Guitar damaged by Parcel Force

[_tom_]

Anything I can do? I sold this on ebay last week and the buyer emailed me today to say its got this fairly big ding/chip that definitely wasn't there when I sent it out. Not really sure how it happened considering it was in a hard case which was packed with newspaper etc so the guitar was tight.



It was insured with Parcel Force but not sure if they'll do anything as I have no way to prove it was them who did it other than a few photos of the back of the guitar I took prior to posting it out..

[Oli]

Unfortunately I've had the same thing with parcel force, never ended up able to do anything about it I'm afraid. Strange how it managed to get that damaged in a hardcase!

[Philly Q]

I wish I could help, but despite my many ups and downs with Parcel Force I've never (touch wood) had anything seriously damaged in transit, and I don't know what the claims procedure is.

If the guitar took a big ding like that, then presumably the case and the outer packaging were absolutely trashed.  I hope he took pictures of those too?

[_tom_]

Yeah, I don't really see how it's possible without trashing the case as well, going to get some pics of the case as well. If it isn't damaged then the only other thing may be that he dinged it himself and is being cheeky. I have pics of the back before I sent it so I should hopefully be covered if anything dodgy happens!

[Philly Q]

Yeah, I don't really see how it's possible without trashing the case as well, going to get some pics of the case as well. If it isn't damaged then the only other thing may be that he dinged it himself and is being cheeky.

Well yeah, I was going to say that but didn't think I should.....!  :lol:

[Twinfan]

Yep, get pics of the packaging and case.  The buyer will need to keep these to show P-F if you want to make a claim...

[dave_mc]

never had to claim myself (like philly, touch wood :lol: ), but i'm guessing philly and dave's advice to get pics of the packaging and case is a good idea. :)

[Twinfan]

By "keep those" I mean the actual packaging, not just pics!

[_tom_]

Well according to the guy there's no damage to the case so i don't really know what's going on :? I guess I'll just go through the motions with parcel force to try and keep him happy!

[Twinfan]

What about the packaging?  That would show if a big knock had taken place...

[Philly Q]

I don't see how it's possible for a guitar to get dinged like that without the case being damaged. 

A cracked neck joint or even a broken headstock, yes... they could result from being chucked around in transit, without damaging the case or even the outer packaging very much. 

But you could only damage the body like that by hitting it against a hard surface.  And how can that happen inside an undamaged case?

[Ian Price]

For this to happen a ParcelForce employee would have had to unpack the guitar from the box and case, slam it on the floor, re-pack it and then send it on as if nothing happened.

Highly unlikely. I suspect that it is more likely the buyer damaged this when opening it. Perhaps they were excited and din't strap it properly and then dropped it. In a panic they thought they would say it was damaged in transit.

Maybe that didn't happen but I think it is far more likely than it being damaged in transit with no evidence to suggest that it was.

[_tom_]

I think you may be right :( hoping this doesn't turn into some annoying thing where paypal hold the money until we've reached an agreement or something like that!  i have pics of the part that's chipped so hopefully i should be covered!

[HTH AMPS]

You will end up getting screwed by Paypal - they will tell the buyer to return the guitar, refund his money and you're stuck with the damaged guitar.  I had a situation not dissimilar a few years back when I sold a '67 SG jr which the seller said had a crack in the neck (it was clearly a scratch).

I ended up settling with Paypal in the end once they started sending in the debt collectors.  Had I known what I know now, I would've told the debt collectors to get stuffed (in so many words - i.e. no contract).

It's 99% sure that the guy has bashed it himself, there is no way the damage could've happened inside the case, it's ridiculous to suggest it could have.  Maybe offer a reduction in the price - thats probably gonna be your cheapest and easiest way out (even though it's gonna fu*ck with your sense of right and wrong).

[Frank]

It's 99% sure that the guy has bashed it himself

Yup, people do this to try for a refund on a guitar they suddenly regret buying.