Ebay damaged goods opinions please

etccarmageddon · 31-01-2006, 08:38

I purchased a dehumidifier from someone on ebay and it arrived yesterday - delivered in a box wrapped in a bin bag with no padding - ie. I would have put bubble wrap in there or similar but there was none. Just the machine inside a cardboard box!

I was advertised as 'new' and ex show room unused. The seller has no negative comments on their rep and a score of around 100.

So I open it up and straight away find the handle is cracked off the main body - I didn't even take it out of the box cos my first thoughts were.... hmm this isn't new and someone is trying to pull a fast one!

So I contacted the seller who replyed they were very sorry and it was fine when it was sent out so it must have been damaged during the delivery - please send back and I'll refund you. It's debateable whether this damage could be caused by a delivery but I have no proof to suggest it wasn't.

Now as they sent it recklessly ie. in such a way that it was bound to get damaged I think that's taking the pee a little as it will cost me around £18 to send back and they haven't said 'send it back and we will refund you the cost of that' - so I sent a message back saying 'I think you should arrange to collect it'.

I'm the cynical kind and dont trust people so am suspicious why it was sent in such bad packing but then remind myself that sometime people are thick and do stupid or careless things because they aren't control freaks like I am!

So opinions please, should I send it back at my cost and risk not getting my £18 back or should I stand my ground and if necessary go through the ebay disputes route? I know ebay will deduct £15 from any dispute compo I get but I dont care.

All (sensible) opinions welcome esp from experienced ebayers.

LSainsbury · 31-01-2006, 08:42

Why is going to cost £18? I've sent heavy video recorders from Hampshire to Scotland for £9!

Paul · 31-01-2006, 08:51

Think prices depend on size as well as weight these days. I would request a refund on the return costs as it was sent in packaging that was not good enough to protect it. Could have been just a mistake on their part but why should you pay for their mistake?

jellybaby · 31-01-2006, 08:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

Think prices depend on size as well as weight these days. I would request a refund on the return costs as it was sent in packaging that was not good enough to protect it. Could have been just a mistake on their part but why should you pay for their mistake?

Agreed

Angua · 31-01-2006, 09:01

Agree also! Did the outside box look dented in any way? If not they are taking the pee as I would have thought without some external force it would have been hard to damage such an item.

Scarlett · 31-01-2006, 09:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

...
It's debateable whether this damage could be caused by a delivery but I have no proof to suggest it wasn't.
...

Its certainly possible that it got damaged like that in transport, I once had a computer come back via a courier that had been dropped so hard that the metal case had bent out of shape by nearly an inch in the middle (and that was right angled metal). Surprisingly enough, it didn't boot up when I plugged it in...

I did get a new computer out of it though.

etccarmageddon · 31-01-2006, 09:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angua

Agree also! Did the outside box look dented in any way? If not they are taking the pee as I would have thought without some external force it would have been hard to damage such an item.

maybe - it would have rattled around so the damage could have been caused in transit. my other concern is that they are getting me to send this back and then will claim further damage on the return journey and ask me to claim against parcelforce - yes I am a very untrusting person!

---------- Post added at 09:22 ---------- Previous post was at 09:21 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

Think prices depend on size as well as weight these days. I would request a refund on the return costs as it was sent in packaging that was not good enough to protect it. Could have been just a mistake on their part but why should you pay for their mistake?

it's quite heavy - almost did myself in lifting it - around 16kg I think but will be checking later.

---------- Post added at 09:23 ---------- Previous post was at 09:22 ----------

Paul, would you request a refund on the return costs now and risk being turned down and then hassle or wait until the goods are back with them and after they refunded my initial purchase costs hassle them for the return costs?

Angua · 31-01-2006, 09:53

Now I am being really cynical here. But perhaps this guy makes his money by selling the same item over and over again by not packing it properly and charging too much for postage. I would investigate carriage costs before you send anything back. Then ask he send you the postage cost that he charged you then send it back by a cheaper method.
Or (and I am being truly cynical here) knowing how much hassle it is going to and fro over money you will give up.

At the very least you should get the cost of carraige back before you send anything anywhere.

andygrif · 31-01-2006, 10:08

How was the item sent to you? I ask becuase if it was an insured service, then the seller should contact the delivery company and start claiming on their insurance, and that includes the cost of delivery.

