what is the proper process when giving a refund and claiming from RM?

[themightyfandango]

I sold something back in November that hasn't arrived. The seller informed me at the end of last week. The item sold for £25.

I sent it recorded and have proof of postage, on the track and trace website it is still showing as processing but not delivered.

I went to PO this morning and have got a claim form. At what point do I refund the buyer?

What happens if whilst the claim is being processed (up to 30 days I think) the parcel shows up and RM no longer honour the claim. In that situation the buyer would have the item and the refund.

However it seems mean to keep the buyer waiting for the length of time it takes for RM to sort it out.

Any advice?

You could ask the buyer to claim from their end. AFAIK you both have a right to claim but if you both put in a claim then yours trumps theirs.

have they checked with their sorting office in case it's there but the postie hasn't left a card!

After 15 working days have passed you need to refund the buyer via the original paypal payment and then you claim with royal mail.

Thanks for the replies.,I will ask about the sorting office then process the claim if it isnt there.

Yes. Ring up RM (08457 740 740 I think, but don't quote me!) and ask them to check, say the website says it's in the system.

Last time I did this they said, Oh, it's actually showing as having been signed for on our system. (it still wasn't on the website). They sent me a copy of the signature by email.
I did have to ring twice mind, they didn't want to look, even, but I persisted.

If it's genuinely lost then you have to claim. Your contract was with RM and the buyer's was with you.
So if you don't deliver, the buyer can get a refund from you by going through an ebay or paypal dispute.

ALSO ask the buyer to check with their neighbours and at their local sorting office as someone already said, to make sure it isn't sitting there. You could ring them up yourself actually.
If it's recorded, it will be returned to you after 3 weeks (I think) so you should get it back.
You can put in a claim after 15 days of posting.

Deffo worth ringing them up first though as often it's just sitting in the sorting office. They are getting v slack on getting a signature these days.

as for refunding the buyer, I don't know when you'e supposed to - before or after you claim - probably before but then if the item turns up, you've lost the money. Tricky.

x posts, sorry - Fergoose is right. But check with SO first.

I agree ask them to check sorting office and neighbours - I had a parcel take 12 days to get here last week so it could still arrive.

If you can remember their address, look up the nearest sorting office online, then ring it up. The buyer might not bother if you ask them to! But I am a bit extreme like that

You refund the buyer after about a week or ten days, you then make a claim yourself from RM. However if you tell RM it was an eBay item you will probably get stamps back, don't tell them it was an eBay item.

Recorded is returned after a week standard items not recorded are returned after three weeks.

Thanks Fabby, I was getting mixed up because special delivery items are also kept for three weeks...bizarre isn't it.

But yes recorded is a week.

I had a payout about 5 years ago for a SD item, from RM, for the cost of repair.
I had a rejection of a claim with parcelforce in similar circumstances.