Who claims for missing parcel?

[canterburycross]

I separate out item, postage, packaging materials. Well, it sometimes works.

[johnwash1]

Yes as has been said the sender is responsible to make sure the product reaches the buyer, so it is you that makes the claim to Royal Mail. One point to mention Royal Mail now only refund the cost of the item i.e. the price you paid for it NOT the price you sold it to your customer for, this has been the case for a few months now. You will need to show Royal Mail your purchase invoice, or a copy of. We have found that to claim for low value items is pointless.

How can Royal Mail demand the cost of the item? I sold a 50-year old camera recently for 40 quid. If it had gone astray was I supposed to look for the original till receipt? :/

John

[nobrassband]

On the compensation claim form, Royal Mail state:
"eBay Claims must be accompanied by a PayPal statement or bank credit card statement for the item and the item site sale page. We also require the auction page including the auction number."
The compensation that one would be claiming for is the value based upon the current transaction, which is why, not unreasonably, proof of value is required. Doubtless, one could substitute 'eBid' for 'eBay'.
The claim may be made by either party but a Proof of Posting is required - free from your local P.O. However, in the case of damaged goods, if the buyer does not keep the packaging then the claim may not be accepted.

There are, of course, compensation levels depending upon the type of service used, a browse of royalmail.com is a good idea.

[Trinakarenmille]

john.

I keep all my postal receipts for 2 months clipped to my sales information file, just in case I need to claim for a lost parcel the buyer as not recieved. It is up to the seller to chase up a missing parcel so these receipts need to be kept safe just in case a parcel goes missing...

http://uk.ebid.net/stores/JOLLY-GOLLY-VINTAGE-JAMBOREE

http://Trina Karen Jolly Golly Jamboree |

http://uk.ebid.net/stores/TRINAISAAC...VINTAGE-CRAFTS

[DasArab]

Sorry to be late in on this subject. Im a newbie here but not to ebay and selling on there. When selling items always always always offer recorded delivery, its only an extra 69p, yes I know it only covers up to £30 but I'd wagger my mortage that the ammount of Recorded deliverys that the post off loose is tiny, i bet its less than 1 in 100,000. Even posties aint that stupid to steal mail that is being tracked. Special delivery is more expensive but for things like mobile phones worth many hundreds of pounds well worth it, I returned a broken mobile to nokia a while back and it cost less than £4. If someone does not take either recorded or special deliveries I always get proof of postage, its free after all and part of the PO's services. If someone does not take either recorded delivery I cannot and will not be held responcible if the post office looses the item. I am not sure if the post office will pay out for a parcel that is lost if it is not been subject to a recorded delivery but I must admit I have been lucky and never had to make any claims or had anyone say an item has never turned up. One thing I do find strange is that some sellers on ebay try to charge £2.99 for recorded delivery(this really Pi**es m off) and thats why some people dont take recorded delivery.

[lofty100e]

DasArab - Recorded delivery is not tracked. When it is taken in at the Post Office it gets mixed in with the normal post, and is only separated at the destination sorting office. Here it should be taken out of the normal post to be signed for, but is not always.

The only service that is tracked throughout it's journey is Special Delivery which is kept in locked rooms and signed from one person to the next untill deilivery.

[HannaHolly]

Sorry to be late in on this subject. Im a newbie here but not to ebay and selling on there. When selling items always always always offer recorded delivery, its only an extra 69p, yes I know it only covers up to £30 but I'd wagger my mortage that the ammount of Recorded deliverys that the post off loose is tiny, i bet its less than 1 in 100,000. Even posties aint that stupid to steal mail that is being tracked. Special delivery is more expensive but for things like mobile phones worth many hundreds of pounds well worth it, I returned a broken mobile to nokia a while back and it cost less than £4. If someone does not take either recorded or special deliveries I always get proof of postage, its free after all and part of the PO's services. If someone does not take either recorded delivery I cannot and will not be held responcible if the post office looses the item. I am not sure if the post office will pay out for a parcel that is lost if it is not been subject to a recorded delivery but I must admit I have been lucky and never had to make any claims or had anyone say an item has never turned up. One thing I do find strange is that some sellers on ebay try to charge £2.99 for recorded delivery(this really Pi**es m off) and thats why some people dont take recorded delivery.

