Latest Ebay scam using valid tracking # to wrong address

The Gwyneth Paltrow candles?

I don’t understand all the fuss of the different address. They could just ship an empty, with the right weight, package to the right address and it’s done, no ? Then most people would accept the package and the tracking would be the proof.

No, thank goodness, and definitely not the ones that smell like her lady parts...

These were Fornasetti - beautiful, quirky and great design pieces too.. well, they would be if they’d actually been sent!

To you and @southtexas I was wondering about the same thing. At least in the U.K., I think the scam goes something like this:

- Postcodes in the U.K. in a town don’t typically cover a specific house, for example in my case, mine covers about 20
- So the scammer sends some rubbish to a few doors away, with no name. On the Royal Mail system it shows as scanned, delivered and signed for, and so that’s what eBay will show.
- Recipient of rubbish is puzzled and puts it in the bin
- You say it wasn’t delivered but eBay say as far as they are concerned it was, they have proof it was and won’t therefore give you a refund. And even you can track it down, you can’t ask for a return as you having nothing to return, so ebay still finds for the scammer
- if the scammer did as you suggest and sent an empty envelope in the post to your actual address, you could open an “item not as described”, eBay would get you to send it back and would find for you straight away

It’s a clever scam, taking advantage of the gaps between the various providers, eBays shipping policy, and the way the postal system works. You also have to persevere, and might not for low value items, which I bet the scammers are counting on most people not doing so. In my case I was lucky as I’m working from home, and have a friendly regularl postman.

So my lessons learned:
- get a video doorbell, Nest camera or similar and make sure it covers your front door and immediate neighbours if you can
- if a package does show as having arrived but you don’t have it, check with your neighbours as quickly as you can
- in any case, ask the seller to take a snap of the parcel with a tracking sticker at the post office to show they have the right address, by politely mentioning you’ve had delivery problems before
- be friendly with and get to know your postman -
I’m guessing scammers will go for the cheapest option, which here in the U.K. is the Royal Mail - ours has been doing his round for 5 years, we give him a bottle of wine every Christmas, which also maybe helps! In any case he was more than willing to help me track it down

I had of course checked the seller - all positive feedback in the last few months - but of course that seems easy to fix up...

On a similar issue, I recently had an order of coffee from Amazon that showed delivered and “handed over to resident”. Of course this didn’t occur and at least in the US, Amazon now requires Amazon delivery drivers to photograph the delivery at the home’s front step/door, unless it’s handed to the resident. Amazon refunded my money but I wondered why this occurred? Was the driver too lazy to delivery it? Did they want to keep my coffee?

No they don't. Last two high value deliveries from FedEx they just left on front porch, even though they were signature required. I happened to see the second one and stepped out and asked him about signature, and he says they weren't allowed to do that anymore due to COVID. Went on amazon and no photo confirmation either.

I think Amazon only requires their own delivery drivers to photograph the delivery, not if the shipment is done through FedEx. Coincidentally my new straps from Delugs show delivered as of yesterday but they never arrived. Apparently DHL does photograph (if you call it that) and I can tell that’s not my front step (using my sleuthing skills 😀 I also have outdoor video cameras that don’t show any DHL delivery drivers arriving at the time they show as delivered. I suspect it may have been dropped off at my neighbors but they’re not home and I’ll have to check later. I too have caught FedEx and UPS drivers leaving packages in front of my house and running away as I see them on the cameras. They claim they can’t ring the door bell because of COVID. The claims process must be going crazy

They have some really stupid people working for them. My apartment building has two entrances, 3347 and 3349. They put packages in the wrong entrance many times. Or I sometimes find my stuff next door.

I think it is local preference in tangent with following the guidelines enforced with the local government. Where I live, the guidelines are pretty strict and no delivery agent is collecting signatures. Maybe you live in a more relaxed area? I ordered both a $3,700usd and a $450usd watch, both express fedex and DHL, both requiring a signature. Neither Fedex or DHL collected that signature from me, neither rang my doorbell, and both were left on my front door.

Amazon has some of the shoddiest delivery methods I have seen. They have temporary contracted drivers that drive their own personal vehicles to make deliveries. I saw a brand new top spec Lexus in my neighborhood with packages shoved in the back seat piled to the ceiling, making deliveries for Amazon. That driver was dressed in their pajamas still. Amazon describes these drivers as "their own boss" and "managing their own hours" (https://www.amazondelivers.jobs/about/driver-jobs/). Those big blue Amazon branded Transit vans are franchise owned and the person that owns it, hires their own drivers (https://logistics.amazon.com/marketing/opportunity). Amazon classifies these are "partners." I find it hard to say they "work for Amazon" and more they "work alongside Amazon."

So, an update on my eBay scam...... I opened a case as "item not as described", entered in everything including photos. Had to wait I think a week, before I could ask eBay to step in, which I did, and they quite quickly found in my favour. They asked me to return the item to sender with tracking...which of course I couldn't do, as (1) there was no item, and (2) the junk that was sent using the tracking number, was sent to a different address, and the owners had asked the Royal Mail to take it away (luckily they kept a photo) of it...What to do? 👎

So, I called eBay, spoke to an Advisor, who seemed stump and passed me on to his supervisor...she went through everything, agreed it looked like l scam, and said she would refund me in full, and 15 minutes letter I got the refund email confirmation...

So all’s well that ends well, and I still say follow my advice from earlier!