Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Maryland
buyer sent item back for refund via UPS who left at front door no-one signed
I sold a signed baseball bat to an individual with a refund guarantee if they were not happy with it.
buyer notified me he was sending it back and i agreed to refund. Buyer sent bat back UPS however ups left it at my door when no one was home. i live in a circular open view apartment complex and did not get the package. i know if the U.S. Post Office delivers to door and leaves it, its considered same as signing for it. however, since UPS is private carrier i do not believe the same rule applies.
buyer also failed to insure it. the bat was sold for $10,000 so you would think it would have been insured.
i am the seller and would have been happy to refund the money, i believe buyer used poor judgement and was negligent not insuring the package. UPS is still trying to
trace it and i have little hope. am i liable to refund the buyer even though i did not sign for the package nor find at my door. tracking info on ups site states it was delivered and left at my front door.
am i liable to refund the 10,000 even though buyer shipped item back to me uninsured?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: buyer sent item back for refund via UPS who left at front door no-one signed
The sale presumedly was completed with a refund guarantee. The terms of that guarantee are in question. Clearly it is not proper performance to arrange for an item of such value to be left for others to take.
The terms of the delivery contract may, however, be applied against you. Delivery is complete, in general terms, upon dispatch but other terms may apply.
I would need to distinguish certain facts to discern whether delivery or receipt was being applied.
Should you need assistance, contact an attorney.
Re: buyer sent item back for refund via UPS who left at front door no-one signed
This is an interesting question. Since you have the money you want, and the buyer wants his money back, the ball is in the buyer's court so to speak. He will have to come after you, in which case you may have to name UPS. If you had an understanding with UPS to leave items at your back door, the facts could get cloudier. It may depend on your correspondence with the person before they sent it, but sending something worth $10,000 like that (i.e. uninsured) could be argued as negligent.
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