Should they refund me for this even though it hasn't been returned?

[ScarilyClose]

Two weeks ago I bought a heavy and fairly urgently needed item. I paid for next day delivery with same working day dispatch if ordered before 4pm - I ordered at 9am so was expecting it to arrive the next day. When it didn't arrive I checked out the tracking and the seller hadn't actually dispatched it until the next day anyway.

It then went in and out for delivery 4 times - the courier kept marking it as a failed delivery because I wasn't available. I work from home. I was in all day every day, able to see the lane outside the house in both directions. Our house is hard to find but not impossible. I added delivery instructions with directions and the company had my mobile number (which they kept texting with failed delivery updates but didn't think to call if they were struggling to find the house!). The seller just kept telling me to send a what3words location pin to the courier which I did, 3 times, but it made no difference. The drivers didn't appear to even look at the instructions I was providing.

It was finally left in a neighbours garden 7 days after I ordered - luckily the neighbour kindly brought it to my house for me, because the courier marked it as "handed to resident" so I'd never have known where it was otherwise. However I'd given up and bought a replacement one locally that morning because I couldn't be without it any longer!

So I told the seller I wanted to return it, and they've now booked it for collection with the same useless courier, who so far has marked the collection as "failed" 3 times. Same story. The seller won't refund me until I return it, but I literally can't return it. I can barely even pick it up!

Should they refund me anyway? This is completely outside my control and when I initially asked to return it I specifically told them to book with a different courier for this exact reason, but the seller told me they'd never had a failed collection before and that this was who they always use. I bought it on eBay so there's no obvious way past the auto "refund will be issued when item is returned" status of the return I started.

I had this problem with Evri, said they attempted to collect it, I was in wfh, they never came. I just took it to a drop off point in the end. No return, no refund.

This courier don't have drop off points - it's not Evri, it's not one I'd ever heard of before. Their closest depot is a 70 mile round trip (I'm not even that rural but they only have depots in major cities and that's the closest one).

They've now failed to deliver or collect 7 times in total, and the one "successful" delivery equated to "leaving it in a garden half a mile down the road".

I honestly just wish I'd told the neighbour to put it back where he found it and filed the claim as "item not received". I'd have my money back by now if I'd done that!

No tbh. I understand it’s frustrating for you but as a seller until they get it back then they can’t refund you.

EBay customer services 0345 3553229

can be hard to get them to answer but if you persist in the morning you should get through to the Irish office who are pretty sensible

I had something similar with a Halloween costume that had allegedly been delivered to the pick up location( a shop) but never arrived and the tracking info was incomplete. In the end I opened a dispute on EBay and got a refund. So - have a look for that option maybe?

Can you raise a case with eBay? I’ve always found them to be quite favourable to the customer if you can prove the situation. I’ve had a refund pretty swiftly without having to return it

Write to the seller telling them to arrange collection with a new courier otherwise you’ll be taking them to the Small Claims Court for breach of contract.

You will win in the court as seller is in breach of contract as

1. they didn’t despatch the item same day as agreed in the contract terms.
2. they’ve done nothing to mitigate the situation regarding delivery and collection, despite your efforts to persuade them otherwise.

Seriously? The delivery company is beyond incompetent how exactly is this OPs fault

I had a similar situation with Amazon once. I contacted them to return an office chair which broke. Boxed it up and they arranged for a courier to collect who never turned up. They even said once that a courier called to collect at a certain day and time which I said they didn't and I had evidence on my ring doorbell that nobody turned up at said date and time. They did end up refunding me on the proviso that it would be returned by a certain date. They then later on threatened to take the money back out my credit card as it had not been returned which I then went back to customer services and advised them the item was still sitting in my porch waiting collection and why should I be penalised for the incompetency of their couriers. They agreed with me and let me keep the refund. The item never did get collected! I believe it was Hermes at the time who were meant to collect it, before they became Evri

This would really annoy me too, previously I've had the next day delivery costs refunded, so they definitely should do that for you. Personally, I'd organise my own courier to get it back with someone who you know will get to your house, I appreciate it's a massive pain and you shouldn't have to do it, but it will not be that expensive and you'll then get your refund. I can see the sellers perspective - the item isn't damaged and has reached you, and they've organised a returrnn for you (albeit a cr*p one), so their view will be you want to keep it and have your money. If you find a way to get it back to them yourself, they will definitely refund it for you and it'll be out your house. I'd want all delivery fees refunded too, especially as i expect you got charged more for next day which you didnt get.

Why should the buyer be out of pocket because Royal Mail failed to deliver and return the item, @BatchCookBabe?

Legally, you had a contract with Royal Mail to deliver the item. The parcel should have been returned to you if they were unable to deliver. If they failed to return it to you, you should have made a claim against Royal Mail for your loss. If you didn’t do that, that’s on you. Why should your buyer pay for Royal Mail’s incompetence and your failure to claim for your loss from Royal Mail?

