DHL and a missing Watch

[jameswrx]

Just received a watch package from abroad via DHL, stood there and signed for it kid handed it to me and was off. Even before I got in the house I’m thinking this feels a bit light (queue me running after the van to no avail)

I got inside and rang DHL straight away before even opening the parcel. It was in one of their yellow plastic bags & I could feel a smal open box inside with nothing in it (I could feel through the bag aside from the weight)

I was adamant I wasn’t going to open it as I said to the girl it’s all sealed in their bag and how will they know I haven’t taken it and said it wasn’t in there! She insisted I open it to “make sure it wasn’t in there”. I did so and of coarse there’s just an empty small box complete with the neat foam the guy had wrapped it in still inside!

Absolutely fuming!

It’s clearly been tampered with by DHL as the bag has been cut down the middle and taped up with their tape so some light fingered git has had my Watch away!

The worst bit is the seller has marked the price right down to $30 which I never asked him to! He obviously wanted to make some money on the postage by saving on insurance.

This is a Watch that has cost me $398 plus $25 postage and it’s insured for $30! I guess some scrote has seen all these details and the watch inside!

It came via eBay but the woman has told me to wait til Wednesday afternoon for a call back update while they search lost property! FFS like that’s going to help. I’ve sent them pics of it from the advert as requested, probably just serve as laughing fodder for the guy who’s stolen it!

I know sometimes people get tempted to lower the value for saving money at customs at this end and likewise at the sending end to save postage costs but this is a good example why not! I guess internally a $30 loss wouldn’t be a bother but if it was insured for $400 it may have been different!

[Liner33]

Just received a watch package from abroad via DHL, stood there and signed for it kid handed it to me and was off. Even before I got in the house I’m thinking this feels a bit light (queue me running after the van to no avail)

I got inside and rang DHL straight away before even opening the parcel. It was in one of their yellow plastic bags & I could feel a smal open box inside with nothing in it (I could feel through the bag aside from the weight)

I was adamant I wasn’t going to open it as I said to the girl it’s all sealed in their bag and how will they know I haven’t taken it and said it wasn’t in there! She insisted I open it to “make sure it wasn’t in there”. I did so and of coarse there’s just an empty small box complete with the neat foam the guy had wrapped it in still inside!

Absolutely fuming!

It’s clearly been tampered with by DHL as the bag has been cut down the middle and taped up with their tape so some light fingered git has had my Watch away!

The worst bit is the seller has marked the price right down to $30 which I never asked him to! He obviously wanted to make some money on the postage by saving on insurance.

This is a Watch that has cost me $398 plus $25 postage and it’s insured for $30! I guess some scrote has seen all these details and the watch inside!

It came via eBay but the woman has told me to wait til Wednesday afternoon for a call back update while they search lost property! FFS like that’s going to help. I’ve sent them pics of it from the advert as requested, probably just serve as laughing fodder for the guy who’s stolen it!

I know sometimes people get tempted to lower the value for saving money at customs at this end and likewise at the sending end to save postage costs but this is a good example why not! I guess internally a $30 loss wouldn’t be a bother but if it was insured for $400 it may have been different!

If you bought it through ebay you will be fine , its the sellers problem . Goods not as described

[Sharky]

How did you pay? Via paypal / Credit Card?

I would wait until Weds for the call back then contact your card issuer and do a chargeback!

Mark

[Vanguard]

My company has things stolen by Couriers quite frequently, latest was a laptop we shipped to a guy in Cyprus, they tried to deliver an empty box to him, he worked out it was missing when they handed it to him because of the weight and refused to sign for it, we got their standard £30 compensation for a £1200 laptop, thanks TNT and the thieves you employ.

[hughtrimble]

If you bought it through ebay you will be fine , its the sellers problem . Goods not as described

I agree that eBay will likely side with the OP, but it will show the item as delivered. For the OP to get a refund he'll need to send the watch back to the seller if he went down the 'not as described route' but he can't as the watch is gone.

DHL will also likely say their contract is with the sender not the OP, which can make communications and finding out info quite challenging, so keep the seller on side for now.

