My Favorite Customer Scam Attempts

[♥altoid 151]

Most folks are good, decent and honest.

However, here are a couple of my favorite customer scam attempts...

1.

Customer:  I bought this item for my dog and it's too small.  Please send the next size up.

Checking sale records we find the purchase was months, sometime a year or more ago.

Response:  I'm sorry that happened.   Please return the item clean and original condition,  with tags attached and we'll process for you.

Result:  Never hear from them again.

2.

Customer:  The item you sent is broken/damaged.  How do you plan to make this right by me?

Response:  I'm sorry that happened.  Please send pictures of the damaged item and the original packing.  Thank you.

Result:  Never hear from them again.

 

[LeeFoster 95]

I worked for online retailers for about 15 years and I've heard all sorts of reasons for needing to return something. The good thing is for the most part the Consumer Contracts Agreement has you covered.

[Zzyzx1234 5]

We get the item hasn't arrived a little more often than we should, thankfully most of our items have some form of tracking

[LeeFoster 95]

I think the best I've heard was someone bought a laptop in July and tried to return it as damaged in December as it was an 'xmas' present they'd not opened it until xmas day.

Edited October 16 by LeeFoster

[♥14steve14 488]

I have had a few funny return requests in the past.

1. Customer contacts me and asks why the parcel they received was empty. They then insinuate that someone in the picking department must have stolen it. I explain that I am a one person business and I will check the certificate of posting to see what weight was registered when posting. The phone went dead never heard from again.

2. The item is faulty. I ask that the item is returned  with a copy of the original invoice as proof of purchase. They refuse to return item, and I refuse a refund. Upon checking their details I find it was 13 months after they purchased the item. Never hear from again.

3. A customer accused me of sending a short coil of wire. He bought 10m of wire which is hand measured and cut from a large reel. I ask for the item to be returned with a copy of the invoice and it does actually come back but its in about 8 short lengths. The copy invoice is not even one of mine, but one of my competitors who I get along with. We both laughed about it now, but no refund was given.

Customers do at time try it on.

[♥raiwa 1,043]

To avoid claims for receiving empty package or damaged or wrong item:

- take a  mobile photo with the item and all additional packaging placed open and visible on the envelope/box (showing also the address label) and placed on a scales which shows the package weight.

- then once it is packed, take another photo with the closed envelope/box (showing also the address label) on the scales showing the weight.

- if you have small items which ship in a bubble envelope, don't forget to paste an extra packaging tape over the flap.

- always use registered mail

- if they claim they received an empty/opened envelope/package, it's the customers job to claim the shipping company.

Edited October 16 by raiwa

[♥raiwa 1,043]

Best negative comment of a customer:
- "the earrings are much smaller than on the photo" and attached a photo showing the earrings beside a ruler which showed the exact size like specified in the description. (The product photo showed only the earrings without any size reference).

[♥14steve14 488]

I know someone that bought a set of bathroom fittings (large towel rail, hand towel rail, toilet roll holder, toilet brush) from a suppler of ebay. She was explaining about how great these items looked in the pictures and even showed me a picture, and thought they were cheap at £12-00 the set including postage, so she bought one. She then bent down and picked up the smallest padded envelope that you have ever seen and tipped out the set. They were for a 12th scale dolls house. I almost wet myself laughing.