USPS Claim Denied. Now what?

[bcdguy]

USPS mis-delivered an order from ebay back in July and I've been trying to get them to pay for it since. I talked to someone at the post office who confirmed that yes the item was delivered to the wrong address. They tried to recover it but were unable. They said to file a claim.

I filed a claim with this info and it was denied. I filed an appeal and it was denied.

Is there a way to escalate this that you guys have used before? Is there a human in the claims department I can talk to? I don't understand how USPS can both admit they screwed up but also take no responsibility for the screw up.

[smanzari]

Did you insure it?

[bcdguy]

Originally Posted by smanzari

Did you insure it?

It was sent to me via priority mail so my understanding is yes it's covered. The cost of the card was ~$300.

[jcardstore]

Wait... Why are you trying to file a claim if you were the buyer? That's not your responsibility.

Seller should refund and file the claim

[bcdguy]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Wait... Why are you trying to file a claim if you were the buyer? That's not your responsibility.

Seller should refund and file the claim

But the seller didn't do anything wrong. USPS delivered it to the wrong address.

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by bcdguy

But the seller didn't do anything wrong. USPS delivered it to the wrong address.

It is the sellers responsibility to get you the card. While USPS may have screwed up that still falls within the sellers responsibility.

There's nothing you can do now

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Wait... Why are you trying to file a claim if you were the buyer? That's not your responsibility.

Seller should refund and file the claim

if it was in July it maybe too late.

zIf it was sent priority is was only covered automatically for 50.00 to 100.00 depending on the sellers level. However it is realy on the seller to refund you not the USPS the insurance is for the sellers protection.

If you paid with a Credit Card you might be able to file that way but at this point I would say there is zero guarantees.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by bcdguy

But the seller didn't do anything wrong. USPS delivered it to the wrong address.

Its still the sellers job to get the item to you. They are the one who contracted with the USPS to deliver it. So your gripe is with the seller the sellers gripe is with the USPS.

[bcdguy]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

Its still the sellers job to get the item to you. They are the one who contracted with the USPS to deliver it. So your gripe is with the seller the sellers gripe is with the USPS.

Welp, this never even occurred to me I'm sorry to say. USPS led me to believe it was my responsibility to file the claim. Damn.

[discodanman45]

Originally Posted by bcdguy

Welp, this never even occurred to me I'm sorry to say. USPS led me to believe it was my responsibility to file the claim. Damn.

If you paid with PayPal you could try to file a claim there as well. If you get a refund though from the seller, you may have cost them money because they might not be able to file a claim with USPS at this point to get some of their money back.

[bcdguy]

Originally Posted by discodanman45

If you paid with PayPal you could try to file a claim there as well. If you get a refund though from the seller, you may have cost them money because they might not be able to file a claim with USPS at this point to get some of their money back.

I paid with an amex. I'm going to send the seller a note, explain the situation, and go from there.

[pete2345]

If you were the buyer it is not your problem. Just open a claim item not received. Why were you led to believe is was your responsibility?

[CardPadre]

They generally offer some explanation of why they denied it and give you the opportunity to add any missing or necessary information. What did your initial denial give as the reason?

[asujbl]

This is totally on the seller

They should have refunded you. They file the claim to get reimbursed.

Insurance is never on the buyer. It's always on the seller.

Facebook needs to learn this as well... just like PayPal fees... but I digress

[Lone Wulf]

This is the worst situation that can come up on ebay, I had to deal with the essentially same thing a few months back and ended up just eating the loss since it was only about $30.

As a buyer when ebay uses USPS as the be all end all authority for shipping and their tracking says "Delivered", even when it isn't, you as the buyer have basically no recourse to do anything about it. I opened a claim with ebay, the seller says they shipped it and it says delivered so they are not refunding, ebay sides with the seller because it says delivered on the tracking. My only option is to submit a chargeback through my credit card company, which in turn is going to nuke my ebay account I have had for 10 years because I submitted said chargeback. Losing $30 for nothing was the option I went with. If it was something more valuable I would have had a tougher decision to make.

[shrevecity]

Originally Posted by Lone Wulf

This is the worst situation that can come up on ebay, I had to deal with the essentially same thing a few months back and ended up just eating the loss since it was only about $30.

As a buyer when ebay uses USPS as the be all end all authority for shipping and their tracking says "Delivered", even when it isn't, you as the buyer have basically no recourse to do anything about it. I opened a claim with ebay, the seller says they shipped it and it says delivered so they are not refunding, ebay sides with the seller because it says delivered on the tracking. My only option is to submit a chargeback through my credit card company, which in turn is going to nuke my ebay account I have had for 10 years because I submitted said chargeback. Losing $30 for nothing was the option I went with. If it was something more valuable I would have had a tougher decision to make.

