To ask for help re Ebay buyer saying item wasn’t in envelope

[Rainraincloud]

What do I do here? Item was sent signed for with Royal Mail. Buyer sent me photos with the envelope looking like it had been cut open.
I don’t believe the buyer and will contact Ebay.
Buyer messaged asking for a refund.
Any advice apart from speaking to Ebay?
Thanks

A couple of months ago I received a package in one of those plastic mailing bags, sliced open at the top. The item wasn’t in it anymore (small, low value item). No stickers on from Royal Mail. Thankfully, the seller was a reasonable human being and didn’t accuse me of theft, just replaced the item and (I assume) took it up with Royal Mail.

@PinkyParrot

Would someone make this claim for a measly tenner's worth of stuff?

It's the low value stuff that gets nicked in my experience - because they're no insured/difficult to prove who's at fault

What would you expect the postman to do with it if it was on his round to be delivered ?

Put it into a damaged goods bag in the normal way?

I think it is entirely likely that the buyer is telling the truth. For example cards are often slit open in case they contain money - it's been a problem for years.

If it was slit with a knife rather than torn it might not have been noticed at the point where they put it in a bag/put a sticker on it. Like others have said, no one is signing for deliveries any more so I don't know why you think this means the buyer is lying.

Unfortunately you need to refund the buyer and claim from Royal Mail.

eBay is unfortunately full of scammers like this. I sold a product online for a company for around 5 years. Sent Royal Mail signed for. We didn't have one missing parcel. A couple of delayed ones. We started selling on eBay using the same dispatch methods and 24% of customers from eBay claimed they didn't receive it and eBay gave their money back. They always claimed it wasn't their signature. Because it wasn't a fully tracked service, eBay/PayPal always refunded them.
We stopped selling via eBay. That was around 5 years ago, and I can only assume it has go worse. I think this affects sellers of new branded products, rather than used items.

Hi I had to reply as I used to work for Royal Mail in complaints dept and I can let you know that postal workers would 100% post a ripped or slit opened letter/parcel through letterbox..also the machines that the post have to go through do slit across the top of the envelopes a lot! Depending on what was in the envelope its always the responsibility of the sender tomake sure the item has been properly packaged etc..eg: keys or anything metallic will definatly be pulled through the paper by the strong magnetic machines mentioned earlier. Hope this helps! Good luck!

I have had torn parcels delivered before, occasionally in a bag with an apology card from RM. Also RM are not collecting signatures at the moment at all. I believe they are signing themselves, my postie definitely is. EBay will side with the buyer, they generally always do sadly, although in this case I would probably give the buyer the benefit of the doubt anyway if they had good feedback.

Postie here.If I saw a cut open envelope in the Delivery Office I would bring it to the managers attention and put it in a damaged bag before delivery to cover myself.I doubt that he/she would just put it through a door cut open.

If I saw a cut open envelope in the Delivery Office

But what if you didn't see it?

I had a pair of earrings sent to my parents in law in December. Arrived through the door exactly as you described; cut open and with the item missing. Not their regular postman and he didn't knock or mention anything. Luckily, I sent photos of the envelope to the company and they sent a replacement. It does happen I'm afraid!

If eBay keep siding with buyers, it will surely put people off selling stuff on there? I was selling my old iPhone, but in the end got too scared to sell it on eBay and did it on facebay instead.

I have had damaged envelopes (particularly opened Christmas cards) delivered through the door with no RM bag.

You don't know the purchaser is lying, you suspect - but they may also be telling the truth.

My advice is refund, suck it up and put the buyer on your blocked list. Life is really too short to get uptight about a £10 ebay sale.

As an tip going forward - I send multiple parcels a day and always put an extra seal on the top edge of the envelope / jiffy bag with brown tape - I've never had anyone complain about the item not being inside.

