( I will update as the situation develops with the different parties involved, might have to go to the local police station or call up to get a crime number, not sure if I can walk in to a station to do that )
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Original Post
Horrible situation, buyer in tears as it seems the item she bought from me was stolen in the post.
Just wanted to find out what tue Options are here, at first when I got the initial message I was a bit suspicious as you would be saying it was just bubble wrap and the package has been cut open. I guess it’s true, Hermes recorded delivery with signature and insured.
I have the pic from the Hermes tracking and her pics and correspondence, she wants a refund from me, item has been delivered with tracking and Hermes picture to prove but what happens if they stole it and just delivered an empty bag, in the Hermes deliver picture top of bag is black which is the inside of the bag that shouldn’t be visible like it has been opened but her pics she send me don’t match that but it’s the opposite side of the bag then I asked for more pics.
What is the best way to contact Hermes & should I contact eBay now ?
Here is the entire correspondence
Inside the bag the solid box that I sent is 6cm x 6cm x 25 cm long
I can’t see that in the bag looks flat, that pic taken by driver below upon delivery
When I asked her for photos of the other side of bag she sent me the above first from Hermes with that response than other pics
First 2 pics with initial email it’s the opposite side of pic in Hermes delivery / tracking pic.
Then she sent other side after I asked
Here is the delivery photo taken by driver, inside the bag was the box which 25cm long 6cm high & wide, it was bubble wrapped 3/4 layers meaning it’s probably 8-9cm high & wide. There is no way it’s inside this back, the shape of the box would be clearly visible.
The Hermes pic taken by the drive which I have taken a screenshot from the Hermes web site tracking section.
as you see top left is black that’s the inside of the bag that should be showing, that would only show if it’s been forced open self sealing bags
Extremely stressful situation and I have no idea how to proceed.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Sorry - MISSING PHOTOS SENT By her FROM THE OTHER SIDE
So the above two is the side that u see in Hermes pic by driver
The below is the two she sent wit first email then I asked for the other side that you see above
I asked her late this afternoon why she accepted an empty bag from a driver as item should be 600/700 grams long thick box this was her response Which do believe as the same has happened to me many times
She did say she contacted Hermes by phone which went very badly as it was a scam number charging her £6 pounds and the online chat didn’t want to help
UPDATE
At this point I’m sure it has been stolen by someone at Hermes, 95% sure For the following 2 reasons
1. The box was solid 25cm long 6cm high & 6 cm wide,
bubble wrapped 2/3 layers making it mostly like 8cm+ high & wide, i remember it was clear to make out the shape of the box, the bag looks completely empty in the picture taken by driver
2. In the picture you can clearly see the top left section of the bag is all black but should be white like rest of bag, inside the bag is black outside is white, you will only see blsck if the bag is torn open. I can’t believe they would be so stupid and obvious doing this.
It’s fully insured, I wonder if the people stealing have access to see value of the item insurance at Hermes so they select small items with high value. This was over 170£ insured?
Item is purchased through packlink, eBay’s shipping service which went through INPOST that used Hermes, full insurance taken through Packlink.
—————-/
Original Post
Horrible situation, buyer in tears as it seems the item she bought from me was stolen in the post.
Just wanted to find out what tue Options are here, at first when I got the initial message I was a bit suspicious as you would be saying it was just bubble wrap and the package has been cut open. I guess it’s true, Hermes recorded delivery with signature and insured.
I have the pic from the Hermes tracking and her pics and correspondence, she wants a refund from me, item has been delivered with tracking and Hermes picture to prove but what happens if they stole it and just delivered an empty bag, in the Hermes deliver picture top of bag is black which is the inside of the bag that shouldn’t be visible like it has been opened but her pics she send me don’t match that but it’s the opposite side of the bag then I asked for more pics.
What is the best way to contact Hermes & should I contact eBay now ?
Here is the entire correspondence
Inside the bag the solid box that I sent is 6cm x 6cm x 25 cm long
I can’t see that in the bag looks flat, that pic taken by driver below upon delivery
When I asked her for photos of the other side of bag she sent me the above first from Hermes with that response than other pics
First 2 pics with initial email it’s the opposite side of pic in Hermes delivery / tracking pic.
