Item I sold hasn't arrived - do I refund buyer now or wait for Royal Mail to respond to my claim for compensation?

[neenz]

I sold a pair of maternity jeans for £5.50 + £3 postage. I sent it on Sept 25 and the buyer says it hasn't arrived.

I am going to fill in a claim form for compensation from Royal Mail. I assume I will get the £8.50 back.

The buyer is asking for a refund, which I am happy to give, but should I wait for RM to get back to me first? She has opened a case with eBay.

I am also going away on Saturday for two weeks which makes things difficult as I won't be here to deal with it.

So long as you have proof of posting I would refund. You will get it back from RM but it will take at least 28 days because they are crap slow.

yes, you refund and then claim for yourself. It's not fair to keep the buyer waiting.

Great, thanks. I will do that. I just wondered what would happen if RM came back to me and said they had actually delivered it. But I have no reason to think the buyer is lying about it not arriving.

Is it signed for? If not they cannot prove it's been delivered. They should also be able to prove it's been signed for. Best bet is phone them and ask if it's been delivered, then you can get them to send you the claim form anyway.

No it's not signed for, just normal first class. Who do i call to see if it has been delivered?

You can't - the recipient would be the only one who would know. Just file a claim (you can get the form at their website).