What Happens If I Don’t Get the Goods Shipped That My Company Paid For?

When you purchase items for your business, you expect to receive them. After all, a legal transaction is documented and reliable. However, sometimes something will go wrong with your order. The item you paid for might not arrive on time or at all. If you’ve ordered goods for your business shipped that your company paid for and never received, here are some steps you should take.

Ask Them to Resend It

Sometimes your mail can get lost. There could be a number of reasons, many outside of your control. During the first half of 2020, trading volume across seas dropped 9.5%. Total global trade dropped by 16% compared to the previous year. So many things can impact the global trade networks we rely on. Start your process in good faith by contacting the company and explaining what happened. Ask them to resend the product that never arrived. If they agree to do it, this will solve your problem quickly.

Ask for a Refund

If it’s been too long and you no longer want the product, it is legal to ask for a refund. You might be so frustrated that getting the product isn’t worth the cost. Or you may have already purchased what you need. Remain polite and ask the company to refund all of your money. They may not want to do it. Manufacturers contribute $2.7 trillion to the United States economy and they want to stay in business. But often, providing a single refund is much better for them than dealing with the ripple effect of an unhappy customer. This approach can also resolve the issue promptly.

Contact Their Trade Association

If you contact the company and they don’t resend the product or refund you, you’ll want to take a step further and contact the professional associations that they are part of. There are many trade associations throughout the world and their reputations depend on the reputations of their members. With 17 million shipping containers in circulation and at least 5 million in use at any time, the business has to rely on a lot of different things. Billie Box says they make 200 million trips around the world each year. If trade associations find out that a member is engaging in unethical trade practices, it will impact the member’s standing with them. If you can’t find any trade associations connected with them, you can also contact business associations like the Better Business Bureau to file a complaint.

Contact Your Credit Card Company

If you paid with a credit card, you can contact the credit card company and ask them to reverse the charges. This should never be your first step since it implies that the company has done something unethical. But if you never received your product and you can’t get your money back from them, going through your credit card offers you another option and a layer of protection. Explain the situation to your company and ask them to reverse the charges. Oftentimes, they’ll do it for you. While you won’t have the product your business needs, at least you’ll have your money back.

Small Claims Court

If you end up spending a long time trying to get your money back from the company, you might consider taking legal action. Small claims court can help you get back your money. However, it is a long process, so you don’t want to go straight for that option if you can help it.

While there are many reasons why an order might not arrive at your business after your company paid for it, you should still get satisfaction. This can be a refund or the product sent to you again. If you’re unsure how to approach this process, use these tips to get through it in a reasonable and fair way that ends with you getting what you want.