[blackal]

A sorry tale.......

As mentioned - it looks like EBay will side with the buyer initially, but lack of watch (to return to seller) could be a big hurdle.

Looks like the only way of ensuring satisfaction in this kind of situation - is to actually film the receipt and opening of the parcel while the delivery fella stands by. Not sure how that would be accomplished either.

[Vanguard]

ebay will most likely give you the money back and as the seller has proof of delivery they will keep the funds as well

[Kingstepper]

I agree that eBay will likely side with the OP, but it will show the item as delivered. For the OP to get a refund he'll need to send the watch back to the seller if he went down the 'not as described route' but he can't as the watch is gone.

Ordered a watch, received some packaging. Send that back, it isn't as described for a watch.

[jameswrx]

Thanks for the replies, I’ve calmed down a bit now.

How did you pay? Via paypal / Credit Card?

I would wait until Weds for the call back then contact your card issuer and do a chargeback!

Mark

It was PayPal via eBay. I’m pretty sure I’d still get my money back if I went onto eBay over it. My Dad had the exact same scenario in Southern Ireland, eBay gave him a full refund and the seller gets the money take off them AFAIK. He did march into the local depot and asked who’d stolen his watch though which is quite amusing.

A sorry tale.......

As mentioned - it looks like EBay will side with the buyer initially, but lack of watch (to return to seller) could be a big hurdle.

Looks like the only way of ensuring satisfaction in this kind of situation - is to actually film the receipt and opening of the parcel while the delivery fella stands by. Not sure how that would be accomplished either.

Although I was a tiny bit slow, within a few seconds that was my exact thought to get the driver to witness me opening it. He was off down the road with me running and whistling as loud as I could. He looked about 12 so was probably too busy listening to the latest noise rather than checking his mirrors.

The woman on the phone wasn’t concerned with me opening it without witness (which I really didn’t want to do for obvious reasons) she just said “it’s ok, all the phone calls are recorded” ha, like that’s really handy. She was quite apologetic though and her answer was to ask all the depots that had handled it what happened. That will obviously be a totally fruitless exercise, it’s not like someone’s going to say “oh yeah I stole it, here you go”. The package was sealed back up with their DHL tape so it’s obvious it was done on purpose.

[Kozzy]

The worst bit is the seller has marked the price right down to $30 which I never asked him to! He obviously wanted to make some money on the postage by saving on insurance.

I know sometimes people get tempted to lower the value for saving money at customs at this end and likewise at the sending end to save postage costs but this is a good example why not! I guess internally a $30 loss wouldn’t be a bother but if it was insured for $400 it may have been different!

I think this is a wrong assumption - insurance is something you pay extra for with DHL (and UPS/FedEx). Usually for a $400 package business sellers will not use insurance (or have a flat company insurance policy for all of their parcels) as it's not really cost efficient. Insurance will easily run you 1%+ with the couriers and the misdelivery/theft rates are lower than that.
I think it's safe to assume the seller meant well and wanted to save you some importing fees, he is not saving any money by labeling it at a lower value. So when you're very angry keep in mind someone at DHL may have stolen your watch and the seller is legitimate, meaning to give you good service. He's responsible for the safe delivery and cheaping out on any aspect of the delivery mainly hurts him.

Other than that eBay/PayPal should have you covered, but give the seller a chance to fix this. Contact him and explain the situation, then he can contact DHL and they can start an investigation. Usually packages are weighed at several stages and hopefully something can be resolved. You'll surely get your money or your watch - there is very little chance of you being out of pocket.

[sweets]

I have under-insured when sending watches before, but I have always made the point of telling my buyer I was doing so, and that it was entirely my responsibility to get it to them, and a full refund would be given if it did not.
Did your seller state that they were sending uninsured???
Dave

[reggie747]

and the seller is legitimate

Incorrect. He wouldn't mark down the price if he was legit.

[blackal]

Incorrect. He wouldn't mark down the price if he was legit.

I took it to mean that he had actually sent the watch?

[reggie747]

I took it to mean that he had actually sent the watch?

