What is the name of your state? Illinois (California)
My question is at the bottom of this post - I have supplied a bunch of background information first. Thanks!
I won and payed for an item (expenisive cellphone) on eBay in August of last year. Paid $610 including shipping charges. At the time I was living in California.
Seller shipped item direct from Hong Kong (seller is registered in NY state on eBay's site, or somewhere on east coast). FedEx lost shipment at time of delivery, and I never received it. FedEx tracking information shows "delivered" but in fact item was lost, and FedEx admits liability to me on telephone. (Item was dropped off without signature as there was a release form on FedEx records. However release form was for previous resident and was some years old; FedEx admits that this was their mistake and they should not have dropped item off without signature. Item appears to have been stolen from doorstop.)
Attempted to contact seller. Seller claimed I had paid no insurance and therefore seller not liable for loss. I checked the item listing. Insurance is listed as an optional extra, although shipping is with FedEx. Seller says buyer must contact seller for more information about insurance. Terms of Service state that seller's liability ends with successful delivery of item. Seems to me the loss of item is liability for seller/FedEx, not for me, whether I paid for insurance or not, since FedEx should not have delivered item without signature.
I contact FedEx again. They recommend that I file a claim with FedEx. Anyone can file a claim, although FedEx's contract is with shipper/seller, not with recipient.
I file a claim with FedEx. All this takes time, and after I have not heard from FedEx or Seller for a while, I contact FedEx again. They confirm that they settled the claim with the Shipper (Seller) and made a payment to Shipper in Hong Kong, but refuse to disclose any details to me, as their contract is with Shipper, not with me. In fact, FedEx reveals to me that payout was for substantially less than the amount I paid, $610, but was for the value declared on the shipment, which was less (seller attempting to avoid customs/insurance charges for correct amount?) despite the fact that I paid $610.
I attempt to contact Seller with this information. Seller repeats earlier response that no insurance was paid for by me.
I file a claim with PayPal (I paid for item with PayPal, funded from Discover credit card). PayPal immediately rejects the claim, for reasons that are not clear to me (their reply is difficult to make sense of).
I issue a Chargeback (dispute) through Discover credit card services. PayPal informs me that dispute is reopened. More time passes.
After more than a month, PayPal informs me that case is closed in favor of seller, who provided FedEx tracking information that shows that the item was delivered. PayPal is near impossible to deal with, so I call my credit card company again. They confirm that "their hands are tied" as PayPal provided tracking information. I explain that despite the fact that the FedEx shows the item as being delivered, it was lost and I did in fact successfully file a claim with FedEx, who confirmed in telephone conversation that claim was settled and there was a payout. Discovercard recommends that I contact FedEx again and request written confirmation of this. They have dealt with situations like this before. With written confirmation, they can reopen the dispute with PayPal.
I contact FedEx International who confirm that a written statement "probably" will not be a problem, but will not show the amount. I am CURRENTLY waiting for this written response from FedEx.
My questions now follow! There are three possible outcomes as I see it.
(1) Discovercard reopens dispute and wins; $610 (plus interest charges) is credited to my account. I am happy.
(2) Discovercard reopens dispute and wins for amount that was DECLARED by seller on FedEx shipment; a partial refund (less, probably substantially less than $610) is applied to my card account. I am NOT happy.
(3) Discovercard repoens dispute but LOSES. I receive NO credit on my account.
I think (2) is the most likely outcome. My questions are:
(a) If the outcome is either (2) or (3), can I file a claim in the SMALL CLAIMS court?
(b) If I file, WHERE should I file? I originally paid for item in August, when I lived in California; it is now February, and I live in Illinois. I moved here at the end of December. Can I file in Illinois? If not, can I file in California without actually going there, e.g. by getting someone to represent me in the court (I do have someone who could do this).
(c) If I file, do I have a good chance of winning under either outcome (2) or (3) above, given that I DIDN'T contact seller for the "optional insurance" at time of paying for item? It seems to me that the seller is still liable for the loss, given what is stated on their ToS, irrespective of what value they declared on shipment to me. Plus, if seller knowingly declared substantially less than declared value of item on the FedEx shipment, e.g. to avoid customs charges etc, that doesn't look good for seller.
