Problem with postal service - advice please

[this_sith]

Hi there,

 

Back in October I bought a watch through one of our Trusted Dealers who sent through QC pictures etc which were fine.

 

Unfortunately the watch was dead on arrival so the dealer told me to send the watch back, gave me the address in both English and Chinese to use and advised me to only cover the watch for $20 USD and have it noted as a gift.

 

I returned the watch 7 weeks ago and for the last 5 weeks the tracking information tells me that it is in Beijing awaiting delivery.

 

I contacted the dealer who said that it usually takes only 5 weeks from the UK but as he is in Guangzhou and the watch is in Beijing there is nothing he can do. I contacted Royal Mail who said they cannot get any further information and that I could start the claims procedure!

 

In your experience is this watch now lost and unlikely to arrive?

If it doesn't arrive in the next few weeks should I expect to write this off?

 

Any advice would be welcome.

 

[freddy333]

I would refer to the seller's Return Policy, which is usually described on their website. If the seller says it takes 5 weeks to return, but it has already been 7, I would ask him how much longer do you need to wait until he just assumes liability & replaces the watch? Once alerted, I would give the seller 1 additional week to research/locate the shipment. After that, if he fails to offer a reasonable solution, post the seller's response (along with the his name - NOT his email or shipping address) in this thread

[KB]

I will add that I have seen this myself.

 

Sometimes when it reaches China via a different entry point (Beijing instead of Guangzhou) the dealer really is at the mercy of the postal system and they can only tell you the estimate the postal worker tells them.

 

You need to remember the 2 towns are over 2,000klm apart so it is not like they can just pop down and pick it up from that PO.

 

That said the dealer should have the details from the PO that they have the package, he should not be talking about starting a claim unless he has reason to believe it has gone missing.

 

 

Ken

[mymanmatt]

consider it lost

[Dizzy]

I would never send a rep back to China. I did that once when a watch arrived literally rusted up from Paul one of the old dealers on another forum. 6 weeks later the tracking number still said undelivered and he said he never received it. What a nightmare. Hopefully You get things sorted out. I'm sure the dealer will make it right. The guys here are pretty good.

[this_sith]

Thanks for the responses guys.  I will check the dealers sales conditions and drop them a line.