I very much believe your buyer. Royal Mail are terrible here. About 75% of my deliveries and collections by them are marked as “failed” because no one was in. I WFH 🙄

Currently, I am waiting for the umpteenth reattempted delivery of a 48 hour tracked delivery that was due 2 weeks ago. Yesterday, I received an email from them telling me they would return it if I didn’t collect it despite having a redelivery booked for yesterday. I then got an email telling me that delivery had failed because I wasn’t in (I was). Then another saying it had been delivered with a photo of someone else taking in the parcel. Tracking is showing it as out for delivery today but the photo of a stranger holding my parcel is still there 🤷‍♀️

eBay can be really helpful. Did you pay with PayPal by any chance? Their chat and their dispute service has always been great to me.

Other refund options through eBay or PayPal or credit card? Tried customer service yet?

My local courier is unable to find the local post office!!I suspect he works during the day and by the time he is free to do his courier job of course the post office is closed. The company asked me for additional information to help the courier find the address which of course I replied it’s a blinking post office on a main street you can even park outside and it’s in a set of 4 shops and even a man with a white stick could find it!! The same courier doesn’t turn up until after 9.30pm and most nights it’s nearer midnight! I have had words with him and said he’s taking the piss dumping parcels at midnight and if he can’t actually do his job pass it onto someone else! Many parcels I’ve lost due to him and his inability to find the local post office 🤬

You don’t have to go through with it but if it doesn’t get Collected today then tell seller you will raise a claim with small claims court for breach of contract.

see what rights you have with your bank to do a chargeback.

failing that go and camp on main road and flag down every courier van of that company to see if they are looking for you. Maybe set up a lemonade stand as well!!

tell seller you will be leaving a one star review as this gets them to sort themselves out.

Some couriers are maddening. If they can't be bothered to drive to a slightly out of the way location, they keep marking it 'attempted delivery' when they never bothered.

With eBay, the buyer is in a very strong position and they almost always side with them against the seller. If the item isn't collected on the next attempt, return to the 'return' in the eBay system. There is a box saying something like "contact eBay" or "raise dispute with eBay". Add a brief summary of the situation and that you want an immediate refund of all your costs. Presumably your correspondence with the seller has been through the eBay system? The evidence will be on hand in case a human being checks it. As the seller has agreed to the return but failed to go through with this they won't have a leg to stand on as far as eBay is concerned. I would anticipate an automated refund from eBay to follow swiftly.

I bought something on eBay once that was damaged and the seller refused a return. I contacted eBay and they sent me a label, asked me to return the item, and then refunded me once they saw it has been posted.

I think you do have to return the item, but eBay may provide you with a label from a different courier if seller doesn’t collect.

I get that your situation is frustrating, but it’s not really the sellers fault that your house is difficult to find. They have at least tried to arrange a collection.

I very much believe your buyer. Royal Mail are terrible here. About 75% of my deliveries and collections by them are marked as “failed” because no one was in. I WFH

RM seem to be ever more desperate to shed the remaining vestiges of respect and reputation that they used to have.

They've hit on the realisation that you don't have to actually deliver the service that has been agreed and paid for; you just have to fudge the tracking info and/or point-blank lie about attempting to deliver it, but magically it's always supposedly the customer's fault and never theirs.

I always used to have a soft spot for RM as our proud national delivery service and be keen to defend them; but now I think it's just a case of leaving them to dwindle and making sure the last one out turns the lights off. I feel very sorry for all of their honest individual employees, but appalling service and lack of interest in the task seem to be the official goal nowadays.

I've often thought that all Amazon need to do is to get permission to install orange post boxes next to all of the red pillar boxes around the country (maybe citing unfair monopoly law), get them in place and then start collecting and delivering letters alongside all the parcels they're already out efficiently delivering anyway. RM would be toast in three months, if not less.

It was different when RM was a national service, but now it's just another private company, why do they get unfair privileges over the other (way better) ones?

I never understand this. I get that they may find some deliveries challenging, but surely, as a courier, your top priority is to get the parcel off your hands and got rid of - and ideally to the correct recipient, so you don't end up storing up further hassles later.

If you've got a van full of parcels and a load of people (who have paid for them) waiting to take them from you, what possible benefit is there to keeping them and making them your problem for any longer than necessary?

You said tomorrow yesterday.
I’m assuming they haven’t been yet

edit because I really must learn to check before pressing post

If you paid with PayPal open a dispute. Then telephone PayPal, I have found them extremely good at refunding in similar circumstances. I was g

Leave a bad review on their page … I.e what you have written here, likely do something then.

This exact thing happened to me with a car battery I ordered. I was so passed off when they didn't send it the same day. When they didn't collect it, I did a charge back with my bank.

They still haven't collected it!

Apparently the collection is now "rebooked" for Monday. I'm going to try and ring eBay on Monday morning - there are absolutely no options to escalate this in my eBay, it's just a complete stalemate.