📦 When Your Parcel Arrives Empty – My Ongoing Fight With the Carrier (Part 2)

In Part 1, I explained how my AliExpress order arrived empty and ripped open — and how AliExpress rejected my claim because they wanted an official parcel weight certificate or damage report from the carrier, iMile.

I followed their instructions:
I contacted iMile and politely asked for an official statement confirming that the parcel was delivered empty and damaged.

📨 What Happened Next

I sent clear photos of:

The empty packaging
The visible rip
The shipping label

I explained exactly what AliExpress needed:

An official document confirming the parcel was empty or that its weight at delivery showed it couldn’t contain the item.

So far, so good, right?
Wrong.

🫥 The Carrier’s Response: “It Was Delivered — Talk to the Seller”

iMile’s first reply was just a Proof of Delivery (POD) — basically a photo that proves they left the parcel at my address.
This doesn’t help at all, because:

I’m not arguing about the delivery — I’m arguing the contents were missing.
AliExpress needs an official damage report — not a “yes, it was delivered” receipt.

I explained this again — very clearly — and asked them to escalate it to their claims department.

⚡ Their Second Reply? “Contact the Seller.”

They replied again: “Please contact the seller directly for assistance.”

This is the classic runaround:
✅ The seller blames the carrier.
✅ The carrier pushes you back to the seller.
✅ Meanwhile, you are stuck in the middle.

📌 Why This Matters

If you ever face this, remember:

Your only chance of winning an empty parcel dispute on AliExpress is to show an official carrier report.

They won’t refund just because you say it was empty — even if you have photos.
They want neutral third-party proof that the carrier acknowledges the loss or tampering.

🗂️ My Next Steps

I’m not giving up — here’s what I’m doing now:

1️⃣ Reply firmly again:
I sent a clear, firm email demanding escalation to iMile’s claims or investigations team — not just customer service bots.

2️⃣ Prepare a backup:
If iMile still refuses, I’m planning to:

Visit my local postal carrier (e.g., Australia Post) to see if they’ll inspect the packaging and issue an incident report.
Collect all my emails, photos, and re-submit them to AliExpress as evidence that the carrier refuses to help.
Escalate to the Postal Industry Ombudsman if needed.

3️⃣ Document everything:
I’m saving every reply to prove I made good-faith efforts.

🔑 Lessons Learned (So Far)

✅ Don’t just accept the first brush-off reply.
✅ Be polite but firm — keep insisting on the right document.
✅ If you can’t get it, show AliExpress your entire paper trail. Sometimes they’ll side with you if you clearly did everything possible.

⚡ Next Up: The Outcome

In Part 3, I’ll share whether:

iMile finally issues the report,
Australia Post helps instead,
Or AliExpress refunds me based on the evidence trail alone.