A customer is requesting a refund for an FBM order that was shipped via Royal Mail. Unfortunately, there is no tracking information available.
The order was dispatched on January 6th.
I have located the tracking number. When checking Royal Mail’s Track and Trace, the status says:
“An update will only be provided when we attempt to deliver your item.”
What should I do in this situation?
That status means either:
a) the item has been delivered but not scanned
b) the item has not been delivered
It’s possible the customer got a message from Amazon telling them that their item is running late and they should contact the seller to ask for a refund. Yes, really!
Personally, I always apologise for the delay and ask the customer to wait a few more days. Most do and more often than not, the item turns up.
From the ones that have the item but are “trying it on” because of the Amazon message, most don’t bother to contact me again.
The rest may do and then I refund.
Some might raise a A-to-Z so it’s a risky strategy.
There is no right way or wrong way. It’s up to you.
Here is message you can sent to the customer:
Thank you for your patience. I’ve located your tracking number for your January 6th order. Royal Mail’s system shows the item is in transit, though updates are limited until delivery attempt.
Could you please allow until [date 2 days from now] for delivery? If not received by then, I’ll process a full refund immediately. Please let me know if this works for you.
This gives a few more days while showing you’re committed to making it right.
Yes, I’m aware of that. It’s possible that the delivery wasn’t scanned, and the customer is just trying their luck.
This message will only work if the customer genuinely hasn’t received it, which I don’t believe is the case.
I’ll mark it as “No response needed” and hope they don’t contact me again.
Yes. This is what I do. Most buyers who are just trying it won’t come back. If you reply, this will just bump them into opening an A-Z claim when you don’t have tracking.
So it seems that it was not shipped yet correct?
It has been shipped, but Royal Mail hasn’t delivered it. Amazon has provided the customer with a refund and counted it against my order defects. This is laughable, I bought the postage from them!
I don’t have experience with this, but I’m sure you can fight it with proof that it’s Royal Mail’s fault.
I agree with others on this. If you don’t have a tracking number showing delivery to the buyer’s address, open a dispute with the carrier. If you can risk the metric hit in case of a potential claim, then just mark as no response needed, otherwise you will just prompt the buyer into an A-Z claim by responding back and acknowledging that the tracking doesn’t show delivery.