Hello, I have an odd situation with a recent eBay sale and wondered if anyone has had something similar happen before?
I sold a card for around $300 on 29/09/20, printed off the Royal Mail international tracked label and dispatched it the next day. Unfortunately the tracking never updated and so far the card hasn’t arrived. The buyer is understandably frustrated and has suggested I am attempting to scam in some way even though I have provided the receipt showing the tracking number and address which matches the information on the shipping label.
Royal Mail have told the buyer I never sent it and are refusing to acknowledge the parcel has ever been in their possession. I will have to refund the buyer but am concerned that Royal Mail won’t consider a claim for the lost parcel despite the receipt showing it being dropped off at one of their post offices.
Submit a claim to them (unfortunately my work computer isn’t allowing me to get onto the pages to provide a link, but you’ll easily find them with a quick ‘Royal Mail Claims’ google). I’ve never had to claim for more than £50 myself, but they’ll typically ask for your proof of postage, tracking details, the PO you posted it with, the item number of the eBay page & details of the item, all the usual guff. I’ve never had a claim denied, though as I say mine have all been either £50 or lower so I don’t know if they’d kick up a fuss at the higher value. If you’ve purchased the intl tracked with adequate £ cover for the item then there’s absolutely no reason they should deny your claim. If they try to pull a fast one, just keep at them. Speak to managers if you need to. Be unrelenting and they’ll give in.
How did you post the item? Anything which requires tracking needs to be taken to a post office branch* and cannot simply be placed in a post box. If you did put it in a post box I’m guessing eventually it will just be returned to you if a return address was provided.
If you took it to a post office branch you should have a receipt which will be the proof of postage. Do you still have this? If so Royal Mail should not be refusing to acknowledge that it’s been in their possession as you have proof that they accepted it. If this is the case, you should go through their Claims Centre.
*Unrelated to this post, Royal Mail have a new collection service which I’ve started using and it’s great. They will now collect parcels from your home for a small cost (around 72p or so). In doing this you will receive an email confirming that Royal Mail have taken the package from you.
It was dropped off at a post office branch and I still have the receipt. Royal Mail have claimed this was not recorded in their system and even suggested to the buyer that I was attempting to set up a scam. At this point my concerns are Royal Mail not agreeing to cover the value of the lost card, but also receiving negative feedback from the buyer even though I’ve done the right thing every step of the way.
Also, the buyer has seen the receipt and a copy of the shipping label which shows matching information, but is still suspicious. PayPal has put a hold on the funds, so as far as I know, I’m currently the only person at risk of losing out here.