Buyer didn't recieve item?

[bhavik95]

Hi I sent and item of to the buy I think on Saturday I think I've got postage proof. He claims that he hasn't gotten the item. I know I will have to refund him back.

But when I claim with RM can the buyer get caught out and get in trouble?
I was also wondering what happens after I make a claim with RM?

Seems a little early for them to be saying their item hasn't arrived?

If you don't have tracking then you'll have to refund anyway.

You can't claim from royal mail until 15 working days have passed.

If you make a claim, I've found there are 2 ways it can go.

1)Royal mail will refund you right away via cheque
2) They may write to the buyer asking them to fill out a form saying their item never arrived. Most people ignore this form.
Royal mail will then send you a letter saying "we have written to the buyer and received no response, so we assume the item has been delivered, we will not be paying out compensation"

That's my experience anyway.

[muzzie]

If tracking shows the item has arrived - you will win the case, and it does not matter what he will tell you.

[bhavik95]

Hi I sent the item out by 1st class post so no tracking.

So if Royal Mail do send a letter to the buy and they don't reply then that means I'm at a loss?

Is there no way the buyer gets caught out or in trouble?

You would need to pursue the matter with royal mail. They will pay out if you kick up a fuss.

[bhavik95]

What happens if the buyer does reply back to Royal Mail will i get my money back then?

[rsot]

Originally Posted by bhavik95

What happens if the buyer does reply back to Royal Mail will i get my money back then?

Reply back with what you figure?

[zenohki]

I found that claiming a lost item is not worth it with Royal Mail. Item sold for £20 + and royal mail gave me a book of 6 first class stamps (currently worth about £3.84, was even less back then) because that's what they felt the item was worth. So I didn't even get my money really, the amount of time put into filing that request was not worth the compensation.


It's early to be claiming a lost item, as just_smile mentioned you have to wait 14 or 15 days from the date the item was meant to be received (not even the sent date)

I would suggest asking the customer if there is a chance it may have been left with a neighbour, or could a calling card have been left if possibly they were not in. I find usually the time it takes these messages to exchange back and forth between me and the customer it either turns up or the customer just stops responding.

If they are adamant that it is lost then request that they open an item not received case on ebay (if they haven't already), if they want the refund mention that before you can do that you must process the lost item claim and 15 days have to have passed, so ask them to get in touch with you on that date if it has not been received so you can proceed as necessary.

With this make sure you are the last one to send a message. If the case is left long enough without contact from the buyer it's usually found in your favor. No contact from yourself means it is usually found in favor of the buyer.

Remember be nice, polite and explain everything clearly. Even mention that the item should have a return address if something goes wrong with delivery, and that if it comes back to you, you can refund the buyer instantly or resend it, which ever they prefer. (which I'm hoping you did put a return address on)

And in future I recommend tracking, or just writing off lost items if you are not going to send them tracked. It's not worth the time spent sorting it out.