Propel just scammed me *disbelieve*: Refusing to investigate or refund a missing parcel

Prebuilt Board Discussion
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Posting this for documentation and for other riders who care about how “proof of delivery” is actually handled by Propel…

Below is the complete chronological email record + delivery facts.

22 May 2026

Order placed for one Propel RUCKUS TKP - Gear Drive

28 May 2026 – Alleged delivery

DPD Email:

14:21 Guten Tag,
Ihr Paket ist da!
Wir haben Ihr Paket erfolgreich zugestellt.
Versender & Paketnummer:
New Ouda GmbH

013052XXXXXXX

Funny thing is, I was not in Berlin at this time but like 400km far away (full movement proof available via receipts + travel + witnesses as I was traveling work related and bought gas for a rented car and had different meetings).

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Screenshot from 2026-06-05 16-42-44
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29 May 2026 – DPD notice discovered

Up on returning to Berlin I filled up the company truck with Gas & parked at exactly 23:23h as I made a video of it (for insurance reasons). → Video available on request.

After that I rented an on-demand car to get home. The invoice of that shows I arrived at my place at 00:06h.

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I checked my mailbox and found the DPD notification card.

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It stated:

“Hinter dem Haus” (Behind the House)

There was no parcel anywhere at or behind the house.

The 2 following days I asked all my neighbors.

01 June 2026 – First contact with Propel

My email:

"Hello,

the tracking of the parcel claims it was delivered but I received nothing!

I had a card by DPD in my letter box stating it was placed behind the house - but there was nothing when I checked!

Ive asked my neighbours and no one stated to have taken it.

Can you please contact DPD as soon as possible and ask them to investigate where it was delivered to? Im afraid someone took it - I mean this is Berlin (big city), there are thousands of people passing by my house every day."

02 June 2026 – Propel: “you signed for it”

Propel reply:

"This is Millie from the marketing department. Thank you for choosing PROPEL EV. We appreciate that.

Sorry to hear this news, but we contacted DPD Express, and they replied that you had already signed for the package and gave me a document showing that it had been signed for, which I have attached to the email. I’ve attached a screenshot below for your details.

If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help at any time.

Have a nice day!

Best wishes,
Millie"

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My response:

"Hello,

I just told you that I did not receive my parcel - why would you claim I signed for it?

The PDF that DPD is showing does NOT contain my signature. I wasnt even in Berlin at 14:04h like the timestamps claims and I have proof for that as I was traveling work related and arrived at 22:00h in Berlin.

As I mentioned, I have a card by DPD in my letter box stating that the driver placed it behind the house.

See attachment stating “Hinter dem Haus” (Behind the House) written ontop.

Please take care of this asap otherwise I would be forced to contact my credit card institute and open a dispute case for my money."

03 June 2026 – Propel changes position

"Hi,
Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.
Please rest assured that we take this matter very seriously. It is clear that the driver marked this as “signed” , and the parcel is currently missing. You should not have to deal with this stress.
I have reported this matter to our manager, and we will give you a reply within 24 hours. I just want to ask you for your patience!

If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help at any time.

Have a nice day!

Best wishes,
Millie"

04 June 2026 – Propel reverses position

"Hi,
Regarding your order, we have already communicated with the courier company. According to the delivery confirmation information and handwritten receipt provided from the DPD website, it confirms that your skateboard was successfully delivered to your address.

We investigated the entire order process; you placed the order on May 22nd, and it was delivered to your home and signed for at 2 PM on May 28th. The courier company has also provided us with proof of your signature.

From the entire process, all the shipping records have proven that your package was signed for. So we have no clue why the board is missing. We suggest that you check the security footage around your home and ask your family or neighbors if they signed for or received the package on your behalf.

I know this is not the answer you are looking for, but we are unable to resend the board to you when we have sufficient proof of delivery.

If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help at any time.

Have a nice day!

Best wishes,
Millie"

05 June 2026 – Final position from Propel

"Hi,

Thank you for your further response. I want to assure you that Propel EV will not shirk the responsibilities that are ours to bear.
From our perspective as sellers, the transaction is complete once you place your order, we ship it, and you sign for it. If your board is lost before this process is finished, we will definitely compensate you. But the transaction process was completed, and the documents from the courier company show that you have already signed for it. This is beyond our capabilities.

We also want to do our best to help you find your skateboard, so we suggest you ask your family or neighbors if they signed for it on your behalf. Furthermore, since you mentioned you are in a busy area, we still suggest you check the surrounding security footage.

