Tracking shows return delivered but you did not receive the returned package? Maybe it is not lost!

[jkokoshop]

When the tracking shows return delivered, but you did not receive the package?

Most sellers would think the package was stolen or  lost. But please think again.

The buyer could use their friend's address or any random address to send the item back.

And when the tracking shows delivered, they get their money back.

Isn't this crazy?

I've been an online seller for more than 15 years now and this fraud is something I've never seen before.

So this buyer returned an item. The tracking says delivered but I never received it.

I thought it was lost too. But usually, when things are lost in my neighborhood, people bring them back and I suspected that maybe this buyer made a mistake on the shipping label. 

But there is no way to see what the buyer returned to where on ebay.

So I went to the post office hoping that if there is a way to see the receipient's address for that tracking number, and the nice clerk even gave me a copy of the shipping label!

And guess what I found out, instead of returning what she purchased from me which was almost 4 lbs, she returned a first-class mail to Walgreens in my neighborhood!!!

What is more surprising is that she opens a case right after the tracking says delivered, and she gets her money back right away!

SELLERS!

PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR POST OFFICE FOR THE RECIPIENT'S ADDRESS WHEN YOU DID NOT RECEIVE THE RETURN PACKAGE WHEN IT SAYS DELIVERED. MAYBE IT IS NOT LOST.

THE BUYER MIGHT HAVE USED A RANDOM ADDRESS TO KEEP THE ITEM AND GET THE MONEY BACK AS WELL!

Because the tracking shows delivered, she wins the case automatically right after she opens the case and I assume that most sellers would not even have enough time to respond.

Of course I reported this to ebay and I think ebay should really pay attention to this new fraud method.

Now I am waiting for the case result and hopefully ebay looks into it and makes right decision.

[nono-8172]

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@jkokoshop wrote:

What is more surprising is that she opens a case right after the tracking says delivered, and she gets her money back right away!

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At the beginning of this return request @jkokoshop was your buyer automatically/manually issued a return label? Or did it proceed past 3 business days, then you or the buyer asked eBay to step in and eBay issued a return label?

Because if it was the former, you would have had 2 business days to refund after the return was "delivered" before the buyer would be able to open a case. Please come back and explain.

[jkokoshop]

It was former but she did not use the shipping label that was issued from ebay.

She used her own shipping label and provided that tracking number.

And yes there were 2 business days to refund but let me explain what happened.

* Friday - receives an ebay message that the returned item was delivered on Wednesday; I don't know why the message came late this time. I usually receive it on time.

* Saturday - went to the post office and got a copy of the shipping label and found out the buyer sent back an envelope to a random address. Reported fraud with all the evidence.

* Sunday - the buyer opens a case and because the tracking says delivered, she wins the case and gets her money right away even if I already reported.

I don't know if the ebay agent did not open a case when I reported over the phone on Friday unlike what she said or even when the case is opened, the buyers win the case automatically just because the tracking says delivered.

Anyways, I think the reason the buyer used a random address to send the package back instead of sending a brick back to a seller is to make the seller think the package is lost.

And while sellers are waiting or investigating without thinking to check the recipient's address, she opens a case as soon as possible and gets her money back.

Because it is really easy to win the case when the tracking shows delivered. Also, when the case is closed, the sellers can not even see the tracking number anymore. This means if sellers realize something is wrong after 2 business days, they can not even do any more research if they didn't write down the tracking number. 

Who would think the buyer would return it to a random address when the tracking says delivered?

Most sellers would assume that it is lost or stolen.

The only reason I decided to check the recipient's address is that my mailman seldom makes any mistakes and all my neighbors are nice enough to bring mistakenly delivered packages back to their owners.

And I didn't even know that I could get a copy of the shipping label until this time. I am sure not many people are aware of it either.

[nono-8172]

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@jkokoshop wrote:

Also, when the case is closed, the sellers can not even see the tracking number anymore. This means if sellers realize something is wrong after 2 business days, they can not even do any more research if they didn't write down the tracking number. 

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* Friday - receives an ebay message that the returned item was delivered on Wednesday; I don't know why the message came late this time. I usually receive it on time.

