Need advice on Canada Post refunds for an item lost in the mail - sent tracked/insured

[oldhousejunk]

Been selling for 20+ years on ebay, always send packages with tracking/insurance. 

Package was sent to a US freight forwarding company (at buyers request, with the address provided on ebay). Used Ebay shipping lables, sent Expidited with extra insurance added to $1000.

Tracking has been showing "item out for delivery" for almost one month so I filed a claim with Canada post.

Canada Post says they can do nothing because there is no email or phone number associated with this freight forward company.  Buyer is international and has no other information on the company.

My question: What is the use of adding tracking/insurance if we cannot claim it? Item is showing "NOT delivered" by USPS, so why do I have to have confirmation from the reciever that it was not delivered?

IF it was a fraudulent or wrong address, wouldn't USPS have returned it back to me? 

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

[flipistics]

Have you tried asking the buyer for the website / contact information of the freight forwarder? The company that recieves the packages may not be the public facing company that the buyer contracted with.

The USPS also has a missing mail search request form. You could try filling that in. It will at least force them to dig into where it is or what happened.

[msau4301]

I haven't had to do it through eBay labels but I have however, a few times had to "Open a Ticket" with Canada Post and all were resolved (cheque sent to me or they found tracking update). I do know they require a phone number of the recipient because they told me that they had been trying to confirm with the buyer (they had his phone number but he wasn't answering/returning their calls). I ended up messaging the buyer and told them Canada Post was trying to contact him to confirm he did not receive the package and I was lucky enough that my buyer did reach out to them to confirm. Interestingly (coincidentally?) the package arrived two days later.

If you are sending to US have you gone directly to USPS site, put in tracking there and you can request updates which are often more up to date once item is in US hands.

You don't mention if buyer has been asking about it, opened a case or if you are concerned because tracking is not updating. That happens sometimes that the tracking never updates even though it has been delivered. Even Canada Post would not know if USPS didn't do the final delivery scan, that is why they try and confirm with the recipient by phone (or email as I found out).

[oldhousejunk]

Thank you. Yes I've checked USPS, and tried to contact someone there but without a US address its difficult. Buyer is in Russia and although has not opened a claim has been asking where the package is. I'm concerned that they can open a case and will get a refund quickly. Package was sent Feb 20 and should have arrived Feb 28. My worry is that the freight forwarding company is not legit - they have no website, name or info, just an address.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@oldhousejunk Have you confirmed if tracking states the same on USPS dot com? There can be situations when the tracking is not updating between cp/ebay and usps.

[pansy19]

Paying Insurance to CP is throwing money in garbage .

CP never delivered my Parcel from ON to Alberta ,Value CDN  $1000 .

There were not provided customer email of phone  on ebay at this time.

CP told me to "Call customer and ask did he received Item".

The other parcel was sent last year to USA 

Value $ USD 600 , fully insured .

CP said they do not cover fragile items. They offered to refund shipping cost  .Misserables.

The Items were made of Fabric .

I can't trust CP , they never cover any damage they did to me.

This is how they make money , luying customers .

What your  Tracking # shows on USPS Site ?

IF is not  RTS  stated in 24 hours after not delivered , then is lost or damaged .

There has to be phone # provided beside shipping adress on your ebay page.

If is not shown , contact ebay  CS  and talk with them . 

They can help .

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

devon@ebay Does eBay have any plans to make life easier for sellers so they can complete claims when they need to? Well and good to say "just refund" but it needs to be a 2 way street so sellers can recover losses, that in most cases are TOTALLY out of their control? -Lotzofuniquegoodies

[reallynicestamps]

Looking up google maps for the address shows a storage locker.

So the buyer is using a friend or relation to gather their purchases and then re-send them?
This is still freight forwarding, just ignoring the "commercial " part.

And also explains why the phone number would be invalid. New phone or new service supplier?

The concern I would have is that while professional forwarders generally handle import fees, a friend probably would not, leaving you open to the customs delay scam.

But what is the last estimated date for delivery and is the customer complaining?

[reallynicestamps]

If you google the forwarders address, you should also find the company name, website, phone number etc.

When I looked up the FF address it does not seem to be a legitimate business.

Why?

Google is useful, but not entirely reliable.

For one thing, the StreetView can be years out of date.

If the picture is of a commercial/industrial business, check the date of the picture.

Your buyer may not have the up to date phone number.

That there are negative reviews is meaningless, since few US persons would leave a review for a service purchased by an overseas customer. The negs would be from US sellers who ran into problems.

With hundreds of packages arriving daily there wil be problems.

I hope yours in not one of them.

Most important.

HAS THE CUSTOMER FILED A CLAIM FOR NON-DELIVERY?

It is usually a bad idea to watch tracking.

Unless the customer is complaining, put the last estimated date for delivery that eBay gave you on your calendar.

Check delivery then.

And do nothing.

The customer will have 30 days after that last estimated delivery date to make a Claim.

You could if you want to, keep all your fingers crossed, but it is then difficult to type.

[brettjet38]

"Buyer is international and has no other information on the company."

?

The Buyer is the one who requested you to ship the item to the forwarder, so of course they would know about the Forwarding Company they are paying to use it.

And why are you shipping an item worth (ins $1000.00) internationally without signature tracking? 

Which country is the final destination?

What was the item?

Where is the forwarding company located?

Another reason I refuse to ship to any forwarding company address for any transaction on eBay. And, for international items especially...

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

I've shipped to freight forwarders in the past. I always google in advance to confirm the address is valid. Business info should be able to be retrieved with a basic google. If info is missing I just add. My orders that have involved freight forwarders have always been of the smaller dollar value so not as critical. It is important though, when something is going to a freight forwarder that parcel is properly marked with buyers details...reference number, mail box etc.

[fh991586]

I don't understand why this label was created without entering a phone number, as it is mandatory for international shipping (whatever courrier used). Email of recipient is still an option, but the form should not permit to complete the purchase of label without entering a phone contact info.

How did you get the freight forward company info if they don't have an internet presence? There is no way you have a chance in insurance recovery without basic information to reach them... Best case would be it's sent back to you, but I wouldn't count on it.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@fh991586 

@oldhousejunk 

IF the phone number is there it will port over to the label info via eBay Labels. The addddy was something ebay skipped when ebay labels was created. It automatically ported over to shippo. If you look at listing details on right hand side it will either show or not. No guarantee they are honest or up to date. The issue being eBay switched over to the garbled coded seller email adddy vs the real one. With the ebay variation due to seller and buyer blocks parties do not always receive those email. If it is an official one better chance people will see and then react. devon@ebay FYI on the importance of those pieces of info.

[oldhousejunk]

Yes there was a phone number attached which I gave to CP. They said they tried to call and it was "out of service". When I looked up the FF address it does not seem to be a legitimate business. So IF they were not able to deliver it, shouldn't it have been sent back to me?

[oldhousejunk]

How it normally shows up with someone using a FF, is the buyer's name with the address only for the FF company in the US. The phone number given is not in service, no internet presence. Looking up google maps for the address shows a storage locker. BUT still, if USPS was unable to deliver, should they not have returned it?

[mrdutch1001]

I would not think a "return to sender" to be an automatic process by USPS for a non-domestic shipment, unless the seller had provided the proper documentation for that option at time of shipment.