Darshan Kabra from Pune was looking forward to receiving the iPhones he had ordered from Snapdeal, worth over Rs 40,000. When he received the package, he was evidently not thrilled to receive pieces of wood in the box instead.
Wary of purchasing an expensive item online, the customer had asked the delivery boy to open the package before he made the cash payment. Though it is not normal policy, the delivery boy obliged. They were both witness to the product being fraudulently packaged with scrap wood instead. There were no iPhones in the box.
Kabra told Times of India, “Normally, the delivery guys don’t let anyone open the box without payment. However, I insisted on opening before handing over the cash. Since it was cash on delivery, I got saved. Please warn the public about such frauds.”
Earlier last month, Flipkart’s delivery men were also arrested for stealing valuable mobile phones that were to be delivered to customers.
These incidents reinforce the Indian consumer’s faith in the cash on delivery option. If the customer makes payment via net banking or credit card option and there’s a goof-up in product delivery- what can guarantee that the customer’s money will be returned back?
In such cases, it is also difficult to prove that product box delivered actually did not contain the product and that the customer is not lying.
All of this delivery chaos results in more and more Indian customers sticking to the cash on delivery payment option, which is not very profitable as compared to online payments.
It’s time the online marketplaces step up and have stringent verification regulations for its vendors. That’ the best practical way to rectify this problem immediately.
Editor team is specialized in introducing the marketplace content targeting the Indian online sellers. They plan and coordinate to bring the appealing content for the small businesses on how to partner with the e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart and strategies for improving their online business.
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