely take a look at it. It mentions getting an option to call eBay or have them call me, but so far I haven't been able to find a way to talk to someone on the phone.

[ittybitnot]

 I opened a dispute with eBay saying I never received the package.

@10daysafter 

That is what the "seller" hopes you will do, and why the 'fake tracking scam' is so popular and gaining traction on this website.  eBay's first, second, and often subsequent responses are "so sorry, tracking shows delivered" so you lose.   

It sounds like eBay is even tightening up on their stance, for this is the second post in as many days that even the social media reps have said...."so sorry, your appeal was denied since you have exhausted the number of appeal allowed" or some such nonsense, "and the case is closed in favor of the seller scammer. 

There are no help pages on eBay that inform victims about this CRIME, even though it has been going on here for years.  These instances are reported on the forums almost daily now, while ebay's first order of business is to DENY.  Appeals are DENIED even with evidence that even Ray Charles could see and he was blind and now dead.  

If you go to your payment source (PayPal or your credit card) and do not make it very clear that this is a fake tracking scam, and NOT a regular item not received, you are going to lose again.  It is imperative that you get the message across.  Otherwise, when the payment dispute is sent to eBay, they simply respond with the same fake tracking number that shows delivered and you will lose again.  Nobody is going to check, and it is up to the victim to gather the appropriate information for redress.  You will likely only find it here on these forums. 

[stephenmorgan]

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@10daysafter wrote:

I tried again recently and they said the case is open with the financial institution, and it is out of their hands.

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This changes things a bit.  You will have to wait on your financial institution to make a decision.  That part seems normal that if you involve your financial institution or PayPal then eBay will not do anything until their decisions are complete.

But even if your financial institution finds against you, you can still file a Notice of Dispute with eBay afterwards.  Hopefully your financial institution will find in your favor, force a refund and this will be over for you.

[kensgiftshop]

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@10daysafter wrote:

I also opened a dispute with PayPal and the financial institution but have encountered different roadblocks there.

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Since you opened a case with your payment source, neither Ebay or Pay Pal will be any help now.

Always do one at a time in case one fails, go to the next.

Save your funding source until the last.

[10daysafter]

Yes unfortunately I didn't know that at the time. When eBay quickly denied my appeal, they told me to open a case with the financial institution. And like @ittybitnot said, I should have been more adamant that it was a fake tracking scam. But I didn't know better at the time. 

[kitschy*loot]

I think at some point victims in the know will start trying to scam the scammer if wrongful denials continue. It will be easier for people to just open a not as described case and get their money back. A scammer won't be sending a return label so eventually a refund would be pushed through. Sellers who genuinely made a mistake on the address will also be deemed scammers, and misdelivered packages that can't be recovered will be "scams". 

I don't make as many purchases on eBay anymore unless it's something I can't find anywhere else. My area gets so many misdelivered packages and I don't have the energy to fight and provide evidence about packages that weren't actually delivered to me but to neighbors who don't return them like I do. I'd rather not be bothered at all.  

[mudshark61369 · Accepted solution]

@10daysafter,

Before you filed an appeal, you should have gotten the information you needed to prove the item was not delivered to your address. You also need that info to win a Paypal or Card Chargeback claim, and I do not think a GPS location or an email from the USPS will be accepted by them.

Since you went ahead and filed a claim through PayPal, you gave up your money back guarantee (MBG) protections. If that case is still open follow the instructions below to win the claim.

You will have to go to your P.O. .  You need to bring a copy of your order details page which shows your address and the tracking number with you. If you bought using a phone or tablet, you can bring that to show the clerk the order details.

  You want to ask the clerk to check the label address against yours, and also to check the Package type/size weight info to see if was is appropriate for what you should have received.  If the info does not match up, you ask the clerk to write a note on Company stationary saying in general that the shipping label's address was not yours, and if applicable that the package type/size/weight was not right for what you should have received. Do not ask for specific address or package info, they cannot give it out.  Have the clerk sign and date the note.

Once you have the note, you should be able to add a CLEAR photo or a scan of it to the claim on PayPal, and you need to do that quickly if you try a charge back through your card provider, you may have to call the number on the back of the card to find out how to deliver the info to them. 

FYI.  Fake tracking scams often work because the only information a site is entitled to get, is the tracking scans. They cannot access the label or package information from shipping agencies, because they are not a part of the shipping transaction as the sender or recipient, per their privacy policies.

[10daysafter]

I appreciate your response. I do want to clarify that I did give a lot of effort to provide the eBay with the necessary proof before even going to PayPal and then the credit card company.

I didn't know from the beginning that I was scammed. So it's not like I was prepared to know exactly what information I needed. Whatever information and proof I got from the post office, I sent to eBay. At first it was just a note and a GPS printout of the delivery location from the post office. The postal workers thought that would be enough proof. But I did submit the Product Tracking & Reporting before going to PayPal and the credit card company, which shows the delivery address and package size/weight. I feel like eBay was too quick to side with the seller and close the case.

Thank you for the information about what to get from the post office. It seems like I was actually able to get more proof than normal (the Product Tracking and Reporting and a photo of the actual package showing a different name and different address.)

I've been an eBay member since 1999 and this is my first time being scammed. If the same thing happened today, I would know better what to do and the order to do them. But as it was unfolding, I didn't know how difficult and complicated this process would be.

But thank you for providing all the information you did. I found it helpful and I'm sure others will too.

[ukfan4sure!]

I was just hit with the same scam.  Package had a different address on it, to the same zip code in my city.  The USPS said the package was delivered, but to a different address than mine.  They would not provide me with the address, but told me it was indeed at another address within my zip code area; an apartment complex.  So what the seller did was very slick.  They knew the USPS would provide a confirmation  showing the zip code as mine.  What they "probably" actually delivered was an empty padded envelope.  And I get nothing, because eBay will stand with them due to the tracking number.

[mudshark61369]

@ukfan4sure!,

Click on the Go To Best Answer button and read what I wrote on what to do to get the info you need. Pay attention to the part that says ask the clerk to write in GENERAL that the address didn't match the one on the order details, and/or that the package type, size, weight, was not appropriate for what was supposed to be sent.

I you have filed and lost an appeal, you can contact ebay through one of their social media sites,

https://www.facebook.com/eBay

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

https://x.com/askebay

[kh-adrian]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.