Received a damaged and torn open envelope with no trace of the item I bought inside.

[clafca]

My parcel has arrived at home yesterday in my private mailbox.

Unfortunately i received a large damaged envelope all-poked and open-mouthed with tape torn off , containing only a smaller torn empty envelope with no trace of the computer CPU I bought or any other contents inside.

I advised my seller about that and he suggest me to open procedure to "Returning an item" with eBay but I am not sure how can I return an item if  I did not received it physically.

Do I have to return the empty envelope, or it is better for me to open a claim for "Didn't receive an item"

Thank you for your kindly help.

clafca

[lotzofuniquegoodies · Accepted solution]

Hello....Your simplest solution would be for you to send photos to your seller showing how your package arrived and they could start the procedure to make a claim for your item and their original shipping charges(There would be a minimum 100.00 free insurance because your package was mailed by Expedited service). Claims need to be started by the shipper and not the receiver. It would be up to the seller if they are able to replace  and reship to you if they have more stock of the same item.  Canadapost link attached with full explanation.

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/kb/details.page?article=received_damaged_mai&cattype=kb&cat=receivi...

-CM

[femmefan1946]

I'm puzzled by the pictures.

It is Canada Post's policy to mark any damaged shipments, usually by bagging the remainder of the shipment and including an explanatory note.

Without that, I would wonder if you have been the victim of 'porch theft'.

That is, the shipment was sucessfully delivered, but someone removed the contents after that.

Do you live somewhere that might happen? An apartment mail room with access to all tenants? A university residence? Community mailbox?

Identifying a parcel with something of value ? Well there is the eBay sticker, but that could just mean a $10 paperback that was over 2cm thick. No customs declaration.

And emptying two bubble envelopes takes a little time-- and privacy.

In addition to the Not As Described dispute (you'd be returning the empty envelopes) I'd first speak to the Post Master at your local Post Office.

Not the postal outlet in back of the drug store, the actual post office.

If nothing else, she needs to know about possible thefts from the mail.

You may also want to open a police report at the local police station, if only for the report number. And again, your report may add to a longer series of reports on which the police can take action.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

Follow up,

These situations where a customer receives their item damaged or package their package is missing items should not be considered as a "Return" or "Goods not as Described" and then be held/counted against a seller. They should be a claim with the shipping carrier and processed accordingly.

-CM

[mcrlmn]

Item not received.
You haven't received your purchase.
That is the seller's problem, not yours.

Save the photos in case of escalation, and need to upload in support.

I can't help but notice the nice tape job, and eBay 'flag' on the envelope.

[marnotom!]

Judging by the return address on the label, this appears to be an item that was forwarded through the Global Shipping Program.

Does the sticker on the envelope with the eBay logo state it was resealed by the Global Shipping Program? I can't read it on my phone.

[pinetreecottage]

Going forward.  If you buy electronic items  from Canadian sellers, you should consider asking to have "signature required" added to the postage.  It will cost $1.50.  You will have to sign for your parcel, and you will not have to worry about "porchtheft"

[momcqueen]

It has to be opened as a Significantly Not As Described case but with mitigating circumstances. The seller will deal with the carrier as part of their own claim and, yes, they may need the damaged envelopes in their possession to do that.

If you open an Item Not Received case you will lose it automatically as tracking will show it has been delivered. Therefore received.

But call Customer Service if you must.

[momcqueen]

Also, Canada Post doesn’t deliver packages like that. As indicated already, if a parcel or envelope is received damaged, Canada Post will bag it with a form that explicy states it was wrecked. Most sellers know that.

If this was stolen from your doorstep or mailbox by a passerby or neighbour, the onus will be placed on you to seek assistance from police etc. I’d start that process too if I were you.

The photos you’ve shared do not say ‘damaged by the carrier’ to my eye.

[hyperrush]

Wrost package ever

[marnotom!]

---

@mcrlmnwrote:

Item not received.
You haven't received your purchase.
That is the seller's problem, not yours.

Save the photos in case of escalation, and need to upload in support.

I can't help but notice the nice tape job, and eBay 'flag' on the envelope.

---

Now that I'm on my laptop, I can see the photos a bit more clearly, and this is indeed an item that was forwarded through the Global Shipping Program and the eBay sticker does state that the envelope was resealed by the program.  (The item was likely inspected, partially because the seller likely didn't provide any information on its country of origin, information which is needed for export purposes.)

The seller's responsibility for safe transit of an item forwarded through the GSP ends at Pitney Bowes' Global Shipping Center in Kentucky.  While it may be useful to contact the seller to give them a heads-up on what's happened and what will happen, they are unlikely going to be able to offer any assistance on this even if they wanted to do so.

@clafca's best bet would be to file a claim through the Money Back Guarantee process, noting that the item was shipped through the Global Shipping Program.  He should make sure to use the terms "Global Shipping Program" and "GSP" to make sure the claim gets properly directed to Pitney Bowes.  Even if this is a case of "porch theft", I believe this is the best way to get this dealt with as it will then be up to Pitney Bowes or the logistics company subcontracted to handle the item to make any sort of claim for the item.

I'm led to believe that if all goes well, Claude should see a full refund for the item, including the import charges.  The seller may see a temporary hold placed on their portion of the payment for the item and shipping, however, but they won't be responsible for any sort of refund.

[momcqueen]

"@clafca's best bet would be to file a claim through the Money Back Guarantee process, noting that the item was shipped through the Global Shipping Program.  He should make sure to use the terms "Global Shipping Program" and "GSP" to make sure the claim gets properly directed to Pitney Bowes.  Even if this is a case of "porch theft", I believe this is the best way to get this dealt with as it will then be up to Pitney Bowes or the logistics company subcontracted to handle the item to make any sort of claim for the item."

Yes, this cannot be stressed enough. Opening an Item Not Received claim will FAIL because tracking will show the order was delivered, the end. No refund. Regardless of who is at fault, this must be directed as an Significantly Not as Described claim in the Resolution Centre with extenuating circumstances  Mention the ruined envelope and fulfilled by Global Shipping Program in your case comments.  Send the photos to the seller as part of that case so he/she knows what's happened but if the seller is smart, savvy and/or experienced, they will know what process to follow in order to cover their own butts because, really, the seller is least likely to be directly responsible for this mess on the list of usual suspects. 

[mcrlmn]

I've read so many times...
"Thank you for an easy, pleasant transaction!"

A whole lot of inconvenience and frustration.
Bet you didn't figure that into your plans when you made this purchase.

Good luck to you. Hopefully this matter is cleared up quickly and favorably.

[momcqueen]

The OP marked the first answer received as the one that 'solved' this problem so we may never hear back from him/her again. 

[femmefan1946]

Now that I'm on my laptop, I can see the photos a bit more clearly, and this is indeed an item that was forwarded through the Global Shipping Program and the eBay sticker does state that the envelope was resealed by the program. 

Yes, but....

Canada Post should not have accepted a package cut like that.

The carrier should not have delivered a package cut like that.

Most people are human, but that's two failures to follow policy.

I just think it was cut after delivery.

[momcqueen]

Alas, we’ll never know. I don’t think the user who posted the photos is coming back with an update. Which is unfortunate, really, because others can learn from this experience.