Refunding a customer?

[Shay]

A friend of the missus runs a baby clothes website, and now has a customer jumping up and down screaming for a refund. The customer is denying having received the order, however the courier has a signature of some sorts (not very legible) and what I am told is normal practice they have written the surname in block capitals so that clients can check online whose delivery it is.

What would be the standard practice in that situation? Should she refund the money to the purchaser and claim back from the courier or should she say she has a signature which confrims receipt or delay the refund once it has been discussed in depth with the courier?

In truth it doesn't amount to much but either way she doesn't want to lose out on money but also she doesn't want to lose a customer.

 

It may customer trying it on.

May be the courier company who made up the sig and kept the products (I have had this happen to me)

Which courier was it ?

 

[Shay]

I don't know. The goods are couriered direct from the distributor but this is the first time anything like this has happened.

 

All sorts of things could have happened here.

1) The courier delivered it to a nearby, but incorrect address. They may still have the item, but not want to give it out.

2) The courier delivered it to a nearby, but incorrect address. They may still have the item, having not gotten around to 'dropping it round' yet

3) The courier nicked it (highly unlikely really - they'd be nicking something more easy to sell on)

4) The customer is trying it on

5) The item is genuinely lost in transit, and the courier firms docs are slightly askew

etc

Best to talk to the courier first - they might be able to shed some light on the subject (mine can tell me if they left it with a neighbour, or in a shed, etc).

If the courier is adamant they deliveredit, get them to contact the driver that covers that area - he may know something more

Then raise a claim with the courier - if they cannot resolve this. If you are going to raise a claim, then you may send out another item to the customer to keep your good name intact (hoping your courier will reimburse you the original).

You will have to recognise that this will happen from time to time, factor this in, and do what is necessary to keep the customer happy (until you find out they are messing with you, then ban them, sue them or whatever).

HTH
Mark

 

[visagephoto]

I don't know. The goods are couriered direct from the distributor but this is the first time anything like this has happened.

I think it should be the distributors responsibility to deal with the courier in an attempt to locate or replace the (lost?) parcel, as it was them who contracted the courier, But if the parcel can't be located or delivery can't be confirmed within a reasonable period, I would reimburse the customer and claim compensation from the distributor.

 

[Gforster]

Unfortunately I think you have to reimburse the customer immediately if thats what they want, according to the distance selling regulations.....

 

[Mister B]

Dependent on the value of the order, I do not think that it is worth losing too much sleep over matters like this. As a rule of thumb, if an order gets lost and it is worth less than £25, I just send out a replacement or refund as a matter of course.

By the time that you factor in the cost of time and hassle to resolve the matter, it will have cost you more than the value of goods. In addition to this you will have alienated the customer which in turn, will probably cost you more than writing the original sum off would have.

The only exception that I have for this, is if I know that somebody has acted dishonestly. In this situation, the dogs come out, and boy do they come out

At the end of the day, customer is king...

Mister B

 

[Fuzzy]

I think good advice from Mister B, as a customer I would expect the company to take the matter up with the courier. As an owner of a business I would send out a replacement and if I didn't get any joy from courier , ditch then and use Boxby

 

[Wishcraft]

I am sorry to hear about this. It certainly makes you think twice about choosing a courier.

 

[Deleted member 22717]

As frustrating as these issues are (and we get it far too often when using the Royal Mail as opposed to a courier), it is best just to refund or replace the item. It's all about how you want to be perceived by your customers, and a bit of goodwill goes a long way.

 

[Oakesly]

I agree with Mister B too. We use Parcelforce 24/48 and Royal Mail 1st class recorded. Touch wood, never had a problem with Parcelforce, and Royal Mail parcels rarely get lost. But we have had a few Royal Mail 1st class recordeds which have taken as long as 12 days to arrive. In these cases, if the customer is getting anxious, we send out replacement goods immediately. If the first parcel then turns up a couple of days later, we wouldn't expect the customer to return it. At the end of the day, the cost price to us of the goods is negligible, compared with the loss of a customer's goodwill.