Missing item and buyer getting arsey soon<sigh>

[mustrunmore]

Ok, in essence...
I posted, got proof of posting, 28th Aug. Item not received.

Buyer let me know and wants to claim from royal mail; I said I will do after the 15days they told her to wait to be sure.

She emailed back twice getting a bit arsey sounding, saying it will take too long to wait for the claim, and I must refund her after the 15 days regardless, I'll get the money straight from royal mail eventually.

I've told her I am very happy to refund, once I have the money back from them, partly because I cant afford to otherwise, and partly because I do need to know that the item is lost (ie that she's not pulling a fast one, but didnt say that to her obviously!)

I've also asked her to confirm the address that was on ebay for me to send to, which she has ignored.

I know that its only a small amount and to all intents and purposes I should just give her the money to save my ebay rating blah blah, but it really is a principle, its the money, and its her stroppy phrasing and attitude.

I posted 15 or so parcels that day, and I know for a fact that all but 4 have arrived, hers didnt, I assume the other 3 did as no one has told me otherwise.

What you reckon?

[Knickers0nMaHead]

Unfortunatley, you will have to offer a refund. Lesson learnt, always send recorded.

[mustrunmore]

Yeah, but isnt wasnt worth recored! Isnt the proof of posting enough? Not sure how these things work.
I had a look through her feedback, its 99.5% but all the negs are to do with items not being received that she sent and there's alot of those on positives too, but she refunded so they left a positive. And one or two say she offered to refund only if they withdrew their feedback. I know we all try and make what we can (lots of com[plaints about her postage charges), but based on the not recieved items I reckon she lives in one of those areas with really bad postal serivice.

[bubblagirl]

i would leave it 7 working days first before offering refund so if it was sent 28th work out when the 7th working day would be as first class even second class is not guaranteed to turn up in 2 days

she or he may have a habit of doing this i would personally up your postage costs or give buyer a choice to be sent recorded and say if gets lost in post and not recorded you take no responsibility they have the choice to have recorded then

i think you can only get refunded from royal mail if you have a tracking number so would be worth offering sadly you may have to refund after 7 days if it hasn't arrived still at least with recorded you can check on line for proof if its arrived or not

in all honesty if you sent 28th aug it wouldn't have been sent till 1st sept as it was bank holiday so wed would be 7 working days give it till then and then refund if need be i always give it 10 days if no arrival then i refund as i know of parcels arriving in that time limit

[tigermoth]

FWIW if the buyer took out a claim against you, paypal would immediately deduct the money from your paypal acccount and hold it till a paypal caseworker resolved the situation. So you wouldn't have the money, but neither would the buyer.

Paypal would then ask you both to email them with your side of the story.

If you can supply a tracking number ( ie if you had posted it recorded) I think this would mean paypal would cover the cost for you, AND refund the buyer, but I am not sure.

However, if you only have a receipt as proof of postage, not proof that the parcel got to its destination, then AFIAK, paypal will decide in the buyer's favour and refund the buyer from your paypal account, leaving you to sort out your claim with the post office.

BUT This refund process IME takes about a month, so the buyer has a long wait for their refund when they take out a claim. This could be worth mentioning to the buyer.

Quite frustrating all round!

Over this summer, I've found buyers are much more likely to complain and be rude. Obviioulsy if an item is lost, that's a valid thing to complain about, but I've had some very strange complaints. I don't know if I've just been unlucky.

[bubblagirl]

have a look on forums on ebay and see the usual time limit im sure its something like 7 working days before you have to refund something along them lines cant only be a couple of days otherwise you would have hundreds of people putting in claims and you did have bank holiday in the days there from posting i think buyer jumped in very quick to say hasn't arrived i wouldn't normally say anything till a week has gone by

[Knickers0nMaHead]

Add 72p onto your p+p charges for recorded.

[mustrunmore]

Thanks all . Is it really only 72p for recorded?

Btw, that was an error; I sent on 24th not 28th!

God, I'm remebering why I stopped doing ebay I cant be bothered with the hassle. But I put about 15 things on because dh needed to sell something worth alot, so I thought I'd bung clothes etc on as we were doing one thing anyway, if you see that logic.

[SparklyGothKat]

whats the sellers name or initals if possible? Just sounds like a seller/buyer I know who makes a habit out of 'not recieving items'

[mustrunmore]

The buyer is in Scotland, does that help? I cant remeber initials offhand. Her username begins with a H iirc. Oh crap, is it you?

[mustrunmore]

You know, I can see her point. Its just that she came in all guns blazing with a pissy attitude, and has ignored several requests to confirm her address. That makes me suspicious. Why on earth wouldnt you want to confirm it was posted to the right address?

[SparklyGothKat]

no not the same person. not me either lol

[nickschick]

I had this last xmas its worth ringing her local sorting office and asking if its being 'held' there mine was and was posted back to me as the buyer failed to collect it or arrange redelivery.

[mustrunmore]

Thats a good idea actually nickcchick! Thanks for that.

[sixlostmonkeys]

It can be a good idea to send her a message along the lines of - Could you please check with your neighbours in case your item has been posted to the wrong address. Also, could you please check with your local sorting office as they may be holding it for you (the postman doesn't always leave a card) In the meantime I shall be contacting your local sorting office too and and tracking the item. Please let me know what the outcome of your investigation is and I will do the same. Should the item be classed as lost a form will be sent to you for you to sign and confirm to the Royal Mail that you haven't received it.

Sometimes a buyer will slip up and mention that you can't track it as you didn't send it recorded

It is always best to send recorded and never give the buyer the option - rec del is for the seller's benefit, not the buyer's

[sixlostmonkeys]

oh, it may be worth mentioning to her that you have noticed in her feedback that poor postage/delivery seems quite common for her and you are more than happy to help her sort this out with the Royal Mail

[mustrunmore]

Actually, I did say that to her this morning funnily enough, and she just replied that her other transactions are irrelevant. Which I guess they are, but not when an awful lot of stuff seems to go missing! I've just done the claim form anyway, taking it up to post office later, so we'll see. She has given me till Friday before she leaves negative feedback, to which I replied that I understand her frustration, I have it too, but manners go a long way in this kind of issue so civility would've helped, and tbh I'm an adult and not scared by the threat of looking bad on ebay, I have a life Petty I know, burt I couldnt resist that one. Am going to remain aloof and mature again now though.