Then she sent other side after I asked
Here is the delivery photo taken by driver, inside the bag was the box which 25cm long 6cm high & wide, it was bubble wrapped 3/4 layers meaning it’s probably 8-9cm high & wide. There is no way it’s inside this back, the shape of the box would be clearly visible.
The Hermes pic taken by the drive which I have taken a screenshot from the Hermes web site tracking section.
as you see top left is black that’s the inside of the bag that should be showing, that would only show if it’s been forced open self sealing bags
Extremely stressful situation and I have no idea how to proceed.
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Sorry - MISSING PHOTOS SENT By her FROM THE OTHER SIDE
So the above two is the side that u see in Hermes pic by driver
The below is the two she sent wit first email then I asked for the other side that you see above
I asked her late this afternoon why she accepted an empty bag from a driver as item should be 600/700 grams long thick box this was her response Which do believe as the same has happened to me many times
She did say she contacted Hermes by phone which went very badly as it was a scam number charging her £6 pounds and the online chat didn’t want to help
UPDATE
At this point I’m sure it has been stolen by someone at Hermes, 95% sure For the following 2 reasons
1. The box was solid 25cm long 6cm high & 6 cm wide,
bubble wrapped 2/3 layers making it mostly like 8cm+ high & wide, i remember it was clear to make out the shape of the box, the bag looks completely empty in the picture taken by driver
2. In the picture you can clearly see the top left section of the bag is all black but should be white like rest of bag, inside the bag is black outside is white, you will only see blsck if the bag is torn open. I can’t believe they would be so stupid and obvious doing this.
It’s fully insured, I wonder if the people stealing have access to see value of the item insurance at Hermes so they select small items with high value. This was over 170£ insured?
Item is purchased through packlink, eBay’s shipping service which went through INPOST that used Hermes, full insurance taken through Packlink.
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89 Comments
sorted byHowever, the fact that you put it in an Inpost locker is the big red flag for me here! The number of times I've opened the locker to find someone else's parcel there - it could easily be any member of the public that has stolen it while in the locker - their system doesn't work!
If you're a scuzzy kind of person you can just take someone's else's parcel pretty much a third of the time when you post your own in the locker (obviously I never have even been tempted but I can easily see how someone else opens a locker, finds someone else's parcel in there and just thinks "I'll have that" and there's basically no way if getting caught).
NEVER use an Inpost locker for something worth over a fiver. (Sorry I'm not victim blaming. It's easy to realise in hindsight - of course you didn't know this in advance) (edited)
wow i'd never heard of them...
uk.trustpilot.com/rev….uk
looked at trustpilot saw this one
Inpost lockers courier service is not entirely reliable. Of approx 15 parcels sent, 11 have been successfully delivered. The rest, either lost, stolen or tracked until they end up at the sorting office and then tracking stops. Found the very small parcels tend to go missing.
Today i went to send 2 parcels and on scanning my barcode, a locker with someone elses parcel opened up. I closed the locker and scanned again and the same locker kept opening. No wonder parcels go missing as this is how they are stolen!!! The only way to open a fresh locker was by stating my parcel did not fit and open up a medium locker instead.
Yes it's the sender who opens the claim.
Yes it's the seller who is responsible for refunding the buyer, you would then need to get the money back from Packlink provided their investigation with INPOST / Hermes is successful (which as the above poster said, could be an uphill battle).
But ultimately you would need to get as much evidence as possible and submit that on the claim. Unfortunately you will be out of pocket until Packlink refund you as you will need to refund your buyer. If you don't, they'll likely just open a case on eBay and it'll be an automatic refund. If Packlink choose not to reimburse you then you'll be at a loss unfortunately.
Your contract is with Packlink, who sold you delivery with INPOST (who subsequently outsource their delivery to Hermes).
All the information you need is here: support-ebay.packlink.com/hc/…ss-
There's a link at the bottom of the article to the claims form.
Get as much evidence as you can from the buyer and submit your claim within the timescales they give. (edited)
Yes course I paid over 5£ for just the insurance
I had to give a weight when posting, it’s under 1kg so just went in as small parcel when creating a label, it’s clear the bag is empty on delivery looks almost flat, it was a long thin box 3cm x 5cm x 15cm , that bag in Hermes pic looks empty (edited)
Sounds spot on to me. I have had deliveries in the past that had no weight to them but contained stuff that I ordered.
