Forum Moderators: buckworks
she recieved it this morning but phoned right away to say that the box containing doll was slightly damaged - the shipping carton was ok, the doll was very well protected & was checked before sending due to its value.
we said we would replace the doll but the buyer said she wanted a refund as she had just ordered another from ebay usa (we are the only supplier in the uk)- alarm bells are now sounding.
to us it seems strange that she would order another immediately before even contacting us first & we believe that she had already received one damaged from the states then ordered one from us.
she then keeps the good one from us & returns the other damaged one for a cash refund - it has happened before.
my question is can we replace without refunding or does she have the right to demand a refund even though we are offering a replacement?
cheers.
I suppose unless you know:-
box serial #
product serial # (product inside box)
You are going to struggle, as people could switch products / boxes freely and claim damages. Excellent point, would love to hear what others have to say on the subject. How about UV / property marking?
i want to replace the goods, not the cash, so is it my prerogative to do so?
cheers.
If your customer service policies state that you exchange goods in cases of shipping damage rather than issue refunds, it would be your prerogative to do just that. If you don't state this on your site, and you offer refunds in general for returned merchandise, you will have to issue a refund.
If the goods were damaged in shipment, you'll receive the full value back from the carrier anyway, so you won't be out any money, correct?
If the goods where damaged during shipment, check if the parcel was insured.
If you think she is trying to screw you, there is not much you can do.
There is a last resort that has helped me in the past when customers claimed they had not received parcels, although the courier told me they were delivered. Since the tracking information showed a delivery the courier told me I should let the customer sign a written declaration that they did not receive the goods, so I could claim the insurance. I sent the customer the following and asked him to sign:
Written Statement Under Penalty of Perjury:
I certify under penalty of perjury that the following statement is true and correct:
1. Personal Information
My name is: ______
Address: _________
2. Declaration
I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that to this day I have not received the DHL Parcel No. 1234535, sent by widget company, widget city
Place, Date, Signature.
To my astonishment the customer backed of immediately. Never mind, I'll order again later, bla bla.
I have used this several times now with success. I have asked several customers to sign forms like this when I was in doubt and never heard of them again. I guess they did not realize they were commiting a crime until I asked them to sign the declaration.
So before doing nothing you can at least try to get a written statement from her that the goods where damaged when she received them.
I'd guess she is either getting one cheaper elsewhere, or as you suspect, already got one elsewhere and it is damaged.
Yes, DSR says you have to refund within 7 days, but it doesn't force you to take goods sold by another vendor.
the actual doll box was badly damaged & did not leave us in that condition - 100% sure.
i would for the hell of it just like to replace the doll but as she has asked for a refund i'm not sure what the situation would be?
cheers
i would for the hell of it just like to replace the doll but as she has asked for a refund i'm not sure what the situation would be?
Well, now that you have the doll back (and assuming it was shipped with some sort of tracking # and then signed for when you got it back)...
The credit card company would just process a chargeback at her request. You would then be out the full amount, including any shipping and handling charges which may have applied and been non-refundable, have a black mark with the card company, and to boot you would be the proud recipient of a $35+ chargeback fee in addition to the purchase price.
Best to just process the credit and call it a day. She may not be a fraud, anyway. As it is a doll, it doesn't seem so essential, but you never know the complete story. I have plenty of customers which I know are completely legitimate as they have used us for years, who have received widgets damaged in transit; they get it on Friday at 5:30PM after our phone lines shut down. They turn around and purchase it from someone, anyone, ASAP, pay extra to have it overnighted with Saturday AM delivery, and then simply return the original item to us and request a credit -- it's not that they wouldn't have preferred to get it from us, they had an honest NEED and we were unable to fulfill it within their modified timeframe. I guess what I am suggesting is: Maybe the doll is a gift which necessitated an immediate turnaround and she did not think you could fulfill her demands.
Besides, what would her motivation really be for running a scam? In the end, she is paying for a doll and getting the doll, be it from you or Ebay, USA. As long as the doll is actually damaged and appears to be a legitimate item and not a knock-off, I'd chalk it up as her being eccentric.
Looks like you were right.
Did you say, by hinting, "outer box undamaged" and "inner box all smashed up"?Looks like you were right.
Yes. And. No.
I have had plenty of shipments (with UPS) where they beat the living daylights out of a box and decide to simply repackage and continue with the shipment -- truly. I mean, they do tend to notify me when such things occur, but they switch boxes often enough (to the point where one of our execs, during a contract negotiation meeting, asked our UPS reps if he could go to their distribution center and see the giant hand they use to smack around all of our shipments) that it wouldn't surprise me if another carrier did the same. Also, what if both boxes were damaged and she simply provided a new one for the return? Or did it have the original shipping label on it?
your correct of course she could just do a chargeback - it seems rediculous that cc's will allow cb's without confirming that the goods have been returned to the seller - ie you can sign for goods delivered then claim dissatisfaction or whatever, initiate a chargeback, keep the goods & get your money back - we have never had a cc reversed or got or goods back against a cb.
Just for the fun of it I'd ask her to sign a statement where she declares under penalty of perjury that she received the doll in damaged condition before refunding the payment. Tell her its for the insurance or something. I have made the experience in the past, that the common part-time, wannabe, sitting bored at home fraudster backs of then.
Probably something psychological, they are defrauding you but they do not regard themself as fraudsters because even if they have damaged the goods themself "they could as well have been damaged during shipment." But if they have to sign something this kind of self excuse does not work anymore. Just my theory.
Oh, but she did receive it in damaged condition -- but from another vendor -- so would probably sign with impunity.
Really looks to me like she is trying a swap; deciding not to send the damaged one all the way back to the USA - and she doesn't want a swap as she'll keep the one she bought locally in the UK, and which is undamaged, sending the damaged one back to the UK vendor.
I asked a security expert on recommendations for this, and he mentioned the UV marking problem (clever ones check with UV light) etc. Photographing boxes from every angle / getting them checked independently (on more pricy items) with a certificate or something, but this sounds way too much for me!
Oh well, let us know what the letter says
I asked a security expert on recommendations for this, and he mentioned the UV marking problem (clever ones check with UV light) etc.
What about getting a custom stamp of your business logo and then using UV marking ink? Seems like a more practical idea and would be harder to replicate.
I'd say she sounds like a loon
Not quite as bad as the ones I regard as "professional victims" who seem to set out to ensure that things fail and them blame those they deal with.
There are times when maintaining a professional face to the public can be very hard.
