RANT about the Royal Mail

[Innes]

I sold an iPhone to the United Arab Emirites December 31st 2010. I went to the post office and asked what would be the best way of sending it. As the value was £217 I was recommended to post it via 'International Signed For' and pay a little extra insurance to cover the cost of the phone. I agreed to it and posted it with the Royal Mail. I was told I could track its progress on the RM's website.

2 weeks go by and I get an email from the guy in UAE asking where his parcel is. I check on the RM site and it says

'Your item, posted on 31/12/10 with reference xxxxxxxxx has been passed to the overseas postal service for delivery in UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.

The RM site apparently only tracks the package in the UK. As soon as it leaves the UK its off the radar tracking wise but once its delivered this message should be updated to Delivered.

I told the guy to hold on longer becaus of the bad weather we were having at the time was causing havoc with the post.

Long story short, he never gets the package and the RM website doesnt update so we both assume its lost in post.

Royal Mail can't tell me where it is and recommend I put in a request for compensation.

The guy on eBay requests a refund via eBay due to none delivery so eBay gave me 14 more days to refund him.

13 Days go by with no news from RM or the parcel turning uo so am forced to refund the guy.

3 weeks later I get a letter from RM saying that the parcel was delivered on the 12th Jan 2011 and they wont compensate me. I contact the ebay guy and he is insistant he hasnt recieved it but he'll go to the UAE Postal Service to see whats going on. He contacts me the next day to say that they had delivered the parcel to his university but they didnt get a signature for it and he doesnt know where it is. He said he'll try and find it for me.

I decide to contact RM and ask for them for the proof of delivery e.g. the signature so I can try and claim the money back from eBay incase this guy is trying to pul las fast one. The RM say they can't get hold of the Signature but still wont pay compensation!!!

My third letter to them went like this:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your response about my missing parcel to the United Arab Emirates however I do not accept your decision to not compensate me for my loss.

I paid for ‘International Signed For’ so I knew that someone would have signed for the parcel and that I would have proof of it. Currently you are not getting me this proof.

I have asked you to provide me proof that the UAE Postal Service has a signature for the parcel which you have replied in your letter to me (enclosed) that you cant provide this.

The person who was supposed to receive the parcel has been to the UAE Postal Service and asked them for proof of delivery and a copy of the signature. They told him that they delivered it to the address (a University) but they can’t provide him a signature because they didn’t get anyone to sign for it. This is a breach of their contract with you.

My recipient is now missing the parcel (£217 iPhone) of which I have had to compensate him for. I am now out of pocket because the UAE Postal Service didn’t follow the correct procedure agreed with you.

I would like you to compensate me for the full amount (£217) and if I don’t get the desired result then I will take this further to the Postal Review Panel and then on to the Postal Redress Service.

I will also consider contacting Trading Standards as the wording ‘International Signed For’ doesn’t mean that the Royal Mail can actually produce a signature.

I'm still waiting to hear the response from this third letter I have sent them but they seem to be digging their heels in even though they can't prove that it has been delivered.

The RM site still says 'Its on its way' nearly 4 months on!!

Sorry for the long post!

[DAVIDD88]

In breach of terms mate take it all the way hope you get what you due bud best of luck

[Big Sig]

I've had this before, albeit with a cheaper item. I lost the money in the end and I now never send anything outside of mainland england. There are a lot of con artists who know exactly how to play the system

[merikiito]

good luck and hope it works out. One of the reasons I only sell to the UK is a lot of buyers from abroad know they can abuse the system and end up getting the item for free.
You should go back to ebay and tell them that the item was signed for once you have proof from Royalmail if you ever get it.
As long as the item was sent to the address the buyer told you to send it and there is proof then in theory eBay/Paypal should give the money back, even more luck with that

Unfortunalty the leason learned is never ever sell beyond the UK on eBay

[mucklestone]

At work, items are only sent royal main if they can afford to lose/replace them. If we want a bit better service we use fedex. They are a joke!

[m8internet]

Same here, Britain only (Not even UK anymore) for sales through eBay UK

[bigboynigs]

god this sounds so familiar.

i sold a movie prop on ebay worth £120. i paid for extra insurance and evrything else to cover myself. a week after posting the buyer emailed me asking where his parcel was as he hadn't received it. i logged onto royal mail tracking web site and the reference number i had didn't match anything in their system. i phoned them up to which their reply was that the parcel hadn't left the post office and to go back and check with them
off i go back to the post office "oh yes it's definitely gone from here" they said.
i phoned royal mail back, "right then you need to fill out a form to make a claim. i filled out the form and sent it off by recorded delivery, refunded the money back to the buyer and waited.
hadn't heard anything after a week so i checked on the web site **** me , that form had been lost as well. i started to get very pi***ed off at this time. phoned up again to find out about my lost form about my lost parcel. Found out i was coming to the end of my time limit to make a claim so i had to send another form special next day delivery which cost another £11
two days later i got a reply stating that they wouldn't give compensation as the parcel had been delivered.
phoned the buyer to which he said he had no knowledge of this.
about a week later he found the parcel had been taken in by someone else in his small block of flats (didn't sign for !) so he had to send me the money back and refund a refund.

and all this was in the UK

you're not alone mate, hopefully it'll turn up or you'll get your money back

[Grumpy1954]

Hope you get it resolved but I think you're up against it, despite the clear beach of procedure. I note even CYC and Meguiars don't trust Royal mail for £10 bottles of polish, they use fedex, lol. Had so much lately the fedex driver asked me if I was working from home.

[chewy71]

I get 'signed for items' hanging out of my letter box in plain view for the thieves to steal!!

[Innes]

good luck and hope it works out. One of the reasons I only sell to the UK is a lot of buyers from abroad know they can abuse the system and end up getting the item for free.
You should go back to ebay and tell them that the item was signed for once you have proof from Royalmail if you ever get it.
As long as the item was sent to the address the buyer told you to send it and there is proof then in theory eBay/Paypal should give the money back, even more luck with that

Unfortunalty the leason learned is never ever sell beyond the UK on eBay

I'm inclined to think that the buyer might be genuine that he hasnt received due to the fact there is no signatue. I'll be sticking to my guns and will make alot of noise about it. Who here can affors to be over £200 for nothing!