To be upset with Royal Mail? I've lost £350!

[ALittleCrisp]

I purchase a phone on eBay but it hasn't arrived. I know the seller is a good one because he has 1000 of positive reviews and it's PayPal so my money is secure if things go wrong.

However, Royal Mail say they've delivered my phone when they have not. They sent an email to say they'd be delivering, and then they never delivered. But, I got another email that same evening saying it had been delivered

What do I do?

Royal Mail website says to contact the seller but this is obviously not the sellers fault. I don't want to cause a rift with someone on eBay for £350, it's a lot of money and I feel terrible since it wasn't there fault.

AIBU to be annoyed at Royal Mail?

As I understand the procedure (I've been selling expensive stuff on ebay for years) HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone is correct. That said though, eBay do sometimes disregard their own procedure so you might get a pleasant surprise OP.

If eBay find in the seller's favour your options OP will be:

1. find out whether the seller is willing to pursue a claim against the Royal Mail and provide to you any proceeds;

2. to investigate whether chargeback might be possible; and/or

3. the small claims court.

4. and 2) would be doubtful because of the "Delivered" indication. 3) might provide a better chance but it would be a considerable DIY faff.

Thanks all, EBay are quite misleading with their "Money back guarantee". That being said, I suppose it's good they do sometimes side with sellers now.

For what it's worth, I sold about £50 worth of dresses last year. The buyer claimed she didn't receive them, even though I tracked the item on the Royal Mail website and as it was signed service, even her signature was on the parcel! Let's say her name was Claire, the signature clearly said 'Claire'.

However, she won the case. eBay refunded and then I had to fork out the cash for eBay. Furthermore, I went onto her feedback page and there were lots of sellers claiming she'd said the item hadn't arrived when the tracking indicated it had with a signature

How she continuously got away with it, I do not know.

Royal mail have been utter shite in my area lately. 4/5 days without post, then a shit tonne turning up at once. Some stuff turning up, some stuff not.

I've complained multiple times to be told they can find no issues in my area, yet from speaking to my neighbours there clearly is one. And they can't do anything about stuff that isn't tracked. But it's normal letters I'm missing. I'm in the middle of a dispute with HMRC and they don't send their letters tracked, so if they send one and I miss it I'll have no way of knowing and I'm stuffed.

I'm convinced half their postmen can't actually read. Constantly getting deliveries to my flat which don't belong to me. God knows how many letters of mine are sitting on the doormats of people who knows where.

I'm not sure how the buyer of your dresses won her case, if you had uploaded the tracking information proving delivery, the case would have been closed in your favour.

However, with regards to the phone and the £350 I would be on at the sorting office to get the GPS information today. You really can't let any more time pass or else you risk losing the £350.

Royal mail have been utter shite in my area lately.

You're not wrong. For a large number of the packages I've sent recently the tracking has not worked and I've not got a "Delivered" notification. One of these was on a £150 package that I had to refund. (For a number of reasons I have a suspicion that the buyer did receive the item but that's just tough on me I guess.)

Heads

I think Royal Mail should refund because it is most likely that it is them that have fucked up, either by delivering to the wrong address, or somewhere stupid like in a wheelie bin or on a doorstep and the parcel has been stolen or its been stolen by their employee. Unless of course this GPS tracking information proves that the parcel was correctly delivered to the OP and it's her or another resident of the property who is the dishonest one.

And due to their great volume, they're the party that can most afford to absorb the loss. Not the OP, an individual, or a medium sized eBay seller, but a giant company who is most likely to be the party at fault and to whom £350 is an impossibly trivial sum.

I think Royal Mail should refund because it is most likely that it is them that have fucked up

But life doesn't work like that. You cannot just decide to blame someone because you feel it is the most likely outcome. There is no concrete evidence to suggest to the Royal Mail or the Seller that the OP doesn't not have the item. The only evidence they have is her word that the item has not arrived.

Yes it's true. RM might be to blame but unless there is proof you cannot expect them to refund. Although I suppose it is a moot point anyway as Royal Mail hardly ever refund even with proof, you normally get no more than a book of stamps.

Good luck op! It wouldn't surprise me if this was royal mails cock up, in the last 6 months i have had a passport (recognised envelope used from when i got mine) turn up for a gentleman 2 streets away, totally different name and not even same door number

Second item was documents of some kind for a person with the same door number, similar sounding street name (but spelt differently) but in ANOTHER town! That second one was tracked too, so to royal mail it would show as delivered, but completely wrong address, didn't notice till after postie had left or I would have chased him down 😂

Sorry for the passport that should say totally different street name

Royal Mail hardly ever refund even with proof, you normally get no more than a book of stamps.

You mean you don't want a book of stamps instead of your money back

EBay don’t care a bean for their sellers. Even with proof. You’ll get your money back.

You say that you have been away. Were you away when the parcel was supposedly delivered? Maybe they did deliver it but someone else has stolen it as it had been left lying around outside.

EBay don’t care a bean for their sellers. Even with proof. You’ll get your money back.

In most cases yes they don't give a fudge. However, you only need to take a quick look on the Ebay forum to see that in this circumstance, (where the seller has proof of delivery) they quite often do side with the seller.

You said the email confirming delivery came in the evening. Is it usual in your area for deliveries to take place in the evening? It's not in our area, although i know RM say they can. Emails confirming delivery arrive as soon as item is delivered. So I would be asking the sorting office what time deliveries were that day. Sort of wondering if someone has hit the delivered button in error or somesuch. Also ask seller what address they sent to. I once had a seller use the correct road but a different house number. So it wasn't delivered to a neighbour but about 15 houses down.

I think Royal Mail left it on your doorstep. You were then not home for a few days and an opportunist nabbed it. It seems harsh that the seller has to swallow that cost. It morally should be Royal Mail, but I realise it won't be. I really feel for the seller here.

Can you prove you were not home? For example if it was a hospital stay then obviously you couldn't gave accepted the parcel

Royal mail have been utter shite in my area lately I disagree- they have been awful for years everywhere. Lost the plot with Crozier and Leighton when they were in charge, have never quite got it back.

@ALittleCrisp I assume the case has now been closed? Did you manage to get the GPS information in the end?

Any update OP?

Hello all, not got any further with it really.

eBay are stepping in though in 48 hours if it isn't resolved. We will have to see how it goes

Has the seller uploaded the tracking information, or have they just ignored the case completely?

Ice They uploaded the tracking information to eBay

I'm surprised it's not already been closed in their favour if the';ve uploaded the tracking. Have you managed to get the GPS tracking information, or any other information from the sorting office?

Keep us updated, @IceRebel? I'm really curious as to how eBay will decide this.

I'm aware of some cases where they've stepped in and sorted things themselves so neither the buyer or seller is financially penalised; but nothing this expensive if I'm honest.

I'm aware of some cases where they've stepped in and sorted things themselves so neither the buyer or seller is financially penalised; but nothing this expensive if I'm honest.

I too have heard of such cases but I don't think that this is what will happen in this instance. The Seller has provided tracking details which show it to have been delivered. The only evidence to suggest it has non arrived is the OP saying she has not got it. If Ebay refunded from their own pocket for every case where a buyer said the item had not arrived then they wouldn't be around for long.

I'm afraid I still think the Op is unlikely to get her money back, the seller has done everything necessary to get the item to its intended destination and has tracking to show it has arrived.