If it was delivered though how does anyone know it was not just your word? Yes its a tough situation but it is what it is. The proof would be on you to prove otherwise. Its the sellers job to get it there but its on you to provide a safe secure delivery location. If oyu go through Ebay first then go to your card company they typically will not nuke your account. Its when you skip their process and go straight to that process they do sometimes nuke accounts but even that is rare.

[Lone Wulf]

Originally Posted by shrevecity

If it was delivered though how does anyone know it was not just your word? Yes its a tough situation but it is what it is. The proof would be on you to prove otherwise. Its the sellers job to get it there but its on you to provide a safe secure delivery location. If oyu go through Ebay first then go to your card company they typically will not nuke your account. Its when you skip their process and go straight to that process they do sometimes nuke accounts but even that is rare.

Yeah, it is what it is. Definitely gives me pause to ever buy big money cards via ebay though since it is obvious what ebay's stance is. I get it, it opens a big can of worms for buyers to just say hey I didn't receive the card when they did.

But that is pretty backwards to say I as the buyer have to prove I didn't get something. How do I even do that. All I have is my word. My interaction in this process was hitting buy and paying. Somehow the seller and USPS have no responsibility now even when I received nothing? USPS should be held accountable and prove that they actually delivered something and to the correct place. Unfortunately they are not held responsible though.

It is not a common scenario, but can definitely happen. Just really crappy to do zero things wrong as a buyer but no one else takes responsibility and it is the buyer that is stuck with the result.

[Theude]

In Europe(or at least Germany), if something gets lost or damaged on the way the seller has not to cover for anything(unless damage and wasn't packaged properly). Crazy how different this is to the US.

@op I'd reach out to the seller on Ebay and try to solve it as rational human beings without referring to laws etc.

If the item shows delivered on Ebay chances are you'd be screwed anyways.

[BartvH]

Originally Posted by Theude

In Europe(or at least Germany), if something gets lost or damaged on the way the seller has not to cover for anything(unless damage and wasn't packaged properly). Crazy how different this is to the US.

@op I'd reach out to the seller on Ebay and try to solve it as rational human beings without referring to laws etc.

If the item shows delivered on Ebay chances are you'd be screwed anyways.

That's definitely not a thing for Europe in it's entirety and I find it hard to believe that in German law the buyer would essentially be screwed in this situation. The seller will have a claim against the postal company but the buyer still has his claim against the seller as the card hasn't been delivered. The seller in this case has failed to provide the buyer with the card which means, in most of continental Europe, the seller hasn't fulfilled his obligations within the sales agreement.

[bcdguy]

OP here. I reached out to the seller and let them know about the situation and asked if there's anything they can do. They said they can't. It's outside of the 30 day return window so their hands are tied.

I'm not sure what if anything I can do from here. Sounds like I"m out $300.

[tennelson55]

Originally Posted by bcdguy

OP here. I reached out to the seller and let them know about the situation and asked if there's anything they can do. They said they can't. It's outside of the 30 day return window so their hands are tied.

I'm not sure what if anything I can do from here. Sounds like I"m out $300.

Call amex. File a report to get the 300$ charge revolked. If they guy didn't insure it it's on him; not you. He wants his money; but you don't have what you purchased. That's on him, not you.

[smanzari]

Originally Posted by tennelson55

Call amex. File a report to get the 300$ charge revolked. If they guy didn't insure it it's on him; not you. He wants his money; but you don't have what you purchased. That's on him, not you.

If it says "delivered" he's going to lose the claim - these have been happening more and more on eBay, and I have yet to lose one only providing tracking

[tennelson55]

Originally Posted by smanzari

If it says "delivered" he's going to lose the claim

If he has spoken to USPS and they state it was delivered to the wrong address I don't understand how he would lose the claim. Get something in writing?

[bcdguy]

Originally Posted by tennelson55

If he has spoken to USPS and they state it was delivered to the wrong address I don't understand how he would lose the claim. Get something in writing?

I have text messages from someone at the post office, so it's "in writing" but not exactly official. I'm going to see if I can get an email confirmation.

I'm curious if the person who received the mis-delivered mail has any responsibility to turn the mail in. It's probably too late at this point but it doesn't seem like it's legal for someone to keep someone else's mail, right?

[tennelson55]

Originally Posted by bcdguy

I have text messages from someone at the post office, so it's "in writing" but not exactly official. I'm going to see if I can get an email confirmation.

I'm curious if the person who received the mis-delivered mail has any responsibility to turn the mail in. It's probably too late at this point but it doesn't seem like it's legal for someone to keep someone else's mail, right?

How do they contact you? They know nothing about you or your situation.

Focus on you. What can you do to get this rolling?

Call amex and file a claim NOW.

The other option - be out 300$ (not that much money)