I think she is telling the truth.
If she was a con artist she could avoid all this hassle & just say parcel was empty & that would be the end of it. You would end up having to refund her.
Yeah don't do this ffs.
As you note yourself OP Hermes' own pic shows it opened. Anything further than that is unlikely and certainly unprovable.
I used packlink, it’s the eBay shipping service, full insurance taken
The box was 25cm long, 6cm by 6cm, there is no way the box at the door step has this box inside looks empty or my eyes no good ?
In my experience, for anything beyond £150-200, Royal Mail Special Delivery is better because for a total of £7.55, you are covered up to £500. (edited)
👆that is only one thread, that I picked out of my browsing history from ages ago but do a search of Consumer Action Group - Postal and Delivery Services forum for Hermes / Packlink and read every thread you can to get an idea of what you will need to do to get a refund.
Read, read, read... then read some more.
Essentially, you don't need to have purchased the extra "insurance" (which is a complete con BTW) as long as you declared the correct value of the lost item when you booked the delivery in with Hermes. However, you will probably have to go down the route of sending a Letter Before Action to Hermes to get compensated for the full value of your item due to their negligence and / or the criminality of the their staff.
The advice is all there in that forum but you will have to read and do all the legwork, there is little in the way of hand holding but if you are determined to see it out, you will get a result in your favour.
Good luck!
Just to add, as your situation is similar to mine in that you used Packlink / Hermes... I had an item worth £25 (I think) go missing, I hadn't paid for any insurance. I had the email receipt to prove I had dropped it off at the InPost locker, I raised a claim with Packlink and got £20 (because that's the default compensation when you don't pay the "extra" insurance) back fairly quickly. (edited)
Her pics show both sides
One side has the address box on the plastic bag which empty the other side doesn’t
What do you see ?
The Hermes delivery pic is from this morning I took it myself screen shot same as one she sent. The close ups of bag taken by her also same course, my bag yes
Based on the delivery pic at the door step YES as top left corner of bag all showing blsck plastic which is the inside of the bag should be all white unless she did something to the bag like opening it before the driver took pics (edited)
Call me a cynic but ..She could have opened it placed it on the door mat.. went out and took a pic herself.
You can clearly see that on the first picture there is a tear in the middle and in the second there is no tear.
She accepted a bag left on the floor leaning up against the door. Couldn't have been anything from anyone.
Then went inside & buy that time the driver has well gone. Driver was half way to the van when the photo was took. (edited)
This is the response I got after asking her why she accepted an empty bag. It seems legit as this has happens to me before, you open the door, package is on the floor and they want to take photo.
What do you guys think of her response
This person has been using eBay since 2002 no negative feedback
Or sellers could just scam people sending out empty packages.
You can claim on insurance. I take it you got insurance? You will have to get her to return all the packaging to you as it is.
What is clear in the photo?
The photos taken from the buyer will not help on their own however the photo from the deliverer is your saving grace, when both photos are put together it is obvious the item was tampered with.
You wont get refunded straight away and will probably have to jump through some hoops but im fairly confident you will get your money back (provided you paid for the cover when you purchased your shipping otherwise its default £20 I believe).
I claimed back from Hermes last year for a rockband set to the value of £250 that went missing, I refunded the buyer and after 2 weeks of back and forth with Hermes not only did they send me a 'Post hole digger' (they thought it was my parcel???) I got my full refund and even more hilariously a week later I got my rockband set delivered back to me, crazy (No I didnt tell them).
Its pretty crappy when selling on Ebay as your always open to this kind of thing however if you cover your paperwork properly you will normally get your money back eventually.
Sorry. No
I have only used Hermes once & just stick to Royal Mail. So I do not know the process.
I should imagine they will certainly want the packaging the lady has, so I suggest she sends it back as it is.
Best of luck.
