Customer broke an item and now opened a dispute in Paypal

[sleepwarmer]

I sent a customer a chep cell phone for 35$ or so. It was appropriately packaged in bubble wrap, as I always do. 2 days after he received it, he filed an item not as described with paypal and is asking for a full refund. 

The thing is, I took photos of that phone before listing it, so the screen broke after sending it.

I already asked the person to return the item, and he did.

If I take new photos and ask Paypal to escalate the dispute, do you think I have any chance of winning the dispute as a seller with Paypal?

Thanks for sharing your experience with dispute

[pjcdn2005]

If I take new photos and ask Paypal to escalate the dispute, do you think I have any chance of winning the dispute as a seller with Paypal?

I doubt it.

The buyer is saying that the screen was broken when the phone was received....is that right? If so, you have no way of knowing for sure that it wasn't broken in transit and Paypal has no way of knowing that either so the pictures don't prove anything.

You could try filing an insurance claim with Canada Post.

[brandeentertainment]

I am assuming you shipped with Expedited... Check out what you can do with Canada post...

[bb_cool_stuff]

Could or could not have been damaged In transit.

Either way the buyer has returned the Item to you. They have followed eBay's Return Policy.

 Refund them & then file a claim with Canada Post.

Don't let them escalate the eBay/Paypal claim, they will win which will in turn damage your Sellers Status.

[theafkgamer]

I doubt Paypal will do anything as the buyer has followed the appropriate procedure. Just refund the buyer asap and give Canada Post a call and file a claim. Just say that the item was damaged in transit.

If the buyer escalates the claim, it's going to hurt you.

[cbsalesnb]

The only other thing I can think of for this case is. Are you sure the phone sent back to you is the same one you sent to them?

Is there anything from the photos that would confirm or deny this. Do you have the serial number recorded from before sending the phone?

It takes a lot of force to break a screen on most phones and I find it hard to believe that this phone received that kind of force through packaging. I think it's possible this person broke their phone and may be using Ebay as a non-warranty, free replacement option.

This is just a theory, and if you can't prove it then there's nothing you can do except file a claim with Canada Post.

[cbsalesnb]

P.S. If you don't have the serial recorded, would your cell provider still have it on file?

[sleepwarmer]

Ok, the customer just escalated to a claim.

I am going to pay him his 50$.

Tomorrow I will try to submit a claim with Canadapost as most of you guys suggested.

I will keep you posted

[bb_cool_stuff]

Yes, block them.

Next time just refund them when you have recieved your Item back. Don't let them escalate the claim. Will save you a lot of frustration.

Yes, call Canada Post & file a claim. You should get your money back from Canada Post. I only mention the word "should" as I have no experience In filing a damaged In transit claim. Others could add their experiences.

Frustrating yes, but I wouldn't worry about It so much. You just happen to sell In that Touchy Category which attracts Clowns & as Femme has mentioned in the past "Bottom Feeders."

[sleepwarmer]

Just opened a case with Canadapost. It will take up to 25 days for them to come back to me.

interestingly, I paid 7.73$ to send the package, but Paypal payed 6.61$ only as per canadapos.

So Paypal is making a minimum of 15-20% on your shipping costs!!

Another interesting fact, Canadapost knew the transaction amount without me saying it. I think they are receiving the amount posted in the "total insurance coverage value" box when you process shipping with Paypal. I do not have that in EST.

Anyhow, let's see what happens next with this story.

Keep posting your thoughts.

[femmefan1946]

It seems that Canada Post has run the numbers and decided that they get so few "loss or damage" claims that they can afford to pay out without much investigation.

The last claim I had, the nice lady mentioned the number of claims I had made in the previous 10 years(!) in passing. So they keep records of our claims. Interesting.

OT- I discovered at the science fiction conference I have been busy with that the lovely woman who runs our Hospitality Suite is one of those Canada Post Customer Service reps. So we know they are not faceless robots somewhere in Hyderabad. One is Bunny, who seems to work in New Brunswick and one is Pam in Ottawa. Shiny!

[pjcdn2005]

How do you know what Paypal paid Canada Post?

[sleepwarmer]

if you have an item that did not make it to your customers, call canadapost, they will ask you how much did you pay for postage. Pause and tell them hmmm, and then say I am looking for it, then say let's see.... The canadapost person will then tell you how much canadapost received 😉 

My previous post was deleted by big brother, and I got a yellow card!