Thank you!What is the name of your state?
My question is at the bottom of this post - I have supplied a bunch of background information first. Thanks!
I won and payed for an item (expenisive cellphone) on eBay in August of last year. Paid $610 including shipping charges. At the time I was living in California.
Seller shipped item direct from Hong Kong (seller is registered in NY state on eBay's site, or somewhere on east coast). FedEx lost shipment at time of delivery, and I never received it. FedEx tracking information shows "delivered" but in fact item was lost, and FedEx admits liability to me on telephone. (Item was dropped off without signature as there was a release form on FedEx records. However release form was for previous resident and was some years old; FedEx admits that this was their mistake and they should not have dropped item off without signature. Item appears to have been stolen from doorstop.)
Attempted to contact seller. Seller claimed I had paid no insurance and therefore seller not liable for loss. I checked the item listing. Insurance is listed as an optional extra, although shipping is with FedEx. Seller says buyer must contact seller for more information about insurance. Terms of Service state that seller's liability ends with successful delivery of item. Seems to me the loss of item is liability for seller/FedEx, not for me, whether I paid for insurance or not, since FedEx should not have delivered item without signature.
I contact FedEx again. They recommend that I file a claim with FedEx. Anyone can file a claim, although FedEx's contract is with shipper/seller, not with recipient.
I file a claim with FedEx. All this takes time, and after I have not heard from FedEx or Seller for a while, I contact FedEx again. They confirm that they settled the claim with the Shipper (Seller) and made a payment to Shipper in Hong Kong, but refuse to disclose any details to me, as their contract is with Shipper, not with me. In fact, FedEx reveals to me that payout was for substantially less than the amount I paid, $610, but was for the value declared on the shipment, which was less (seller attempting to avoid customs/insurance charges for correct amount?) despite the fact that I paid $610.
I attempt to contact Seller with this information. Seller repeats earlier response that no insurance was paid for by me.
I file a claim with PayPal (I paid for item with PayPal, funded from Discover credit card). PayPal immediately rejects the claim, for reasons that are not clear to me (their reply is difficult to make sense of).
I issue a Chargeback (dispute) through Discover credit card services. PayPal informs me that dispute is reopened. More time passes.
After more than a month, PayPal informs me that case is closed in favor of seller, who provided FedEx tracking information that shows that the item was delivered. PayPal is near impossible to deal with, so I call my credit card company again. They confirm that "their hands are tied" as PayPal provided tracking information. I explain that despite the fact that the FedEx shows the item as being delivered, it was lost and I did in fact successfully file a claim with FedEx, who confirmed in telephone conversation that claim was settled and there was a payout. Discovercard recommends that I contact FedEx again and request written confirmation of this. They have dealt with situations like this before. With written confirmation, they can reopen the dispute with PayPal.
I contact FedEx International who confirm that a written statement "probably" will not be a problem, but will not show the amount. I am CURRENTLY waiting for this written response from FedEx.
My questions now follow! There are three possible outcomes as I see it.
(1) Discovercard reopens dispute and wins; $610 (plus interest charges) is credited to my account. I am happy.
(2) Discovercard reopens dispute and wins for amount that was DECLARED by seller on FedEx shipment; a partial refund (less, probably substantially less than $610) is applied to my card account. I am NOT happy.
(3) Discovercard repoens dispute but LOSES. I receive NO credit on my account.
I think (2) is the most likely outcome. My questions are:
(a) If the outcome is either (2) or (3), can I file a claim in the SMALL CLAIMS court?
(b) If I file, WHERE should I file? I originally paid for item in August, when I lived in California; it is now February, and I live in Illinois. I moved here at the end of December. Can I file in Illinois? If not, can I file in California without actually going there, e.g. by getting someone to represent me in the court (I do have someone who could do this).
(c) If I file, do I have a good chance of winning under either outcome (2) or (3) above, given that I DIDN'T contact seller for the "optional insurance" at time of paying for item? It seems to me that the seller is still liable for the loss, given what is stated on their ToS, irrespective of what value they declared on shipment to me. Plus, if seller knowingly declared substantially less than declared value of item on the FedEx shipment, e.g. to avoid customs charges etc, that doesn't look good for seller.
Thank you!What is the name of your state?
