Item arrived damaged....fobbing off commences
Discussion
I recently bought some new alloy wheels from Ebay, They arrived swiftly and initial inspection showed all was well. I then took wheels to have tyres fitted and on removing the last wheel from the box we found the wheel was damaged. This had happened prior to packaging as the box it was delivered in was totally unmarked, yet the wheel had a bent lip and the plastic rim protector was graunched like it had been dropped on concrete pretty hard !
I've since contacted the seller on eBay, who requested photos. I replied with many photos of the wheel and damaged packaging but unmarked box. He then went quiet for several days despite me sending 3 more emails asking what's happening as I really could do with the wheel being replaced asap.
Today I finally got a replay saying "We have forwarded the images you sent to the supplier for this item. We are just awaiting their response before we proceed further." I feel a fobbing off coming up as the supplier will just turn around and say it was fine when it left them surely ? My contract is with the seller I bought them from is it not, and surely he should replace damaged wheel and then take it up with supplier if he so chooses ?
The pain is the other 3 wheels had the tyres fitted before finding the last one bent so I cant even reject them and send the lot back.
whats the next step ?
Regards
I've since contacted the seller on eBay, who requested photos. I replied with many photos of the wheel and damaged packaging but unmarked box. He then went quiet for several days despite me sending 3 more emails asking what's happening as I really could do with the wheel being replaced asap.
Today I finally got a replay saying "We have forwarded the images you sent to the supplier for this item. We are just awaiting their response before we proceed further." I feel a fobbing off coming up as the supplier will just turn around and say it was fine when it left them surely ? My contract is with the seller I bought them from is it not, and surely he should replace damaged wheel and then take it up with supplier if he so chooses ?
The pain is the other 3 wheels had the tyres fitted before finding the last one bent so I cant even reject them and send the lot back.
whats the next step ?
Regards
Are you 100% sure it wasn't your tyre fitter?
What type of wheels, sizes, cost etc? It should be a bit concerning that a wheel can get bent like that from handling or even a drop. A lot of these replica wheels are absolutely terrible quality i am afraid, I'd be very wary of fitting even fully round ones to my car.
If they definitely arrived damaged, then get a paypal refund or offer to return the one for a replacement. If it gets to he says, she says, it may be asking how much for one replacement at cost.. and buying that, then getting the damaged one straightened as a spare?
What type of wheels, sizes, cost etc? It should be a bit concerning that a wheel can get bent like that from handling or even a drop. A lot of these replica wheels are absolutely terrible quality i am afraid, I'd be very wary of fitting even fully round ones to my car.
If they definitely arrived damaged, then get a paypal refund or offer to return the one for a replacement. If it gets to he says, she says, it may be asking how much for one replacement at cost.. and buying that, then getting the damaged one straightened as a spare?
s3fella said:
Are you 100% sure it wasn't your tyre fitter?
What type of wheels, sizes, cost etc? It should be a bit concerning that a wheel can get bent like that from handling or even a drop. A lot of these replica wheels are absolutely terrible quality i am afraid, I'd be very wary of fitting even fully round ones to my car.
If they definitely arrived damaged, then get a paypal refund or offer to return the one for a replacement. If it gets to he says, she says, it may be asking how much for one replacement at cost.. and buying that, then getting the damaged one straightened as a spare?
Yup, because I stood there when we opened them. Wheel definitely arrived like that. They were all four strapped together so the bottom one would have had 40kg's of weight on it when man handled off the van I'm guessing.What type of wheels, sizes, cost etc? It should be a bit concerning that a wheel can get bent like that from handling or even a drop. A lot of these replica wheels are absolutely terrible quality i am afraid, I'd be very wary of fitting even fully round ones to my car.
If they definitely arrived damaged, then get a paypal refund or offer to return the one for a replacement. If it gets to he says, she says, it may be asking how much for one replacement at cost.. and buying that, then getting the damaged one straightened as a spare?
They are good wheels and what I currently have on my other car. The damage is pure negligence on someone's part.
All I want is the wheel replaced...or a refund up to the value of me buying a single replacement wheel from manufacturer.
