Merchant not refunding my money

What is the name of your state?
California

Basically the short story is as follows:
I bought some jewelery (4 rings) on the internet from a merchant who has a decent reputation. The rings were shipped to me on approval. I decided not to keep the rings and had the merchant have Fedex pick them up from me.

When the Fedex man came to pick up the rings, I asked if they wanted to check the contents of the package, he said just seal the box and hand it to me. The merchant claimed to have receive the box (in a torn and resealed condition) with 2 of the rings ($2100) missing. They said they had filed an insurance claim for the rings but said they would not give us the claim details. On a separate note, I called Fedex with that shipping number to enquire if a claim has been initiated, they said no, but confirmed that the package said the rings in there were worth $6700.

By the way, the merchant has refunded me $4600 for the rings they received, but are refusing to refun the $2100 outstanding.

Here is the response from the merchant;

I cannot assume that the rings were stolen by FedEx. According to our insurance policy and our store policies, once you accept delivey of the rings your homeowners insurance must cover loss. We recieved two rings back and we credited your account.

According to Cara, she filed a claim with FedEx but they will deny responsibility as well. Please file a police report and claim the stolen rings on your own insurance.

I realize you have options through American Express so please file whatever claim you wish with them, do not engage me in a dispute. I am 99% sure that FedEx did not steal the rings. That does not seem like a possible scenario.


My question:

What can I do in this situation? Where does the burden of proof lie in a situation such as this. Basically there are 3 parties involved - myself, Fedex and the merchant. Anyone can say that the rings were stolen by another party.

Any help/guidance on how to proceed in this regard would be greatly appreciated.

thanks.

Hi Everyone,

I am indesperate need of advice on whose 'burden of proof' it is when an item is lost in transit. I have searched all forums regarding a similar case but haven't found anything close.

thanks in advance for any advice/suggestions.

File a claim with Fed Ex since you did have the package insured when you returned it correct?

The jewellery shop is the recipient and they provided a pickup label for Fedex so they are "technically" considered the shipper and the receiver. I talked to Fedex and they say, it is only the jewelery shop who can initiate the claim **NOT** me.

The jewelery shop refuses to disburse any claim information to me and I have really no way of finding out what amount those rings were insured for unless I can obtain information from them?
Do I have any legal recourse in this matter?

In a phone conversation the, dealer had indicated that the package was received opened and taped up. I believe this itself is reason to show that the burden lies on the recpient - but again this was not stated in writing to me, they said this in a phone conversation. Can you think of any way to use this fact?

thanks again for your help.