If you check the email headers @jkokoshop that message probably arrived moments after it was sent; it was not late. So now the case shows the buyer's already delivered two days ago return tracking number, and you wrote it down

* Sunday - the buyer opens a case and because the tracking says delivered, she wins the case and gets her money right away even if I already reported.

And right after this, just the buyer's return tracking number is removed in the closed case, but all of the other "What happened" comments are still there?

[jkokoshop]

* Friday - receives an ebay message that the returned item was delivered on Wednesday; I don't know why the message came late this time. I usually receive it on time.

Came late means that I received the delivered message 2 days later after the package was actually delivered.

Not that it took 2 days to receive it after it was sent. If I knew I was supposed to receive something on Wednesday, I could have looked into it earlier is what I was trying to say. 

I don't know if everything is there or not because I don't remember everything on that page. But I think all the comments get erased after the case is closed as well.  All I can say is that the tracking number the buyer provided is removed for sure.

[nono-8172]

Your buyer added their return tracking number to the Return Details page (probably in the afternoon or evening) on Friday, 2 business days after their tracking showed delivered.

eBay looked up that tracking number, then right away sent you that message saying the return was delivered. Your buyer was hoping that, per policy, eBay would force their refund a few hours later, after the end of Friday.

The seller issues a refund

Latest:

• 2 business days after receiving the returned item

If the seller does not refund the buyer and return tracking shows the item was delivered, eBay may automatically issue a full refund on the seller's behalf

But when that didn't happen, your buyer opened a case, to force a refund.

[jkokoshop]

Wow, I never thought about that. You are right.

I received the message from ebay on Saturday because that is when the buyer updated the tracking number!

I will also report it to ebay. This is really a well-planned scam.

[vintagecraze50]

This is BLATANT mail fraud at it’s finest and most punishable. NO refund should be issued to someone committing this FEDERAL crime. You need to get on the phone with an ebay agent and provide them with the info from the postal service showing this was a mail fraud crime. 

[vintagecraze50]

I hope your buyer/criminal is ready for the slammer when they do this a number of times. Federal Prison time and fines.

[vintagecraze50]

To solve this problem it seems that Ebay needs to make it that the buyer can only use the shipping label YOU provide. This needs to be addressed pronto.

[vintagecraze50]

Also, in the futur assign an RMA number and ONLY provide your own shipping label to prevent these mail fraud scams.

[vintagecraze50]

Just as their is a PROBLEM WITH BUYER ADDRESS HERE, there should be a problem with buyers using the wrong address for a return via a mail fraud crime. I really hope ebay has some kind of solution for this as this seems to be an ever emerging problem. 

[jkokoshop]

Can you believe that my appeal was declined and the buyer still gets to keep the money?

This is the email from ebay.

After reviewing your case, I see that the buyer was able to provide us with tracking number ******** which shows the item was returned to your address. Because of this confirmed tracking information, we decided to retain the original decision.  

As I explained to ebay many times, it was not delivered back to me and I even provided a copy of the shipping label, but ebay doesn't even read it carefully and this is what I got.

I am calling them tomorrow morning and try to resolve it again. I will update the result.

This is really ridiculous.

[babclassics]

Yes, i can believe they said that... but they are soooo wrong 😞    They can not possibly tell the delivery address from a tracking number alone provided by the buyer!  The fact that they even said that is a clue that you have a clueless CS reviewing your appeal.

Please consider contacting eBay for Business on Facebook or Twitter.  Other sellers have had good luck sending a PM to the blues who manage the social media private messages.  They have both the power and the knowledge to set this right for you.  If you can show proof that the buyer uploaded tracking number was NOT delivered to your return address you should at least get a courtesy refund of your money.

This is such a new and twisted variation of the hijacked return tracking number that it makes my blood boil.  eBay needs to close this loophole.  The 2 day rule where bots close the return because buyer waited for 2 days after delivery to upload the tracking has to be stopped.  This should ONLY work if they use the tracking number / return label that YOU provided.  If they printed their own label the 2 days needs to start at the time the label was uploaded.   This would be an easy fix for eBay to make. 

Good luck and let us know how this unfolds.  If you get no relief then i think we need to tag in all the blues to this thread so they can understand how serious of a scam this is for everyone!

[wastingtime101 · Accepted solution]

Go to eBay on FaceBook to appeal. You'll be able to upload a copy of the USPS documentation there.