The he says, she says is where I think its headed and exactly what I hope to avoid
kapiteinlangzaam said:
The few times Ive actually had to call PayPal (call, not email, as it makes a difference IMO) ive always actually found a human being on the other end with more than two brain cells - they listened, understood and proceeded in a sensible manner to my satisfaction......
If the seller doesnt play ball, open a dispute and state clearly what you would like the resolution to be.
- Full refund and return? (explaining why the other 3 wheels are now 'used')
- 25% refund, allowing you to purchase one new wheel
- Seller to replace damaged wheel..... ?
Keep it amicable and simple, you will probably find it turns out OK and to your satisfaction. Calling PP also yields quicker results IMO. Your only stumbling point might be if the seller wants to be a pain, they can string the whole thing out.
In the same situation I would politely (no threats) give the seller 24hrs to make a decision on how they want to proceed. If its a fob off, open a PP dispute immediately and follow the instructions.
25% refund or replaced wheel would be ideal...but in some form of hurry, not once everyone has finished fobbing each other off. If the seller doesnt play ball, open a dispute and state clearly what you would like the resolution to be.
- Full refund and return? (explaining why the other 3 wheels are now 'used')
- 25% refund, allowing you to purchase one new wheel
- Seller to replace damaged wheel..... ?
Keep it amicable and simple, you will probably find it turns out OK and to your satisfaction. Calling PP also yields quicker results IMO. Your only stumbling point might be if the seller wants to be a pain, they can string the whole thing out.
In the same situation I would politely (no threats) give the seller 24hrs to make a decision on how they want to proceed. If its a fob off, open a PP dispute immediately and follow the instructions.
I think the 24hrs to make a decision before involving PP is the way forward.
Let them speak to the distributer. Chances are they haven't even seen the wheels (a significant percentage of parts in this industry are drop shipped to the end customer directly from the distributer) and are just acting as middle man as such they will be relying on the distributer to resolve the problem. I doubt they are fobbing you off and are just waiting on the distributer to forward details of how the issue will be addressed.
Yes the contract is with the company you paid but in the real world they will expect the distributor (who is in turn responsible to your supplier) to make good.
That's my take on it.
Yes the contract is with the company you paid but in the real world they will expect the distributor (who is in turn responsible to your supplier) to make good.
That's my take on it.
Raise an ebay dispute immediately. Tell seller that you understand they are checking with their supplier and that this is reasonable, but regardless of the outcome you expect resolution by replacement or return at their expense and refund. Raising a dispute starts the formal ebay process for this to happen, there is no reason you should wait to do so and as there is a time limit it is prudent that you do not wait.
TooMany2cvs said:
Can it be repaired?
Yes, although matching the flat Bronze paintwork afterwards would be a challenge. Either way, I paid for a set of new wheels, not three new and one repaired/repainted one.All I want is for them to collect and replace damaged one or refund sufficient funds for me to purchase a single wheel.
mikeveal said:
Raise an ebay dispute immediately. Tell seller that you understand they are checking with their supplier and that this is reasonable, but regardless of the outcome you expect resolution by replacement or return at their expense and refund. Raising a dispute starts the formal ebay process for this to happen, there is no reason you should wait to do so and as there is a time limit it is prudent that you do not wait.
\Excellent accurate advice.
RobinOakapple said:
mikeveal said:
Raise an ebay dispute immediately. Tell seller that you understand they are checking with their supplier and that this is reasonable, but regardless of the outcome you expect resolution by replacement or return at their expense and refund. Raising a dispute starts the formal ebay process for this to happen, there is no reason you should wait to do so and as there is a time limit it is prudent that you do not wait.
\Excellent accurate advice.
fastbikes76 said:
s3fella said:
Are you 100% sure it wasn't your tyre fitter?
What type of wheels, sizes, cost etc? It should be a bit concerning that a wheel can get bent like that from handling or even a drop. A lot of these replica wheels are absolutely terrible quality i am afraid, I'd be very wary of fitting even fully round ones to my car.
If they definitely arrived damaged, then get a paypal refund or offer to return the one for a replacement. If it gets to he says, she says, it may be asking how much for one replacement at cost.. and buying that, then getting the damaged one straightened as a spare?
