What to reply to Buyers quoting Amazon's 'running late' email when RM shows the parcels as being delivered?
I know Amazon will take the customers side if they open a dispute and I will refund
But what can I say to the customer to potentially put them off if they are a fraudster or taking the opportunity?
If they have indeed not received the parcel, then we don’t mind refunding them, but obviously just want to put off the potential fraudster
I remember reading a great reply on here a while back, which sounded official and wasn’t confrontational but sounded like it had the potential to scare them into being honest. my replies just end up upsetting customers!
23 replies
Seller_vF6jbeUX0Fp0k
tell them the truth, ive stopped syncing amazon and royal mail to avoid these questions, i get one or 2 asking for the tracking number so i sent it manually and explain why it was not auto uploaded and im marking the items as dispatched manually. its a little extra work but no one is saying they have not received their items when the have.
below is the template i was using if you would like to use it:
Hi CUSTOMER NAME
Thank you for your message, Amazon are having an issue at the moment processing the tracking on the new royal mail 21 digit tracking numbers and this is leading to incorrect lost or delayed messages from amazon being sent to customers. this is an issue that is affecting a great deal of amazon sellers and they are working to rectify the issue as fast as possible.
Your order is still traceable on the royal mail track and trace website here:
DIRECT LINK TO TRACKING
Your order was placed on the 7th of April and dispatched on the 8th of April for you via royal mail 48 hour delivery under tracking reference:
CUSTOMERS ADDRESS
and delivered on the DELIVERY DATE AND TIME at the following address:
I can contact royal mail who can provide the GPS location of the delivery scan to make sure it was delivered to the correct address if you wish.
Please let me know if I can help further.
With Kindest Regards
Simon
Seller_Yja9oH7DLHk2I
Are Amazon actually trying to correct it?
Seller_Rds42gzScDQFa
This is what I use for my Royal Mail items
Hello,
The Royal Mail website shows this item was delivered, you can view the same here (Insert link to where tracking shows as delivered)
Regrettably we are unable to issue a refund or issue a replacement as the item shows as delivered.
This is on the Royal Mail website
Signing for and receiving items
In order to protect both our people and customers as much as possible, we are minimising contact during delivery. We will not be handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture signatures but instead log the name of the person accepting the item. Additionally, for all customers where we need to deliver any item that won’t fit through your letterbox, we will place your item at your door. Having knocked on your door, we will then step aside to a safe distance while you retrieve your item. This will ensure your item is delivered securely rather than being left outside.
You can see more info here https://www.royalmail.com/d8/coronavirus-changes-service 10
We will however contact the Royal Mail in this instance and have them investigate the matter as they are now recording the GPS location of where the item was delivered. If an investigation is made and the result is that the item wasn’t delivered we will issue you with a refund at a later date. If we a feel crime has been committed IE by a Royal Mail employee we will inform the police as tampering with Her Majesty’s mail is a serious offence and not taken lightly.
Seller_3TuKPsB3ieWKC
This is a massive problem on Amazon. We probably have 10-15 customers a week trying this on at the moment, where tracking shows delivery,
‘where’s my item’
‘says it’s running late’
‘can you resend’
Each one takes valuable time to respond to, and 99% of customers after they have received tracking, screenshots and delivery confirmation links disappear never to be heard from again or magically the item which was scanned and delivered 3 weeks ago is put through their door by a neighbour within 5 minutes of our reply. Make of that what you will…
We have had 3 customers (out of about 150 who have contacted us) which have been adamant that items have not been delivered, and we’ve notified them that details will be passed to Royal Mail’s security team to investigate before refunding.
Other platforms have tools to report this kind of behaviour, Amazon do not.
Other platforms have tools to block this kind of buyer, Amazon do not.
Royal Mail should really have a tool to report claims (even when they are not obliged to pay compensation). If you are dishonest it is pretty easy to play the system and Amazon seem to have no means to support sellers. Even tracked items, delivered result in funds taken from us through the A-Z system.
There is undoubtedly an issue with the information being shown to customers by Amazon in their accounts. We have even had multiple messages from customers for multiple orders placed 6 months ago (it appears that they are just going through their purchase history and anything not shown as ‘delivered’ in their account they are trying to get a refund).