Why offer recorded? an ordinary proof of postage covers you up to £32.

Personally I don't buy from sellers who only offer recorded because I know i'll not be home to sign for it- so i'll have to make a trip to the post office.

In all my time selling i've had less than 5 parcels go missing ( one was to Australia) the post office refunded in each case.

[nobrassband]

The Recorded Delivery service offers a bit more protection than the ordinary delivery service, but the compensation level is the same at £34. However, in some cases, you might want to use it - if you want to be as sure as one can be that the item will get through to the intended recipient,
I quote from Royal Mail:
"If you have an important item to deliver, our Recorded Signed For™ service gives you complete peace of mind with proof of posting, signature on delivery and online tracking so you can follow the progress of your delivery.

• Proof of posting
• Signature on delivery
• Online confirmation of delivery
• Up to £34 compensation
• Prices fom 70p plus normal postage."

I always get the free proof of posting but, now and again, use Recorded Delivery in some situations for my own peace of mind. And, of course, if the customer wants to pay for the service, so be it.

Personally, I have found Royal Mail to be reliable over the years; there will, indubitably be those who have not.

[World_of_Bargains]

To be brutal. Recorded delivery is a waste of time.

Process:
1) Fill in recorded form, post office stamp it.

2). Post gets chucked in with normal post. In some post offices, they leave post bags in the open, so if the person behind the counter looks away, any tea leaf could take stuff from the bag

3). Post men are prone to not getting signatures. I have had this personally twice in the last 2 weeks, along with post forced thru the letterbox, items left on doorstep.

4). Claims. Fill in the P58 (I think it is), or do it online and print the sheet off. You have to sign and post it still. Keep a copy. I sent off proofs of cost of replacement of my item, which was a game for the xbox 360. (Took info from Amazon as that is apparently one of the places they use to evaluate claims. Probably because Amazon can be cheap).

5) 2-3 weeks later or so, you will get acknowledgement of the claim. The post office then write off to the buyer to confirm the claim. If they respond, all good and well. If not, about 4 weeks after, you will receive a letter stating that the buyer has not responded. When you receive this, you need to contact Royal Mail within 5 working days otherwise, they cancel the claim. I did this yesterday and apparently a cheque to finalise this claim has been posted out. We shall wait with baited breath...

6). This is as far as I have got but I have been told a claim I put in will be squared up. Be warned, different customer services agents tell you different things. TAKE NAMES TO QUOTE!!! I was told that they would pay for the replacement cost of the item.

As far as posting Paypal statements etc goes, personally, they can go to hell. It is personal and confidential. What difference does it make if you posted to a friend or someone who bought it. Fact is, it's missing/stolen/signature not collected. I personally never sent information like that, and it hasn't been requested.

For info, if you ever have problems with the post, don't bother reporting to your local delivery office. They are a waste of space and will cover things up. Go direct to the customer services (number available on saynoto0870.com). Keep a note of the reference number, and future issues, quote this. This will then escalate the issue to Depot Manager, then his Manager, then his manager etc etc. (Too many chiefs, not enough indians syndrome).

That said, I have to agree with ainttalkin about general reliability. Out of around 1000 parcels despatched in the last 12 months, only had 3 go missing. Ironically, 2 have been non recorded but you never know if the buyer is trying it on. But, as distance selling regulations state, if a buyer claims non receipt, it is up to the seller to prove delivery.

Main pointer. Always, always ensure the postal address is correct. Incorrect postcodes nullify all claims immediately. This does include Special Delivery, Recorded or Proof of Posting.

Personally for sending my stuff out, I use the Royal Mail online Posting system. It's great as you select your postal tarrif, put the name in, house no/name, then post code.
It fills in the rest, so ensure it agrees.

Then you can print a label out on paper to stick down, envelope or label (Avery ref L7169 or equivalent).

This also allows you to put a return address on the label and keeps a log of the address label.

There, thats my waffle over with. Hope it helps some of you guys out there.

Update to Claiming:
If