Yup, because I stood there when we opened them. Wheel definitely arrived like that. They were all four strapped together so the bottom one would have had 40kg's of weight on it when man handled off the van I'm guessing.What type of wheels, sizes, cost etc? It should be a bit concerning that a wheel can get bent like that from handling or even a drop. A lot of these replica wheels are absolutely terrible quality i am afraid, I'd be very wary of fitting even fully round ones to my car.
If they definitely arrived damaged, then get a paypal refund or offer to return the one for a replacement. If it gets to he says, she says, it may be asking how much for one replacement at cost.. and buying that, then getting the damaged one straightened as a spare?
They are good wheels and what I currently have on my other car. The damage is pure negligence on someone's part.
All I want is the wheel replaced...or a refund up to the value of me buying a single replacement wheel from manufacturer.
The he says, she says is where I think its headed and exactly what I hope to avoid
What wheels are they, flat bronze paint sounds interesting.
s3fella said:
40kg is nothing, and there was no damage to the box you say, so unlikely to be courier?
What wheels are they, flat bronze paint sounds interesting.
40Kg's is everything in the right place, like right on the lip. What wheels are they, flat bronze paint sounds interesting.
http://ultralitewheels.com/acatalog/UL52-1880-1BZT...
fastbikes76 said:
s3fella said:
40kg is nothing, and there was no damage to the box you say, so unlikely to be courier?
What wheels are they, flat bronze paint sounds interesting.
40Kg's is everything in the right place, like right on the lip. What wheels are they, flat bronze paint sounds interesting.
http://ultralitewheels.com/acatalog/UL52-1880-1BZT...
fastbikes76 said:
RobinOakapple said:
mikeveal said:
Raise an ebay dispute immediately. Tell seller that you understand they are checking with their supplier and that this is reasonable, but regardless of the outcome you expect resolution by replacement or return at their expense and refund. Raising a dispute starts the formal ebay process for this to happen, there is no reason you should wait to do so and as there is a time limit it is prudent that you do not wait.
\Excellent accurate advice.
Du1point8 said:
fastbikes76 said:
RobinOakapple said:
mikeveal said:
Raise an ebay dispute immediately. Tell seller that you understand they are checking with their supplier and that this is reasonable, but regardless of the outcome you expect resolution by replacement or return at their expense and refund. Raising a dispute starts the formal ebay process for this to happen, there is no reason you should wait to do so and as there is a time limit it is prudent that you do not wait.
\Excellent accurate advice.
That there are still sellers who are either ignorant about the law of contract or choose to ignore it when it suits them beggars belief.
fastbikes76 said:
RobinOakapple said:
mikeveal said:
Raise an ebay dispute immediately. Tell seller that you understand they are checking with their supplier and that this is reasonable, but regardless of the outcome you expect resolution by replacement or return at their expense and refund. Raising a dispute starts the formal ebay process for this to happen, there is no reason you should wait to do so and as there is a time limit it is prudent that you do not wait.
\Excellent accurate advice.
no point now in worrying about what other retailers 'would' have done. You didn't buy through them.
You have a case raised and you will either get a replacement, or a refund.
The waste of time or effort put in by you is probably unrecoverable, as sadly is the tyre fitting cost, if they give the refund and you have to find other wheels.
When you sit back and consider the big picture, I doubt the supplier did this on purpose as they also want seamless sales.
Du1point8 said:
Shoddy company, if anything that we sell is damaged from the supplier, we don't wait to find out what the supplier will do about it, another item is dispatched from us or the supplier is made to dispatch one specially and we resolve it offline with the supplier, the end customer is never made to wait.
Exactly my thoughts and why I posted. I wanted to be sure I chase the right people so we don't go round the houses. My thoughts were Its the sellers position to sort me out and then take it up with the supplier, not leave me hanging while they wait for a response (as per latest reply today)PAULJ5555 said:
Were you there with the tyre fitter when the box was opened, you could ask him for a letter confirming this.
Yes, I know the tyre fitters well as its the only guys I use and trust not to mark my wheels. I actually opened the box to hand him the wheel and that's when be both realised there was slight damage. Granted its not mega, but I paid for brand new wheels and that's what I expect. I'm sure they will happily put something in writing if required.
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