It is tough to send a firm, but fair message, to detract fraudulent claims while supporting genuine lost/mis delivered items.
We use something like this,
The delivery status shown in customer accounts on Amazon is automatically generated and currently does not show correctly for Royal Mail. This is a known issue which has been reported to Amazon.
Tracking information can be viewed directly on the Royal Mail website here,
TRACKING LINK
or by contacting Royal Mail customer services quoting the tracking number for the package, TRACKING NUMBER
This package was scanned on delivery TIME/DATE. Packages contain an integrated barcode which must be present to be scanned and Royal Mail handheld scanners provide GPS data showing where the package was scanned on delivery.
As tracking shows that the package has been successfully delivered please ensure that it has not been accepted by another member of the household. If you are not able to locate the package we will pass details to Royal Mail’s security team who will interview the Royal Mail employee who scanned the package and investigate why the package has been scanned on delivery but not delivered to you.
If you cannot locate the package please confirm this and we will pass details to Royal Mail. We will be back in touch within 2 working days when we have an update from Royal Mail.
Kind Regards
Seller_NoMNQDGnEW5Bx
Amazon have just funded an a to z claim for a customer saying item not received when I firstly received a message saying it had been delivered a day too early and they weren’t in for it so it went back to the sorting office and then was signed for the day after. I’m glad I’m not paying for the claim but this surely encourages people even more when obviously they have the item!
Seller_Rds42gzScDQFa
I’ve just received this from a customer:
According to the Amazon site, delivery of this item was running late but should be with me by 5 May. If not, I should request a refund from you. I have not received the order and would prefer it if you sent me a replacement. Thank you.
I purchased 2nd class large letter postage for this on the Royal Mail website so Amazon do not have tracking info and would not know if the item has been delivered or not.
The item was posted on 18th April As I have a certificate of postage I will issue the customer with a refund and claim from Royal Mail as a matter or routine. I’ve had so many cheques from Royal Mail recently it beggars belief.
Seller_Rds42gzScDQFa
Hello,
The Royal Mail website shows this item was delivered, you can view the same here (Insert link to where tracking shows as delivered)
Regrettably we are unable to issue a refund or issue a replacement as the item shows as delivered.
This is on the Royal Mail website
Signing for and receiving items
In order to protect both our people and customers as much as possible, we are minimising contact during delivery. We will not be handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture signatures but instead log the name of the person accepting the item. Additionally, for all customers where we need to deliver any item that won’t fit through your letterbox, we will place your item at your door. Having knocked on your door, we will then step aside to a safe distance while you retrieve your item. This will ensure your item is delivered securely rather than being left outside.
You can see more info here https://www.royalmail.com/d8/coronavirus-changes-service 10
We will however contact the Royal Mail in this instance and have them investigate the matter as they are now recording the GPS location of where the item was delivered. If an investigation is made and the result is that the item wasn’t delivered we will issue you with a refund at a later date. If we a feel crime has been committed IE by a Royal Mail employee we will inform the police as tampering with Her Majesty’s mail is a serious offence and not taken lightly.
Regards
Seller_B4VbHpnDLDLAU
the only thing i can think of, but i cannot test for sure is,
Normally we copy and past from the PDF generated on Click and drop which puts in all the “-” and spaces in between numbers. im wondering if typing them in with no spaces or - will make any difference on the amazon side. but we just don’t have the time to do that to test if works as cant pin point for sure.
sorry should say we use a softwear to upload the tracking numbers, not Click and drop marking as shipped. so if someone who uploads via click and drop direct may know this one.
Seller_FqalN2Equ13mj
I am adding to this one as i cant find the thread where the Amazon Mod answered.
If anyone has the link for that one, please poste it in.
As we are SFP and buy nearly all our shipping via Amazon, we do not get this in the UK, but for the international sites, we have had 318 orders message us about this with 14 resulting in successful claims.
I had contacted Seller Support with a list of 47 customers that told us that despite a message from Amazon, they had received their order.
All they said was that we should buy our shipping through Amazon!!
Something we cant do as an overseas seller.
Some might say its a drive to get you to us FBA!!
