[mothered]

They seem to be pretty sure that it’s fraud on my part - they said there’s been a lot of fraudulent activity with AirPods recently.

How does their history of fraudulent activity solely and purely relate to your very own claim? This Is targeted at them and not yourself.

They're Indirectly accusing you of fraud without evidence to substantiate their allegations. Essentially, It's a defamation of character and should not be taken lightly on your part. You have every right to hammer them with these details.

Now I’ve taken a more ‘mechanical’ approach, asking them to actually prove the AirPods were there

Good.

Ask them to provide evidence (photographic and/or otherwise) that, without a shadow of a doubt, clearly demonstrates the goods were Intact during the time of dispatch, to when the package was In storage at the carrier's depot and then travelling through their network, until It was finally dropped off by the driver at your premises.