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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that royal mail should reimburse me although I have no receipt

31 replies

maggiethecat · 21/12/2017 00:15

Very cross that the xmas cake that I baked and posted on 14/12 for my brother was returned to sender on 16/12. No card through the door or opportunity for them to redeliver or for him to collect.
RM said this is does not follow protocol and they will investigate. If cake is not returned by 21/12 it will be deemed delayed and if not by 1/1 deemed lost and I can make claim.
The cake weighed 3kg, filled with dried fruit and rum and port so not cheap to make. Really wanted it to get to him for xmas but doubt I will ever see it again.
I made the cake so have no receipt for it so can I only expect to get the £15 postage that I paid?

OP posts:
SadTrombone · 21/12/2017 10:41

Did you tell them how much you valued it at in £ terms when posting? If so that should be the amount you're covered for. People don't just post new things or things they've bought from shops so lack of receipt shouldn't be an issue.

LIZS · 21/12/2017 10:49

Do you have proof of posting ? Iirc you should be covered up to £30 on standard post.

Original poster
maggiethecat · 21/12/2017 18:32

Did not tell them how much valued as it was just regular first class post but I have proof of postage and my receipt actually has a reference number from which I was able to see online that it was returned to sender after 2 days.
Has still not arrived here and I called RM today and they say it's being investigated and can see that it is being retained for 18 days???? They cannot say why no further attempts are being made to deliver.
The person who took the call couldn't understand why a package would not be redelivered esp at this time of year.
I will claim for the £15 and put a figure on the cost of the cake although it is outrageous that all this nonsense is going on.

OP posts:
Wishingandwaiting · 21/12/2017 18:34

To be honest you’d be very lucky to get even the postage back, considering you don’t have a receipt!

BunloafAndCrumpets · 21/12/2017 22:23

I think op means they don't have a receipt for the cake, not that they don't have a receipt for posting

Introvertpants · 21/12/2017 22:41

You won't get money back. Most likely some free stamps if that.

ClaryFray · 21/12/2017 22:56

Royal Mail are useless. They've lost a special delievery by 1pm parcel that should have been here Wednesday! Good luck!

henhausfrau · 21/12/2017 22:57

As long as you have proof of postage you should be okay. I often claim back for missing mail - provide all the evidence you can - photo of cake?, text from DB?, or just rough list of ingedients and cost. It's a hassle but at least you'll get some money back.

Original poster
maggiethecat · 22/12/2017 01:38

Feel your pain Clary. I've just sent DB a half of mine by special delivery - they will have to deal with a mad woman if they lose that too!

Henhaus I'll do that. They acknowledge that it is very strange that their system is showing "return to sender" against protocol.

OP posts:
Littlecaf · 22/12/2017 02:46

YABU. Why did you send it regular 1st class and not keep a receipt?

DianaT1969 · 22/12/2017 03:34

18 days is the time they keep it at the local sorting office after an attempted delivery. Has your DB checked there?

blackdoggotmytongue · 22/12/2017 03:38

Is it iced? Not sure i’d Send marzipan through the post lol. That’s guaranteed to cause ishoos...

RebootYourEngine · 22/12/2017 03:46

Why would you send a cake through the normal post. A courier would have been better. Weren't you worried that it would be in a million pieces when it arrived?

Has your brother checked at his local sorting office?

Original poster
maggiethecat · 23/12/2017 08:23

Littlecaf, heading is misleading - I have receipt for postage but not receipt for item sent because I made the cake. I expect to be reimbursed for more than just postage however.

Not iced.

Reboot, it was sent in a cake tin and lots of bubble wrap! I send every year to a good friend and she gets it in one piece. However, next year I may consider couriers.

Diana, My brother did not check local office since RM has opened an investigation. With technology, items have QR number and I would have thought that by now they would be able to say where the item is.

OP posts:
WillowWept · 23/12/2017 08:35

How do you know it's been returned to sender if it's not with you?

Sorry that you're getting this bother. My grandmother always used to send cakes through the post - was such a wonderful treat.

DoculamentDoculament · 23/12/2017 08:39

Not the point of the thread but you made a cake weighing over 6 and a half pounds?

stickytoffeevodka · 23/12/2017 08:40

I don't trust Royal Mail.

A few years ago my dad sent me a birthday card with a custom made necklace in it. It never arrived and he complained and got his money back, and insisted they escalated it as theft.

Just as they were about to do a search, someone "found" it somewhere and he got it back. I think someone stole it and was worried about getting caught, so they brought it back and stuck it somewhere so they could claim it "fell" or something.

Dodgy as hell imo.

cakeymccakington · 23/12/2017 08:44

I would definitely get DB to check at the sorting office.
Technology is great but it's not infallible. It's worth the effort if it means the cake turns up surely?

I think you may struggle to get the cost of the item back unless you have receipts for ingredients or similar. They normally want some kind of proof of the value of the item which I appreciate is hard when it's homemade!

Not sure why people think a courier would have been any better. Yodel and myhermes have AWFUL track records for losing parcels and not compensating.

I hope it turns up OP

Ilovetolurk · 23/12/2017 08:50

I had a rm parcel recently with a code like yours. It was not delivered and there was no no card thru door

The recipient went to so with no joy and in the meantime I arranged a redelivery online

It was delivered as a result

I would try this op

OrinocoDugong · 23/12/2017 10:20

Compensation for delay is limited to the value of 6x cost of a 1st class stamp.

If it is eventually returned you'd have to show that the cake was inedible to claim additional compensation for damage which I think is unlikely to be proveable given that Christmas cake recipe is designed for a product that can withstand anything.

If it is actually lost then the compensation is restricted to the market value of the item so presumably the cost of a similar size supermarket bought cake. However, your post above suggests it isn't lost, they know where it is.

Stefoscope · 23/12/2017 10:37

Even with a receipt they don't refund postage, just the cost of the item. We try to avoid using Royal Mail at work now, as we end up out of pocket when something goes missing. I don't know how they get away with not refunding postage, as they haven't provided the service they've been paid to provide.

Wishingandwaiting · 23/12/2017 12:42

stickytoffeevodka

So did your dad reimburse whoever reimbursed him? Considering he did actually get the item.

Original poster
maggiethecat · 23/12/2017 18:13

Willow, the receipt reference allows me to see online what's happened to it and 2 days after posting it said item returned to sender. I think the policy is to hold it for 18 days before returning to sender but I presume that is to allow recipient to collect if RM have left note through the door, which they haven't .
The whole thing smells fishy.
Docula, the cake probably weighed a bit less than 3 kg, which is what the post office weighed it as. Take into account the cake tin (not very heavy) and some bubble wrap and I expect it wasn't far off. The cake was a proper fruit cake loaded with liquor.

OP posts:
Original poster
maggiethecat · 23/12/2017 18:21

23 cm in diameter and 8 cm deep!

OP posts:
RainyApril · 23/12/2017 18:32

Why doesn't he just check at the local sorting office?

It's a busy time of year, and it seems that someone just forgot to pop the redelivery card through his door.

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