Yeah, with a marked down price ?

[blackal]

Yeah, with a marked down price ?

“So when you're very angry keep in mind someone at DHL may have stolen your watch and the seller is legitimate,”

I think I got the context it was written in - correct?

[reggie747]

“So when you're very angry keep in mind someone at DHL may have stolen your watch and the seller is legitimate,”

I think I got the context it was written in - correct?

Perhaps yeah, I was hinting that the seller wasn't legit given that he marked the value down. I maybe should have included more of the quote, sorry.

[jameswrx]

I told the woman it came from eBay and asked if I should start the process there and contact the seller and she said it’s not anything to do with the seller.

The seller I trust as far as sending it, yes he was probably doing me a favour but I do know how much extra insurance costs as I have to insure watches I send back from service all over the world.

The way she was looking at the details and customs and reading it to me she seemed on my line that someone there at DHL had removed it and re-sealed it. Mind you, looking at the full tracking list it’s been passed around more times than a Thai bride. But I get the feeling it’s all lip service she finished the call with “sorry for the delay getting it there”. The delay! I told them in the email I’ll be getting the police involved, as it was sent in a sealed DHL bag and has since been cut open, removed and re-sealed with their tape their company has stolen it. Police won’t be interested obviously but they should be, it’s blatant theft of $423 isn’t it. Mind you I’ve had my wallet stolen twice and the most I got was a chat with a call centre (even though I gave them details of the second person that stole it)

I’ve also got another delivery from DHL coming Wednesday so I’ll be opening that in front of the driver.

[DeepThought]

Same thing happened to me.

Opened package and no watch.

It was an Autavia.

Bought from the bay via PayPal.

Reported it to PayPal, had to officially notify the police. Had to send the police reference to PayPal and about 4 weeks later I was refunded

DR


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[SimonK]

I sympathise, same thing happened to me, albeit with a low-value camera - not worth nicking in fact.

Only after I'd opened the parcel did I notice the brown packing tape had been carefully slit along the edge and re-sealed with invisible tape. The box was not light because the robbing scrote had put a manky old paperback in the box.

I literally felt myself going through the Küber-Ross stages - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

[deepreddave]

Sorry, not got a lot to add James other than good luck in recovering your purchase price.
I'd be thinking the seller was responsible for your loss and if eBay/PayPal didn't refund you it would be them you'd be seeking recompense from. I'd also expect DHL to take a keen interest in trying to establish whether it's one of their staff etc who is the thief, even if only to narrow down location etc for establishing any pattern of thefts etc.

[jameswrx]

Thanks chaps.

I have had replies to both emails today & in the second reply (reply to the police involvement) they’ve ‘escalated it to managers of every depot it went to’ and they’re giving it til Thursday at 18:00 to give me the bad news.

[murkeywaters]

I had a similar thing with an Air Rifle action a few years ago, myhermes lost/stole it, I phoned every depot that would have handled it and made a right fuss but to avail, I got some insurance money but it was no replacement, that was a sweet action..


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[Vanguard]

Thanks chaps.

I have had replies to both emails today & in the second reply (reply to the police involvement) they’ve ‘escalated it to managers of every depot it went to’ and they’re giving it til Thursday at 18:00 to give me the bad news.

It's just lip service, nothing will be done in reality

[jameswrx]

Yeah I’m fully ready for the “we couldn’t find it in lost property” line and they probably don’t even go through any search process. They must have this multiple times a day I’m sure and as I said earlier there’s no way someone’s going to hand it back after stealing it and lose their job!

[E_2_Right-Force]

What was the end result of this sorry saga?

[jameswrx]

What was the end result of this sorry saga?

As expected it never turned up. I had a call saying they couldn’t find it and I’d hear no more about it, the only other enquiries they’d do would be purely internal and I wouldn’t be notified of any result.

Had to go through eBay and I was given a refund. I guess the seller had the money taken back off him as he was protesting it was unfair (which I agree) but I guess he should have insured it properly. If he’d put a decent value on it then it most likely would have turned up in the first place anyway. I’ve no doubt there’s probably a level of insurance loss for DHL where they care a bit more.