Of course if the delivery company saw that the package was lacking in packing (!) then they might be less inclined to pay out - but that's the seller's fault.

P&P fees are a very grey area. There is no compulsion for and refund of shipping costs, but it would be unreasonable to expect the seller to return at their cost something that arrived damaged.

I think you've made a good move asking for the unit to be collected from you - see what happens with that. Staples do a delivery service for about 10 quid, any parcel any size (up to 35kg I think) if all else fails.

I would request the full refund of costs as you were not to blame - reminding the seller that they can claim all any costs back from the delivery company's insurance scheme.

If this doesn't happen, then I would approach eBay/PayPal on the grounds that the seller was negligent, which is why you are expecting your shipping fees to be refunded too.

I had a similar situation with a seller from the US, it was a poorly packed item, and it didn't work out of the box. The seller offered me a refund (minus S&H) and of course asked for it back...so the S&H would had totalled 10 quid to get a refund of the purchase price of 15 quid.

I dug my heals in, mostly becuase he was a rude little man who couldn't care less - and eventually he coughed up

Paul · 31-01-2006, 10:31

Ask for the refund now, make sure all correspondance is done through the Ebay "contact seller" system and if the seller starts trying to back out you can then say to Ebay, "I've been reasonable and asked for a refund of money that I am out of pocket due to the inadequate packaging used by the seller". I would also take photos of the item in it's packaging so that you can show that it was sent without suitable protection.

etccarmageddon · 31-01-2006, 10:43

went to post office - it will cost £25.10 to send plus I've purchased bubble wrap at £4.98.

---------- Post added at 10:40 ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 ----------

the postage charged by the seller was ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£17.

---------- Post added at 10:41 ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 ----------

and I dont believe they have a claim as there is no visible sign of damage to the package on the outside - ie. it doesnt look like it's been dropped etc - any damage was either already there or caused by poor packaging.

---------- Post added at 10:43 ---------- Previous post was at 10:41 ----------

i have sent a message 'please organise collection of this item and a refund'.

SMHarman · 31-01-2006, 10:56

If you want to send anything heavy these days the post office is not the way to go. Our internet business has a contract with DHL that is next day UK up to 30kg for £8.50+vat. (About the same as the Staples rates). Post office charges £18.50 for the same Special Delivery up to 10kg. After that it is over to Parcel Force who we never found to be any good.

---------- Post added at 10:55 ---------- Previous post was at 10:54 ----------

Had you thought about taking a load of photos with a digital camera, then you can send it back in the same packaging and have evidence of the state it was in prior to your shipping it.

---------- Post added at 10:56 ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 ----------

The shipper accepted it for shipment in the packaging, they should have declined to accept it if they thought the packaging inadequate.

etccarmageddon · 31-01-2006, 13:18

the shipper wouldnt have known the item inside was not protected by bubble or cardboard or pollystyreen.

---------- Post added at 13:18 ---------- Previous post was at 11:49 ----------

they have replyed 'this item is being attended to and will let me know asap...'

etccarmageddon · 02-02-2006, 14:59

they contacted me on Tuesday asking for my phone number for the post office to contact me on - I assumed this meant they were arranging collection. I chased up today and they said they've 'been asked if the packaging was damaged during transit' so someone from the post office will be coming to see it and inspect it. So it looks like they are trying to put a claim in against the delivery agent. Are these people thick or did they give it to some sivvy to pack it who has lied and said he/she packed it really well?

The person who comes to see this will **** their pants laughing I recon as it is in a bin bag inside a cardboard box and fairly loose - not major rattling but loose enough. No obvious signs on the box that the box was chucked off the back of a van so I can not see any compensation claim going anywhere.

Now the issue I have is that I believe this item was sent out with the cracks in it anyway - ie. where the handle meets the body it has seperated - I dont believe that this kind of damage is likely to have been during transit.

Therefore my claim with ebay will be that it's not 'new' if they fail to refund my money after the post office laugh off their insurance claim.

Hom3r · 02-02-2006, 15:09

Having spent eight years of my working life in a warehouse that distributed S/W and some H/W to the like of PC world, Game, HMV to name but a few, to both Uk and worldwide shops I must have packed and put on to Van, lorries & Artics, I've seen how some of these goods are handles some times I say bigh heavy boxes on lighter boxes.

Some driver even told me that they have played football with the packages.

So some of the damage may have been caused by rough handling, but the package should equally have been packed proberly.