I hope the words up there could be helpful to you. If you need anything else, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help at any time.

Have a nice day!"

Core facts (no interpretation)

  • DPD note in mailbox: “Hinter dem Haus” → ignored by Propel

  • DPD signature record: not mine

  • Alleged delivery time: 14:04h

  • I was not in Berlin at that time (full proof available)

  • No physical parcel ever recovered

  • Propels position changed multiple times:

    • “driver marked signed”

    • “you signed”

    • “we have proof of your signature”

    • “transaction is complete because you signed”

Status

Chargeback with my credit card provider was initiated. Propel EV refused to refund me in the process. Now the credit card company will review the case.

In the meantime, I contacted DPD and demanded clarification of the situation, as I have an interest in the signature not falsely claiming my name. Furthermore, I asked them for information if Propel ever contacted them and provided the evidence of the driver’s notification card.

I can already foresee that Propel will backpedal and state some yadda yadda why this was a mistake. But to me Propel is dead.

They had the perfect opportunity and evidence to just side with me against DPD. That’s why their cheap attempt of insisting I signed for it is pure opportunistic. I get mad considering how they deny any responsibility when it is exactly their responsibility to escalate this matter with DPD. They ignore the notification card and switch back and forth between “It is clear that the driver marked this as ‘signed’…” and “The courier company has also provided us with proof of your signature” when talking about the exact same signature.

I will keep you updated.

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I get where Propel is coming from on this, but it still blows regardless. I think your frustration needs to be with the delivery company and hopefully, at the very least, your charge back is approved and you can get your money back. Do you have any neighbors with cameras showing them coming with a box at the time they said? Do you have any “R—” neighbors that could have signed for it?

2 Likes
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Hey,

I think your frustration needs to be with the delivery company.

Only partly: So far DPD was honest with everything, as the driver provided a notification card stating he placed it behind the house. The only “minor” issue is that I assume the driver, in good faith, signed it himself without changing the name. But I trust the driver and DPD to admit to that fact as soon as they are involved.

And this is why I claim Propel is to blame here: They never actually contacted DPD. Why do I assume that?

All Propel was able to provide so far is a screenshot (put into some PDF) of DPD’s website. All while the timeline indicates they never contacted DPD in the first place, because it is very, very unlikely that DPD would “close” an investigation and provide a final statement in less than 24 hours. This usually takes multiple days here in Germany.

Do you have any neighbors with cameras showing them coming with a box at the time they said?

No, as it is against the law to film public spaces. In Germany, no one has security cameras on private property for this purpose. Usually, parcel theft is not an issue here either, because every single parcel requires a signature - it is not an extra service but standard. So it is not comparable to the US or other places.

Do you have any “R—” neighbors that could have signed for it?

It wasn’t signed by any neighbor. It was signed by the driver. The driver placed the notification card in my letter box. This is what the discussion should evolve around, but Propel successfully confused the conversation :smiley:

That is why I do not see any legitimate reason where Propel is coming from: the signature is clearly by the driver, otherwise I would not have a notification card in my letter box. That is why insisting on the artificial concept of “signature = proof of delivery” is, in my view, evidence of their motive: to exit the situation and do nothing.

They could simply escalate the process with DPD to investigate my claim and the evidence provided with the notification card. As they are the only party who is legally allowed to escalate a missing parcel with DPD (they are DPD’s customer and I am not), refusing this is effectively the same as sabotaging the process: they do not fulfill their responsibilities - all while there is no reason for it, as DPD would compensate them.

Here comes some speculation: I assume the parcel was only insured for the standard amount (500€ in Germany), which is why I can see Propel having an interest in not getting refunded by DPD → they would need to ship a second board but only receive 500€ compensation rather than the $1200 I paid.

But this is just some speculation, so I am not claiming this as fact, but just as ideas floating around my mind that make a lot of sense seeing the current situation.

My bank contacted me and stated a 35-day grace period started according to VISAs policies for the merchant to provide a statement. Let’s see if they do so now that VISA is getting involved.

Anyways: Thanks for your sympathy!

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What I don’t get is how the hell is driver allowed to sign anything?

That makes no sense at all. This is totally on DPD. It is a high value package. Receiver should sign for it or it shouldn’t be delivered…

Allowing druver to sign for deliveries leaves so much room for manipulation

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