I ordered a package within the EU from amazon.de, the company selling the product is called medimops. The order is 3 weeks late and has no signs of showing up. I asked customer service about it and they're asking me to sign the attached legal document to get the refund. I have never needed to sign such a document when refunding something. Is this normal in Germany/in some other countries?

The information they're asking is nothing crazy, but considering that amazon clearly shows that the package has not arrived I'd think they have all this information already? I tried just telling them the order number and sending a picture of my invoice but they then answered that they need me to sign the document for me to get the refund.

I thought that this would be a appropriate place to ask since it's a German company and maybe people here have experiences with simular things and maybe even with this company. Thanks in advance.

by Ok_Exit7896

14 comments

  1. I would say it is not the rule but it is not unheard of.

    If you have not received the goods, I don’t see any problem in signing it. It maybe has something to do with their insurance company refunding them.

    But maybe someone else knows more.

  2. Can‘t help you with the legal stuff but medimops is a legit company. I ordered lots of books from them, never had an issue. I doubt they try to scam you.

  3. If you bought this from Amazon they should be the ones dealing with the 3rd party seller. I’ve had Amazon refund me the money when the seller wouldn’t do it. I would say explain your issue to Amazon and they will help you.

  4. In case of a loss during shipping, that’s not unusual. It allows the seller to report the loss to the delivery service. It just doesn’t happen more often because dealing with shipping companies is a nightmare.

  5. Not common, but not unreasonable from their POV. They want to have your signature so they can raise a claim after you if you end up having lied about not receiving the item.

    I am not a lawyer and I am not your lawyer, but I think one could still pursue the refund for their side of the unfulfilled contract without signing this declaration. You have a purchase contract and they have to honour it or refund you.

  6. Whatever “legally binding” in this case is even supposed to mean… I think they added this additional step to discourage people from casually requesting a refund just because the delivery can’t be tracked. If it’s just a form that confirms you not having received your order, I would sign it.

  7. It’s probably an insurance thing.

    By law, transport companies have to cover a certain amount if the shipment is lost. I believe up to 500€ unless additional insurance was taken out). They obviously want to recover their own loss. And the insurance now wants a legal document that you didn’t just receive it and the fact that track and trace says it’s still in the system is a data error.

  8. This is a pretty much standard form, that the seller needs to raise an issue with the courier service.

    In the past sellers talked about needing an “Eidesstattliche Versicherung”, however that is a very well protected legal definition.

    Instead they went over to these kinds of forms.

    Without your sigining the seller won’t be able to give you your money back

  9. Most of my books that I bought in the past 5 years are from MediMops. There were a few cases when the package was lost. I also received a similar form, signed it, and got my refund. I think you can also deal with Amazon customer support directly. If the total is low, they are very likely just to refund and forget.

  10. Im in e-commerce myself and it helps tremendously.

    First it shakes out anyone who didn’t actually look for the package (80% of lost packages show up a day or two after the complaint at some neighbors place)

    Second we always have some people trying to be clever claiming the package hasn’t arrived and request a refund. This letter sounds kind of scary, so some back out.

    Last and most importantly, we can take our carrier into regress for loosing the package. I don’t know why, but this form filled almost always gets them to grant us compensation for the lost goods

  11. Normal for an insurance claim. They need this, because they will probably file a poilce report. None of your business because after that, they will refund you.

  13. I never signed something like that. The contract is only fulfilles if you receive the item (speaking of B2C). Until that happened the seller is in Charge. They need to report to their Partner, you do not have a contract with the insurance company.

    Not a lawyer. 

  14. It is the standard way for dealing with lost packages, especially if the delivery company claims to have delivered it.

    You assuring that you didnt receive the package clears the path for your refund. The company uses your declaration to settle the problem with DHL or whoever and that can take weeks. You can get your refund in the meantime, because you legally assured to have not received the items. If you wouldn’t declare this, they will not give you a refund until it is clear that the mistake lies with DHL, and they might stick to “we did deliver it”, so it’s in your interest to officially declare the opposite either way.

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