Making a claim with Royal Fail

[Pudsey Bear]

I sold a tablet 4 weeks ago on eBay, spares or repair no warranty.

The other day I get an email, the buyer wants a refund, I smell a rat as it's been 4 weeks since I sent it.

So I rang Royal Fail and see what the score is to claim something back as I sent it 2nd class signed for, fill the online form in.
I'm not good with forms so I got the paper version.
,y claim any money after reading the below part of the form, the last part of the condition seem to exclude anything you cannot provide evidence of cost of.



Also I had to send somethign off today only sold for £3.50p.

I asked what the cost of the cheapest Tracked delivery was, £8.95p.

I'm looking into Evri next I think.

 

[wildebus]

I sold a tablet 4 weeks ago on eBay, spares or repair no warranty.

The other day I get an email, the buyer wants a refund, I smell a rat as it's been 4 weeks since I sent it.

So I rang Royal Fail and see what the score is to claim something back as I sent it 2nd class signed for, fill the online form in.
I'm not good with forms so I got the paper version.
,y claim any money after reading the below part of the form, the last part of the condition seem to exclude anything you cannot provide evidence of cost of.

So you sent it Recorded? I presume there is no signature then if you are going down the claim form route? in which case I don't see what the buyer is acting in a dodgy way? Sounds like he was pretty patient waiting for 4 weeks?
You should have a Reference Number if sent Recorded - check here to see when delivered - https://www.royalmail.com/track-your-item#/

Also I had to send somethign off today only sold for £3.50p.

I asked what the cost of the cheapest Tracked delivery was, £8.95p.

I'm looking into Evri next I think.

Costs depends on weight and size so I can't tell you what you would pay elsewhere, but I tend to use Royal Mail Tracked 48 or Tracked 24.
A small Parcel upto 2Kg (which should cover a Tablet I would think?) would be £3.39 with Tracked 48, has full tracking info including a photo of the delivered item and has insurance cover for upto £150.
This is an example of the tracking info for something sent last week using Tracked 24 ....

I did the postage label Thurs morning, gave it to the Postie in the afternoon and delivered the next day. To make sure the item is collected, simply book a collection for the next day (at no cost). (I waited for the Postie but if he didn't have anything to deliver I would have booked a collection for the next day (can book next day at anytime upto Midnight).
Oh, and if you don't have a printer to do the label, you can request the Postie to bring a pre-printed label for your package (again, at no cost).

I think I may know why you were quoted a higher price at the Post Office? that was probably Parcel Force price? the Tracked 24 and Tracked 48 is a Royal Mail service and the Post Office cannot accept them over the Counter - you have to take them to a Royal Mail Sorting/Deliverey Office ... OR ... get the Royal Mail Postie to take them (which is the option I always use).

 

[wildebus]

Do a search for "click drop" and you should get a link to the Click & Drop service from Royal Mail. Sign up and you also get a discount from the standard prices - win-win
I use it for all National and International services and you can track stuff. Check out the tracking info on this one I sent a couple of weeks ago to the US (I actually got an email with an update at each stage as well!)

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I sent it 2nd class signed for.

 

[wildebus]

I sent it 2nd class signed for.

so you said in the first post. WAS it signed for is the question?
If yes, not your problem
If no, not the buyers problem

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Sorry David, it wasn't signed for or I wouldn't have got the ebay message, so my problem, I just refunded him.

 

[wildebus]

Sorry David, it wasn't signed for or I wouldn't have got the ebay message, so my problem, I just refunded him.

just to add ... the compensation limit is £20 for First or Second Class, and is the same if Recorded or not. You can still make a claim even if not recorded if you have the PO Counter do you a Proof of Postage when you hand it over. It is then proven to be in the care of Royal Mail.
Having said all that, making a claim is soul-destroying I've tried twice over the years and have given up both times. not worth it for the amount you might eventually get back.
If you use Click & Drop, you can send standard postage (not signed for) if you want but you still get a tracking number and proof of item collected. That makes it a lot easier to track.
Another option is Drop & Go (used to use that before Click & Drop) and that also provides a full record of items posted. With that, you have an account, pre-label the items and then pay for them via the account as you hand them over the counter.

 

[trevskoda]

I stopped selling on fleabay as a lot are chancers.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

Seems Evri (who I detest) may be a better option.

Automatic £20 insurance and it says you can increase it but no figures that I can find

”In general, Evri offers a very affordable rate for their Next-Day service, which automatically includes Tracking and Insurance. In comparison, Royal Mail’s Tracked 24 service can get pretty pricey. This is especially true when you start shipping packages that are heavier than 2KG, whereas Evri offers an affordable flat rate for packages between 2 – 15KG.”

 

[wildebus]

Seems Evri (who I detest) may be a better option.

Automatic £20 insurance and it says you can increase it but no figures that I can find

”In general, Evri offers a very affordable rate for their Next-Day service, which automatically includes Tracking and Insurance. In comparison, Royal Mail’s Tracked 24 service can get pretty pricey. This is especially true when you start shipping packages that are heavier than 2KG, whereas Evri offers an affordable flat rate for packages between 2 – 15KG.”

Also check the cost of insurance if you need a higher amount. Couriers often have quite a high uplift on increasing that which makes the actual cost compared to advertised rather different (this is why I use Tracked 24 and Tracked 48 due to their standard £150 cover).
If you don't need the greater amount, no worries

I used to use Parcel2Go.com and occasionally Parcel Monkey to get good comparisons. I can't remember about Parcel Monkey, but it was very easy to plug in different parcel values for insurance to see how the price changes. (watch out you don't end up paying extra though! I bet if you selected Royal Mail Tracked they (parcel2go) would increase the cost as you increase the parcel value even within the £150 standard offering).

