Item arrived damaged - unsure if I have done the right thing

[flamesong]

I bought a second hand MacBook Pro which arrived so badly damaged that it was beyond repair - the replacement parts, case, screen, motherboard and probably more, would have been more than I paid. I took photos and sent them to the seller but heard nothing back straight away so, feeling a bit anxious, I contacted the carrier, UPS, who arranged to collect it for inspection of the packaging and contents. Later on, the seller said that they wanted to return it directly to them but I felt that UPS had their own processes so I allowed them to pick it up.

I informed the seller and they did not reply and it is now over 24 hours since I heard from them. I looked at the procedure to seek a refund and it all seems to lean upon me returning the purchased item to the seller and the UPS tracking looks very vague because when it was collected, it actually says that it was delivered - fortunately, I have a receipt and there is a note in the tracking which says, 'We've scheduled an inspection of the damaged contents and packaging. We'll provide the sender with the results.'

At the moment, I am now without the computer or the money which was a lot more than I can afford to lose and I am worried that I might have done the wrong thing by allowing UPS to collect it. I had wanted to speak to somebody from PayPal on the phone tonight but I left it a bit late.

[kernowlass]

@flamesong

All you had to do was open a paypal dispute for 'item received but not as described' paypal would have told you to send it back trackable to prove delivery and the seller would have had to refund you.

The seller is responsible in sorting it out, not you but now you have got involved and sent it to UPS I doubt a paypal dispute will work.

[flamesong]

Actually, I got notice of your reply as I was on the phone to PayPal and a claim has been opened.

[kernowlass]

@flamesong

Thats good but as its mostly automatic then if paypal find in your favour you would have to send the item back to the seller 'trackable' to prove delivery before you get a refund.............thats the bit I think you may have trouble with.

[flamesong]

The item is being tracked by UPS as they check it for damage and I imagine that they might return it to the sender when they have finished.

[kernowlass]

@flamesong

Yep but you won't be able to provide trackable proof of delivery of the item yourself to paypal will you?

Sorry but i can see this all going pear shaped, good luck though.

[flamesong]

The tracking number is the same number that was provided to me for delivery by the sender. PayPal can see from that that it is currently in a warehouse awaiting inspection and should they either return it to the sender or me, the tracking will show that.

The sender has not responded to any of my e-mails for two days and three hours and I have no idea where they live.

[kernowlass]

@flamesong

As i said that could still be a problem, if you had been told to return the item then paypal would have given you the sellers address to return the item back to.

Using the same tracking number only proves the seller sent the item to you.

But as i said it may work out, good luck.

[flamesong]

I don't know why you are contesting the information I have given you. The tracking number (which I am not going to share on here) shows:

.....

06/13/2018 12:20 P.M.
Delivered (to me)

06/13/2018 12:59 P.M.
We've scheduled an inspection of the damaged contents and packaging. We'll provide the sender with the results.

06/14/2018 4:36 P.M.
Delivered (to UPS depot)

06/15/2018 6:48 A.M.
Your package will be held at a warehouse until it is released by the clearance agency.

As I said, presumably, the item will be either returned to the sender or me or there will be a notification of compensation but in any case, the tracking information will reflect this.

Actually, you didn't say that it may work out, you said you could see it all going pear shaped.

[flamesong]

Just to update and close this in case anybody stumbles upon it looking for their own answer, I received a full refund from PayPal and it actually worked to my advantage that I let UPS take the item away to have the damage checked as they then returned it to the seller using the original tracking number (from which PayPal could see that the seller had received it) and I did not have to pay the return shipping which, given the size and weight, would have been about £20.