USPS tracking not updating internationally but package delivered by Deutsche Post - Customer Fraud

[iankanpp]

Hello,

I am posting this here because I only have 9 days left to appeal a very poor decision through the resolution centre. 

Here is the situation:

I sent out a package early January to a customer in Germany via tracked USPS First Class. As stated in the tracking, the package landed in Germany on January 24. At this point, the tracking stopped updating. However, when contacting USPS, they had said First Class packages do not update tracking after they have been handed off to the local postal service (in this case Deutsche Post). This was further confirmed by my shipping company ChitChat, as seen in the attached email. This is an unfortunate case of USPS not updating tracking internationally once the package is handed off.

However, you can perfectly match the tracking number provided by Deutsche Post and USPS, meaning they are the same package and package has been delivered.

I have contacted the customer on multiple occasions telling them to go to their local post office to check if the package is there (been doing so since February) but the customer continued to be angry and did not go to the post office.

In March, he opened a case against me using the USPS tracking and because it was not updating. I provided Paypal with the new tracking with Deutsche Post showing that the package has the same tracking number and was delivered on February 7th, 2020.

After review, Paypal refunded the buyer. This does not make sense. I have been in contact with Paypal through email (because they have no phone service due Covid 19) but the latest email I received back has a generic response saying they refunded the buyer because tracking could not be verified. The customer representative clearly did not read my email that the tracking has been updated showing the package was delivered.

I have 9 days left to appeal the decision. Has anyone ever experienced this issue before? How did you resolve it? I have provided all the information I have and have called USPS and Deutsche Post to confirm that the package has been delivered. The customer does not want to admit he received the package even though it is confirmed. And Paypal clearly is not reading any emails I have sent (see the last screenshot). What else can I do? Please help me!

Ian

[remix2]

In my experience, you need to push Deutsche Post. I don't think they really did deliver it. I would bug them as much as you can - file a claim on their website, etc. Their website only shows delivered but no tracking history? That is super fishy. Also, shouldn't the customer have needed to pay import duties?  That should be in the tracking information on the DP website too...

DP recently claimed they misdelivered a package of ours because someone in the U.S. directed the package to the wrong German zip code. Not true at all. Our customer (who was way better than yours!) kept calling them and suddenly this package, that according to them had already been delivered and could never be recovered, showed up at her house.

We always put the onus on the customer to deal with their local mail system once it has reached the destination country because they are the ones who are going to have the most luck. The USPS can't do anything once it's within another country's borders because every country has their own rules and regulations. We are super nice about it, but explain to them that once the package is in their country it's the responsibility of their local postal system and we can't help them. We suggest they physically go to their local post office. In nearly every case, that does the trick and the post office "finds" the package.