You don’t KNOW the buyer is lying to be fair

Having the receipt showing the weight is all well and good but it’s the same as the sender having the proof of postage ; just doesn’t matter to eBay. They refund if they buyer hasn’t received or if there is no proof of delivery whether or not the seller has undeniable proof that they have sent it. Sorry op but at least it’s only £10. I had someone say they didn’t receive a nail UV lamp when she knew full well she did receive and it cost me a £40 refund Put me off eBay and I have 300+ Feedback. Just not even worth it sadly.

I actually had an empty envelope delivered just before Christmas. Exactly as you describe. It had been slit open and my eBay purchase was missing. Thankfully my seller believed me and replaced it . It had absolutely been slit open and the contents removed.

Thanks so far everyone. I just called Ebay and it’s telling you to go to the seller help page
Does anyone know if there’s a way to speak to someone on eBay by phone?
When I call it’s directing to either buyer or seller help page online

If Royal Mail deliver a ripped envelope they put it in another plastic bag with "sorry we mangled your mail" owtte on it.

This ⬆️
They have to tell you if it’s damaged.

I think it's a bit much to accuse the buyer of lying about this. I had an envelope like this, slit open, with no running medal in it. There was no "sorry we wrecked it" bag from Royal Mail. This was August so not Christmas temps. I reported it as a theft to Royal Mail and they sent a fob off reply and didn't investigate. Thankfully, the person sending it had half an ounce of sense that I wasn't after two of the same medal and they sent another one out.
Under the Consumer Rights Act, the responsibility is on you, the seller, until it's delivered.

@Chickychickydodah

If Royal Mail deliver a ripped envelope they put it in another plastic bag with "sorry we mangled your mail" owtte on it.

This ⬆️
They have to tell you if it’s damaged.

But that's only if they notice it's damaged. A cut envelope could easily be missed with the volume of mail they're delivering.

Ebay will side with the buyer in this scenario so refund before you get a defect on your account on well. You could try and get compensation from the courier with a damaged in transit claim.

I received an empty envelope just before Christmas. It had a very clean slit across the bottom and the contents had been removed. You couldn't tell at first glance that it had been interfered with and it wasn't in a bag. Luckily, it was just a Christmas card and I think I know who it was from. I can and does happen.p, although its the first time its ever happened to me.

The buyer has said things can’t be signed for due to covid and that it was put through the letterbox.
I don’t believe him.

He's right. We've had that. The postman rings the bell and leaves parcels outside then heads off, or posts smaller signed-for items through the door without ringing the bell.

We have been selling on eBay for years...

EBay will MAKE you refund the buyer. It doesn't matter whether you believe the buyer or not - as far as eBay are concerned you have failed to get the item to the buyer.

EBay will always side with the buyer - this is the only way to ensure that buyers carry on using eBay. This is to the advantage of sellers as well, otherwise they would not have any buyers.

This is how eBay look at it:

You are the one that packaged the item and chose the packaging that you thought appropriate.

You are the one that purchased the postage, therefore you are the one with the contract with Royal Mail.

Because you paid for the postage, you can claim for the loss/damage from Royal Mail. The buyer cannot do this.

This is why a seller should choose to pay for insured postage IF the item is one that is expensive or if they fear that the item may get damaged or lost. It is the responsibility of the seller to insure the postage if they need to, and to claim if the item is lost or damaged.

I often see eBay items where the listing allows the buyer to choose to insure or not by paying extra for eg Special Delivery etc - this is the sure sign of a seller who doesn't understand his/her responsibilities and who will eventually lose out. A buyer is not responsible for the seller's choice of postage options. A buyer should -rightly- always choose the cheapest postage option offered.

A seller should ALWAYS choose the correct level of postal insurance to protect themselves.

Can anyone help?
EBay don’t seem to be taking phone calls
Can’t seem to speak to a rep online easily
Does anyone have the link for Royal Mail re a missing item?
Or does anyone know of an easy way to contact Ebay?
Thanks

As it's only a tenner I would refund the money and claim it back from Royal Mail if you can.

Ebay problems are always really stressfull and it's not worth the hassle to do anything more.