 

[trevskoda]

Just had a parcel back from avery which the wife posted, they say the oter end rejected it so sent back, we have contacted the second party and they say it never reached them, we are out £7 postage.

 

[Scotia]

If you have proof of postage I think fleabay may favour your version and not the sellers claim of not receiving the item.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I don't know where the woman in the PO got £8.95 as the minimum track rate from???

If you have proof of postage I think fleabay may favour your version and not the sellers claim of not receiving the item.

I do have a receipt for two items that day and I have told Ebay this on the phone to one of their call center staff in the UK, but I have no proof it's for the tablet, it has no individual tracking number as that is on a separate slip which I'm not sure I got, I keep stuff like that and I don't have it, he said he thought the buyer might be pulling a fast one too but I can't even prove I sent it so, refund is done, the tablet was spares and repair so it might not have been fixable, I did try my local phone shop but I'm not convinced he actually looked at it.

 

[wildebus]

I don't know where the woman in the PO got £8.95 as the minimum track rate from???

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I did explain that to you, Kev. The above services are Royal mail Tracked services. Post Office Counters do NOT sell or accept this service, and the option they COULD do was Parcel Force.
Read what I said about Click and Drop ... the rates on-line are cheaper than the list you posted.

I do have a receipt for two items that day and I have told Ebay this on the phone to one of their call center staff in the UK, but I have no proof it's for the tablet, it has no individual tracking number as that is on a separate slip which I'm not sure I got, I keep stuff like that and I don't have it, he said he thought the buyer might be pulling a fast one too but I can't even prove I sent it so, refund is done, the tablet was spares and repair so it might not have been fixable, I did try my local phone shop but I'm not convinced he actually looked at it.

Out of interest, how much did you get for it? I have a Lenovo Tablet that cost nearly £300 which I am thinking of selling but would have to advertise as spares/repairs as while it works , the battery connection is worn out so it won't charge reliably - so once the current charge is exhausted, it will be dead.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I put it up for £50 and allowed offers, I got £35 for it, or I would have done.

 

[Steveandjulie]

I'm a postman and would always recommend sending parcels by our tracked service they have to be delivered every day and a photo taken and like David said you can even get us to collect them and bring a label. Signed for is a waste of money and not always delivered when they should as not fully tracked

 

[Pudsey Bear]

No disrespect Steve, not an easy job these days but this take-a-picture & leave thing for the recipient is a lot of the time awful, if your house door is in full view of the road, things can go missing, it's a big thing in the US scrotes follow vans and posties, and it's getting worse over here in certain areas, someone follows our local Amazon vans waiting for opportunities, in Covid it was fair enough but we're not in Covid anymore so we should get back to an actual signature again, I am fed up of having to go through the motions when stuff isn't where it's shown in a picture, often it's not even my house in the picture but there are so many scams going on around undelivered goods that we are made to feel like we are lying assuming you can even get to speak to a person and not fart about with a chatbot for half an hour.

 

[wildebus]

I don't know where the woman in the PO got £8.95 as the minimum track rate from???

View attachment 72237

These are the prices for those services sending a 2Kg Small Parcel if you buy online ...

I very rarely go for the Tracked with Signature as the Tracked is easily good enough (and the signatures you see usually are such a swiggle they prove nothing).
As Steve says, a photo is taken of the tracked. The collection service is great, even down to the free printed labels. And the posties are invariably great in my experience and always super-helpful
I had a letter to send today - went tracked 48 as I needed proof of delivery (old passport); hadn't yet arranged collection, but he took it away no problems at all and I have proof it is in the system and the order with the tracking number shows just where it need to end up

I find Royal Mail is actually by far the most reliable and consistant of all Shipping organisations. There are some couriers I avoid if I can, and there are some that are very good, but are rather expensive. Royal Mail for me is the best balance easily for what I ship out (values between £80-£200 typically)

 

[wildebus]

No disrespect Steve, not an easy job these days but this take-a-picture & leave thing for the recipient is a lot of the time awful, if your house door is in full view of the road, things can go missing, it's a big thing in the US scrotes follow vans and posties, and it's getting worse over here in certain areas, someone follows our local Amazon vans waiting for opportunities, in Covid it was fair enough but we're not in Covid anymore so we should get back to an actual signature again, I am fed up of having to go through the motions when stuff isn't where it's shown in a picture, often it's not even my house in the picture but there are so many scams going on around undelivered goods that we are made to feel like we are lying assuming you can even get to speak to a person and not fart about with a chatbot for half an hour.

If I am sending something of value, I will ask the person if there are any days that are best to get a delivery - or to avoid one - to minimize any theft risks, and will usually avoid having a parcel collected on a Friday as it will spend more time hanging around in a van (theft risk) or sorting office (loss risk).
There is a quality program in businesses called 6 Sigma, which companies try to achieve. This program means a company attempts a 'perfection level' of 99.9999% (6 9's). That is a pretty high level I think and I know when I was doing this training on 6 Sigma and around the time I spent over a year of my life working at/with Royal Mail Group on the Post Office account, they were bettering 99.9999%.
The only time I have had a real problem with a delivery was to one customer who lived on the boundry of the Post Code and the sorting office for his Post Code changed - but they forgot to tell someone, so his mail - and my parcels to him - went to & fro between two sorting office for days and days and days.

 

[Pudsey Bear]

I don't get out much nowadays so I like to go to the post office to post thing I have tried doing it online but we must have the laziest posties round here, a right scruffy bunch, they don't even wash their vans, no self respect at all the sorting office manager is too frightened to say anything and th epremises are strewn with litter.