One buyer asked for refund because he found the package was empty. How should I do?
One buyer asked for refund because he found the package was empty, I asked for a photo as proof, then the buyer send a different and smaller packing picture, which is not ours.
As a seller I never met this problem, although some buyers sent back all kinds of different items for return.
All the order are hand made and packed by ourself. there is no way to send an empty box?!
How should I do? Do the refund?
Thanks for your any advice.
17 replies
Seller_JB8wPCk9zkyad
At face value, from what you write, on the balance of probabilities, you may very well be on the end of a customer who is not being totally honest with you.
Don’t give them enough rope to hang you. The more you communicate with them, the more your words can be used against you.
Report the message. Report all their messages. Repeatedly if you can. Mark the message as " No Reply Needed ". Wait.
It’s like beggars outside supermarkets. I need 10p is the opener to see if you are weak. Once you give a pound, suddenly, they see opportunity. And they need more. Don’t get dragged in.
Seller_dBQTCtdyckboq
To keep the selling account as heathy as possible, it is very frustrated and annoyed to have this kind of buyer at any marketplace.
Seller_drLRJgrBPnFBI
Don’t you have the weight of the parcel on your courier receipt or PO proof of postage?
Seller_BuFUoYgBbgcyp
I once had exactly the same problem. I asked for a photograph and the buyer did send one and the packaging was different. I replied and explained that we do not use that particular packaging and asked them if they had contacted the wrong seller. The buyer replied some time later apologising, they had indeed contacted the wrong seller. I guess I was lucky.
Seller_y7wlA8Npjq1Or
Bad situation to handle.
What I do is put a bit of doubt in customers mind whilst pretending to take it seriously.
So firstly thank for pictures but point out that isn’t your packaging perhaps they got the orders mixed up.
Then if they persist state “you take these issues seriously and someone may have tampered with it so will need investigating by the carrier”
I then have a form that I use for lost mail INR but can be changed for damaged missing Items works just as well.
It says things like they confirm the box was empty on delivery points out it is a legal statement and will be used by the carrier to confirm the details and may be passed onto the police for investigation. I send it to them by snail mail with a return envelope inside.
I then also message saying I’ve sent it for them to check the details and return upon return I will investigate and refund. most f the time it puts chancers off. If you get form back usually tells me its genuine
I got it from one of the carriers and have used it for royal mail Hermes and so on. If I get one back I refund and use it as evidence in a claim I’ve known royal mail follow one up with the customer.
Seller_Iti0OkAyMPN7I
I usually start by asking for photos along with a photo of the dispatch note, and before they get chance to follow up, I state that I have checked the shipping weight which is consistent with other orders of the same item sent on the same day. If they do return photos and the packaging is different to what I use, my response is to ask if they purchased a similar item elsewhere as the packing is not what we use and click the customer is trying to defraud me option. If they still persist I send a disclaimer that they need to agree to for me to investigate the claim and that they agree to repay any costs incurred during the investigation if found at fault and if a fraudulent case is raised they may also be liable for legal action to recover costs.
Oddly 9/10 suddenly find their item, either someone else had it or they had misplaced it and apologize for any inconvenience and confusion caused, only had 1 item actually vanish, which the postman later admitted leaving on the doorstep in plain sight and signing for it himself because he had done it before for that particular customer, which the customer was kind enough to point out a few weeks later after he had actually caught up with the right postman who had been taken to task by Royal Mail over the claim which they paid out in full (eventually).
So always worth pushing back nicley.
Seller_xUKHc5xSYJmI4
First thing I would do is ask the customer if they could advise what they ordered and whether they have the correct order. Then ask the customer for a picture so you can use this apart of your claim with the courier. All courier companies require proof before they will accept the claim.
If the customer has the wrong order a polite note to inform them they have the wrong order should resolve the issue.
We have noticed recently some customers use multiple delivery addresses when ordering and forget which address they used for delivery. Then contact us saying they haven’t received their order. Now we ask them to advise the delivery address.
Seller_SHpe5c4eREBFN
At face value it appears to be a chancer and some good ideas in the comments here to combat that. Of course no photo in the world can prove a negative, although as you say, it can identify packaging that isn’t yours. The odd thing is that they are clearly a customer of yours (Or you wouldn’t be conversing with them at all) so why would they try this on without using the correct packaging from your delivery? It does sound like they may be genuine and have mixed up sellers.
Some honesty here though. I am extremely careful when packing and process all sales myself however I have (Once) mixed orders between two customers when packing. I realised but only after dispatch and contacted the buyers to advise them that I would be immediately sending them the correct item along with a paid return label for the item they would incorrectly receive. One sent the item back with thanks for the responsive service. The other didn’t and I never heard from them again. This just highlights the different characters of people.
I have also (A few times) caught myself putting a labelled and taped up (But empty) package in the ready for dispatch box. I have always caught this before sending but I guess it’s only a matter of time and volume before one slips through.
Just food for thought. We all make mistakes occasionally (I lose trust in anyone who says they don’t).
Seller_K8edOfPu9HEmN
I’ve only had this twice. My response was to tell them I’ve checked stock levels and they are as they should be and tie up with sold amounts. Then I say that the weight on the manifest is as it should be when sending out that particular order. As we use RM we also ask for a photo of the plastic bag an label RM put all their opened or damaged parcels in. We’ve not heard back on both occasions
Seller_XrsxyuONn8r2w
ask to see a photo of everything they received. Then hit them with ‘I will check the CCTV over the packing station’ as part of our investigation.
Amazingly this has almost stopped all claims like this going past the first email…
(we do actually have a camera over the packing stations, although it can take a seriously long time to look at footage, so calling their bluff usually does the trick).
Remember if the item has clearly been ‘opened/damaged’ whilst in transit, the courier usually repackage the item and put a large sticker on the outside.
