Question
Buyer states that an item I shipped double-boxed arrived shattered.
(First 'broken' claim EVER in 14 years.)
Anyhow, what's the proceedure?
Shipped via USPS priority mail, fully insured.
Do they take the item & the boxes/packing to their local post office?
What's required of me?
Thanks in advance.
Answer
Oooooooooooh, so sorry to hear of your "first" breakage!!!.....
Buyer should take package, including original packing materials & item to the PO...You should have the insurance paperwork...I "think" that they file a claim and then something is sent to you for signature and then somewhere along the line the PO pays the claim (of course they've got a million little "oh, it's YOUR fault, not ours" loopholes, but they should pay up eventually!!)...
(I'm alittle fuzzy on procedure too as I've only had one or two claims...)
Answer
The seller starts the process, they bought the insurance. Inform the buyer they will need to keep the package and all packing to present it to their post office.
Answer
I imagine that there are a variety of ways to handle the process, but what I've done in the past, with minimal hassle for everyone involved, is:
Get the proper form -- I believe that it is Form 1000 -- from the post office and complete all of the sections except for the small section that is to filled out and signed by the recipient. I send the form, along with the insurance slip and a hardcopy receipt for the transaction (showing the item, purchase amount, shipping and total), to the buyer. I ask the buyer to review the form and complete and sign in the appropriate place.
The buyer should bring the completed form, along with the damaged item in its original packaging, to their local post office. I've been told in the past that the post office often is able to process claims a bit faster if the paperwork includes proof of payment, so I suggest that the buyer obtain and bring a copy of their cancelled check, or credit card statement, or a printout of the payment made by Pay Pal.
In all of the years that I've been doing this, I've had few enough claims that I can still count them on my fingers. In most cases, if the customer has been reasonably nice, I also include two or three dollar bills with the claim form and documentation, suggesting that the buyer get a cup of coffee or a soda on me before or after they go to the post office. I *always* apologize more than once for the disappointment, hassle and inconvenience. Even though it wasn't my fault or that of the buyer -- it *is* a disappointment, hassle and inconvenience!
Because I take care of the paperwork on my end and mail it directly to the customer (thus putting the onus on them to take the next and final step), and perhaps because I'm pleasant and apologetic -- I generally never hear anything more from the buyer. I remember once getting an email that the post office paid their claim, and once a thank you for the coffee money and for being nice. To the best of my knowledge, all six or so claims in which I've been involved have been paid. I can't imagine the post office not paying a claim for a double-boxed package, so there probably isn't much to worry about from a risk management perspective.
Good luck!
Answer
Thank you, all!
What do I do, though, if the receipt for the transaction contains OTHER transactions? If I send the buyer my 'hard copy', then I don't have a 'hard copy' for any of the other shipments I made. (There's 6 shipments on the receipt and one for 100 stamps - only one pertains to this buyer.) Can I just make a copy of the receipt and send that?
I've already fallen over myself in appologizing, but enclosing a few bucks for coffee (or whatever) is a great idea! (thank you!)
Answer
Oh, and finally, should I refund the customer now myself, out of my pocket, then file for the insurance myself? I know that there's a risk (to me) in doing that - something about if the buyer doesn't fill out their portion of the form or something.
Insurance was for $250.00, but the package contained multiple (different) items.
Three small light-weight items, and one larger glass item (the one they claim was damaged * $175.00.)
The other items seemed to have arrived fine - only the glass item arrived broken.
Answer
I would make the final action be the buyers. If you refund now, fill out the paperwork and then ask the buyer to do their end, they have no incentive to do so.
Ask the p.o. what you should do with regards to the receipt-they'll know. Initiate the insurance claim on YOUR end, with the refund going to the buyer.
Answer
I imagine that you can send a copy of the insurance slip with multiple transactions; maybe just use a highlighter to identify the one that is being claimed. Failure to produce the original document sounds like a ploy that a post office would use to reject a claim if they were looking for an excuse to do so -- so just a thought; send the original and keep the copy for yourself since the chances of your having another claim on the other five transactions are slim.
I've never paid the claim myself in advance. I've never even presented it as an option. I'm always very business-like about everything, apologizing and letting them know that the form will arrive in the next day or so; they need to complete it and take the damaged item in its original packaging to the post office; and the post office will pay the claim to them directly.
If you want to provide the option of paying the claim yourself, I'd at least ask the customer to send a copy of the claim form, filled out and stamped as received by her post office, before making the refund.
In my experience, if I'm pleasant and reasonable about things in general, the customers are pleasant and reasonable, too. Don't worry too much about this!
Answer
Buyer is being most cooperative.
> I took it to the Post Office and they finished unpacking it.
> The piece across the top of the basket handle was also broken off.
> They said it was very well packed and marked correctly.
> They told me to ask you to take the original insurance slip to your local
> post office and inform them a claim has been filed.
I'm on my way with the original slips right now.
Hopefully, everything will turn out ok for us both.
XXcrossing my fingersXX
Answer
Not a word from the buyer all this time.
Today's mail brought a letter from the USPS/Accounting Service Center, Claims & Inquiry Section re: this claim. (I sent the original insurance slip AND the original shipping receipt to the buyer so that they could initiate the claim and collect.)
Letter reads in part:
"The postal insurance claim submitted for the article referenced above was incomplete."
Postal regulations require that proof of insurance coverage must be presented before indemnity can be paid for the items lost or damaged in the mail. Please present the mailing receipt to any postal location so they may verify the amount of insurance coverage purchased or provide a copy of the mailing receipt to this office.
.....
If a response is not received within thirty (30) days from the date of this letter (January 20, 2006), the claim will be denied."
Other than the scan of the shipping receipt (paid receipt from the post office that had other shippings on it, too) and a scan of the insurance tag (original sent to buyer together with the original "sales" receipt from the post office), what am I supposed to do? I don't have the originals - I sent them both the buyer. All I have is the scans I made of them before I sent them. Why hasn't/isn't the BUYER presenting these to the post office - I sent the required information/receipts to him to handle (in addition to a little something extra to compensate him for his troubles.)
Again, this is my very first claim for damages and I haven't a clue what I'm supposed to do now. Will the post office accept my personally made scans as "proof"? And what the heck has the buyer done with the originals?
Since I hadn't heard anything from the buyer in all this time, I ASSumed that this was already paid and a done deal. Am I still liable for this?????