It’s pretty bad that they can get away with blatant theft.

[Andy3536]

As expected it never turned up. I had a call saying they couldn’t find it and I’d hear no more about it, the only other enquiries they’d do we be purely internal and I wouldn’t be notified of any result.

Had to go through eBay and I was given a refund. I guess the seller had the money taken back off him as he was protesting it was unfair (which I agree) but I guess he should have insured it properly. If he’d put a decent value on it then it most likely would have turned up in the first place anyway. I’ve no doubt there’s probably a level of insurance loss for DHL where they care a bit more.

It’s pretty bad that they can get away with blatant theft.

Ok, so it might sound like a silly question. Luckily, this isn't something i've ever had to deal with.
But, if someone steals something from your house/car/workplace etc. You call the police.
But if a courier steals a package, there's only an 'internal investigation'

Is that as the police won't attend these types of thefts? Won't get involved?
Even if they do little, it might at least motivate the courier to do something if they at least attend the local depot.
If the watch really did cost £30 it makes sence to let it go, but a $400 theft should be worth looking at.

[Allwatches]

Ok, so it might sound like a silly question. Luckily, this isn't something i've ever had to deal with.
But, if someone steals something from your house/car/workplace etc. You call the police.
But if a courier steals a package, there's only an 'internal investigation'

Is that as the police won't attend these types of thefts? Won't get involved?
Even if they do little, it might at least motivate the courier to do something if they at least attend the local depot.
If the watch really did cost £30 it makes sence to let it go, but a $400 theft should be worth looking at.

Recently happened to me with my hermes delivery. I bought three pairs of shoes online totalling more than £200, expecting realistically to just keep one but never received it. Luckily (though this didn't change anything), they have a picture taken of where the package was delivered to and I can tell it was delivered to the flat next door based on the picture. I followed this up with hermes even though I didn't need to as its the sellers problem, and in this case it is a high street retailer, as I was interested seeing whether they would be able to retrieve it (and i was honestly very keen on trying the three pairs i bought). A week from when I first raised the issue, and after they conducted an internal investigation, the result is that they admit that it has been lost (duh!), and that i should contact the seller.. As a result of this, i checked all my online purchases (which were delivered by hermes) and noticed there were two other packages delivered by hermes, to the same incorrect building, which I have now also contacted the respective sellers about!

So I guess what i took from this is, delivery services don't have any responsibility for the packages, if they lose it, their insurance will probably take care of it anyway, so no loss for them. Not even sure what the point of the picture of the delivery location is, i suspect it probably helps to reduce the cost of their corporate insurance, but definitely didn't help with retrieving the package!

[IAmATeaf]

I had something similar happen a few years back. My son purchased some Logitech surround sound speakers for his PC, the parcel was massive as it included F, R, middle and sub speakers. I was working from home that day and I tracked the parcel every hour. At around 1pm its status was reported as having been delivered but not to my house. Eventually after a lot of phone calls I eventually spoke to the driver who detailed which house, we worked out it 5 or so doors away so knocked on the door and they claimed to know nothing. Eventually after many a call, the driver came round, knocked on the door, retrieved it and then delivered it to us. So without the drivers insistence I don't think we'd have got the parcel as the people there claimed nothing had been delivered.

[NigeG]

I had something similar happen a few years back. My son purchased some Logitech surround sound speakers for his PC, the parcel was massive as it included F, R, middle and sub speakers. I was working from home that day and I tracked the parcel every hour. At around 1pm its status was reported as having been delivered but not to my house. Eventually after a lot of phone calls I eventually spoke to the driver who detailed which house, we worked out it 5 or so doors away so knocked on the door and they claimed to know nothing. Eventually after many a call, the driver came round, knocked on the door, retrieved it and then delivered it to us. So without the drivers insistence I don't think we'd have got the parcel as the people there claimed nothing had been delivered.

I hope that you’ve sent all sorts of horrible, nasty things to your friendly, dishonest neighbour? Or at least signed them up for some hard sell appointments like double glazing or something