posted on October 29, 2001 03:28:46 PM new
I bought an expensive item from an eBay auction and paid by Money order including shipping and insurance. The Item never arrived. The seller claims that it was lost in the mail. I furnished the seller a Postal form 1000 showing that I had not received the item. There is nothing more I can to help the seller receive the postal insurance money.
The seller does not want to refund me what I paid, he wants me to wait until the Postal Insurance pays him. This could be a LONG Time.
Any suggestions as to what I should do. Should I ask Safe Harbor to tell the seller to refund my money or what? Should I ask Safe Harbor to keep the item open in case I have to post a negative feedback at a later date? After 90 days the items disappears and I will not be able to post feedback.
Thanks for advice.
posted on October 29, 2001 03:38:47 PM new
Why, if YOU paid for an item, is the seller getting the insurance refund? Call the phone number on your money order receipt and see if the money order was cashed. If it was, the seller got their money, should send you proof of insurance that you paid for(have them send you the insurance slip, certified mail, return signature receipt) and you go after the insurance that will be paid directly to YOU! I believe you must wait 30 days before a claim can be filed. Someone correct me if I am wrong on that. Good luck!
posted on October 29, 2001 03:50:09 PM new
What's the seller's feedback like?
I'll tell you, the same thing happened to me, except I was the seller! The item was about $135.00 or so, but it was insured through the Post Office. I found out that I wrote the zip code wrong (I don't remember how I found out, might have written it wrong on the insurance receipt too) and it never showed on their end. I refunded out of my pocket, then waited on the claim myself, but the item came back to me after 6 or 8 weeks so I never collected on the claim.
I think either the shipper or the recipient can file the claim, depending on who has the receipt.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
[ edited by loosecannon on Oct 29, 2001 03:53 PM ]
posted on October 29, 2001 04:00:51 PM new
I agree with furkidmom.
Try to get the seller to send you the receipt certified mail and you handle the claim, IF you don't feel you can trust him/her to follow through with the duties involved.
Yes, it will take a long time. Probably 2 to 3 months unless it was $50 or less. The can refund a claim of that amount out of the till at your Post Office.
posted on October 29, 2001 04:57:21 PM new
From what my postal person told me, on a lost mail insurance claim the sender is the only one who can file the claim...but the sender can designate the reciever is to be the one to get the insurance proceeds. On a damage claim either party can start the claim
posted on October 29, 2001 05:00:40 PM new
Hi, this happened to me also. Bought something for 108 dollars and the seller did fill out the form but sent it to me to send for the refund.It still took me about 2 1/2 months to get my money back. And the seller didn't insure but for 100, so I was out about 16 dollars. Good luck, hope you get it back sooner than I did!(seller got a neg.)
posted on October 29, 2001 06:35:18 PM new
i was recently scammed when a buyer claims some items were broken in shipment and she does not want to go to the post office to file claim
instead she returned the broken items to me in a new box.
i submitted the broken items to my post office and sent her replacements.
then the post office denied my claim as they are not in the original box,reason is that since no one on the other end has seen the broken pieces,there is no proof they were broken by post office on the way to the buyer.
so i can understand from seller point of view,if he has shipped ,and he refund your payment,he is losing out twice-the money and the mechandise/
these days,post office does not always paid the claim just because you have purchased insurance.
when something like this happens,both parties suffer and just have to be patient.
posted on October 29, 2001 06:44:11 PM new
This is all a very good reason to use U-Pic for your insurance, not the Post Office. I've had claims through both, and U-Pic was faster and more fair.
For instance, do you know that an end of auction notice or eBay page is not sufficient proof of the value of an item for the Post Office? They want you to provide a statement from an 'expert' or catalog comparison prices, etc. U-PIC, however, knows that you insure for the value of the sale, and refunds the entire amount without hassle.
For a damaged item, all I had to submit was a letter from the buyer.
posted on October 29, 2001 07:34:04 PM new
Or with the post office to get your money back you have to pull a sneaky. You find someone to write you a receipt for the amount of the auction saying they sold it to you for that amount. Then you submit this to the p.o. as proof of the items value. As buddhafinder said they will not take auction ending values as proof of insurance. What a crock!
I didn't do this, but I know of other ebay sellers who have.
posted on October 29, 2001 07:45:22 PM new
I printed out my own invoice from my database program, and told them I am already an 'expert' in Asian art. They accepted that at USPS. Much better with Endicia, though, since they just took the sales price without any argument! After all, what is an item worth in a market economy? What the buyer and seller agree is the mutually acceptable price!
posted on October 30, 2001 07:34:41 AM newI bought an expensive item from an eBay auction and paid by Money order including shipping and insurance. The Item never arrived. The seller does not want to refund me what I paid, he wants me to wait until the Postal Insurance pays him.
Damnned if you do, damned if you don't.
There are regular posts here on AW from buyers who are upset if their packages don't come with an "INSURED" stamp, and some nearly go ballistic when a seller says they self-insure, as though that is a rip-off and somehow inferior to "official" USPS insurance. Here, we have a seller who did use USPS insurance, and the buyer is unhappy because the seller wants to persue a claim using that very insurance in order to provide the refund instead of paying out of his own pocket- which sounds very much like self-insuring, don't you think?
Although some sellers might do so, it doesn't exactly seem fair to expect the seller himself to pay the insurance claim when he was not the one providing the insurance coverage. If you had an accident driving to work, would you go down to State Farm to see Joe Blow (who sold you your insurance), and ask him to pay the claim out of his pocket, and have him persue reimbursement from the insurance company? If a buyer doesn't want to have to deal with a long wait to resolve a potential claim through the USPS, it would be best to take up this issue with the seller before bidding.