Its taken by Hermes driver,
it’s on the tracking page of Hermes
it’s supposed to be proof of delivery but as much as I look at that bag there is no way there is a 25cm long box in there,
6cm wide 6cm high,
looks very flat and top left corner of bag is black in Hermes picture, that should be all white as black is inside the bag outside is white so the top was torn.
It’s packlink I paid, contract is with packlink not Hermes, it’s eBay’s in house shipping service (edited)
They took the photo.
If it wasn't you it must be Hermes
I asked her last night about the police but that was not for police to investigate her, it’s only for the insurance as it was fully covered, she did not take the item, it was a big box 25cm x 6cm x 6cm
She was totally fine with the police contacting her if it helps and she would answer any questions to help or provide info
As you can see from the picture uploaded by Hermes driver at delivery the bag is empty
Here is her response last night when I stated I will open case with police for insurance purposes. (edited)
Reason: Sooner or later someone might either not read the file or dismiss everything you have said & ask for the damaged item to be sent to them before settling the claim.
Not being funny. I would have opened the case by now too. Don't take it personally. She is a victim too & she is not in control of if or when you get a refund.
However, I would call ebay & tell them that the item was stolen & it is not a case of damaged packaging & its theft.
As for the insurance claim (which is separate to the ebay case) then unless you keep correcting them to say on every correspondence that is it a theft case not a case of damage then sooner or later it might get very confusing to anyone picking up the file.
You have 2 things going on. Both independent of the other:
Ebay dispute, which she will win but you need to get the record changed to theft of item during delivery process.
Insurance claim that needs to be, again, theft by courier.
Don't confuse the two.
I know you will be out of money in the meantime but thats Ebay. Nothing you can do about it. Do you really expect the buyer to do without their money instead of you doing without yours? What if you were the buyer & she was the seller?
So. Call Ebay today & set the record straight. But ebay won't be waiting for their money either. They will recover it from your account or bank or card & then give it back to the buyer.
So I went through packlink, I paid with full insurance, packlink used inpost and the Hermes staff stole the contents and delivered an empty bag.
Problem is packlink is a Spanish company not a British one, seems like they have nobody to answer to in the Uk
Can’t believe eBay are taking part in this as they prompt packlink on the platform and offer the service
I had a package left right at the front door of the building, over 50 apartments I’m on the 4th floor, driver signed it off as delivered leaving it at the door just inside the front door entrance,
clearly taken / stolen by someone coming in or leaving the building could be anyone.
It’s not worth much but still annoying.
My front door is 4 floors up, can’t believe drivers think it’s ok to do that ?
Is that acceptable, it’s not heavy less than 1.5kg so can’t say too heavy or something
That is the problem I’m having they just don’t respond they are based in Spain there is no uk office (edited)
To be honest who doesn't come off crying attempting to phone herpes (hermes)
Did you buy the postage direct from Hermes or via Packlink / eBay delivery?
Used them many times never had a problem will actually it’s INPOST eBay delivery partner, they provided the service and used Hermes, I don’t even know if I’m supposed to contact INPOST or Hermes or it’s the receiver that should contact them.
inpost.co.uk/
It looks like the packed was tampered with as top left of deliver pic showing BLAcK , it’s the inside of the bag.
Packlink yes and fully insured ? Can you advise please
What do you think of buyer? Seems legit to me, she has an old established account, I’m usually suspicious but I’m this case I can’t imagine it’s a made up story specially because of the Hermes picture of delivery, the top left side of bag should be showing any black that inside of the bag (edited)
Ok thank you will check it now and open claim, I presume it’s the sender that opens the claim not the receiver.
Do you know what eBay would do about this, I’m trying to do my best to help the buyer with this and I paid more for insurance which I didn’t charge the buyer for. Should I contact eBay at all ? As buyer said in first message she wants a refund, is the seller responsible for this ?
Looking at the photos, it does seem genuine and legit the parcel was tampered with, and the driver was happy enough to do a delivery photo of this.
Unfortunately, as the seller, YOU will need to sort this out with Packlink.
As this stage, I would refund the buyer and proceed with compensation claims from Packlink.
Genuinely GOOD LUCK!
The Hermes drivers tend to be fine, I've found the theft usually happens at the sorting offices.
I hope you get it sorted and the fact they took photo of it opened might help with insurance claim..