[mothered]

I'm a little confused. Why would they have no way to check against the carrier's records? Can't they just ask the carrier for details on package with particular tracking #?

You've misunderstood.

They cannot cross-check the physical delivery (package/envelope) against the carrier's records. That Is, given they've disposed of It, there's only one record- what's documented on the carrier's manifest, which Is not enough to deem any Investigation conclusive.

I see. So to make sure I'm understanding this correctly, they must have your physical package to conclude any investigation? The carrier's information about the package isn't enough to deem that the package sent to the company (obviously) doesn't contain the product that was supposed to be returned? This is the first I've heard of anything like this - do you know this from your years of experience in shipping/transportation industry? Is this true for all companies?

Simply stated, you cannot cross-check a package that doesn't exist, Irrespective of what's documented on the carrier's manifest. You need to understand that "carrier records" and "company records" are separate entities, both of which are segregated and handled Independently of each other.

That's the point of this particular FTID method- to leave no trace of receipt of goods, thereby the return center/receiving department does not have a physical foundation to work with.