Postage Cancellation Charges

wirralite
wirralite Posts: 53 Forumite
in Consumer rights
I recently sold something on eBay. There was a problem and the buyer has returned the item. I was required to pay for return postage, which I did with myHermes via Parcel Hero. Postage cost was £2.75.

As it turns out the buyer has sent the package back via another means and is attempting to get ebay to charge me for their postage. If successful I will have basically paid twice.

I requested a refund from Parcel Hero, which they are happy to provide however when requesting the cancellation, I receive a message "Collection Cancellations will incur a £2.50 charge". That might not be word for word, however the sentiment is the same.

First thing, I note is £2.50 is almost the full cost of postage, so basically I will not receive a refund. Secondly, I can not find in their T&Cs a charge for cancellation, and thirdly, I have not arranged a cancellation; the package was going to be dropped off at a shop.

I have emailed Parcelhero and rejected their charge. Do I have any rights to get a refund? When a (similar) matter happened with Royal mail they just cancelled the postage and refunded the money.
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Comments

  • DoaM
    DoaM Posts: 11,863 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    You may be in the right, you may not. For £2.50 ish it's probably not a battle worth fighting.
  • wirralite
    wirralite Posts: 53 Forumite
    DoaM wrote: »
    You may be in the right, you may not. For £2.50 ish it's probably not a battle worth fighting.

    It is if you sell something, ship it, pay to return it, refund the purchase price and end up out of pocket twice for no reason.

    Plus I don't consider sending an email and knowing where you stand, much of a fight. It takes seconds. It is also a matter of principle...they haven't actually done any work to deliver this package, yet are still getting paid for it.
  • theonlywayisup
    theonlywayisup Posts: 16,031 Forumite
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    What other means did the buyer use (how much did it cost). Did you upload your Hermes label to the ebay case?
  • wirralite
    wirralite Posts: 53 Forumite
    theonlywayisup wrote: »
    What other means did the buyer use (how much did it cost). Did you upload your Hermes label to the ebay case?

    I am not complaining about being charged for the other means of returning the parcel. I am dealing with that separately.

    What I need to know here, is can they charge me a cancellation fee, virtually equivalent to the postage charges, when it is not clearly stated in the Terms and Conditions. I guess I will just wait and see what my bank concludes and deal with it myself then. I just thought I'd find some useful advice here.
  • bris
    bris Posts: 10,548 Forumite
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    wirralite wrote: »
    I am not complaining about being charged for the other means of returning the parcel. I am dealing with that separately.

    What I need to know here, is can they charge me a cancellation fee, virtually equivalent to the postage charges, when it is not clearly stated in the Terms and Conditions. I guess I will just wait and see what my bank concludes and deal with it myself then. I just thought I'd find some useful advice here.
    Yes they can, it takes someone time to process this, you pay for this time.


    It's not their fault you want to cancel, circumstances are irrelevant and not their problem.
  • wirralite
    wirralite Posts: 53 Forumite
    bris wrote: »
    Yes they can, it takes someone time to process this, you pay for this time.


    It's not their fault you want to cancel, circumstances are irrelevant and not their problem.

    OK. That may be a logical "opinion", but is it not a legal requirement for them to inform you of their intention to charge you for cancellation in their T&Cs?
  • DoaM
    DoaM Posts: 11,863 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    Were you selling as a business?

    Did you engage the courier as a business or as a consumer?
  • wirralite
    wirralite Posts: 53 Forumite
    DoaM wrote: »
    Were you selling as a business?

    Did you engage the courier as a business or as a consumer?

    Private sale. As a consumer.
  • peachyprice
    peachyprice Posts: 22,346 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    wirralite wrote: »

    As it turns out the buyer has sent the package back via another means and is attempting to get ebay to charge me for their postage. If successful I will have basically paid twice.

    OK, so this hasn't actually happened yet.

    What reason did the purchaser give eBay for not using your myHermes pre-paid postage? Did they have the label in time? What is their own personal preference not to use it? As far as I am aware if you choose not to use the pre-paid method provided, tough luck, you bear the cost.

    You might be better off posting on the ebay board asking for advice on how to fight this with eBay rather than trying to fight parcel hero over something that is not their fault.
    Accept your past without regret, handle your present with confidence and face your future without fear
  • wirralite
    wirralite Posts: 53 Forumite
    peachyprice wrote: »
    OK, so this hasn't actually happened yet.

    What reason did the purchaser give eBay for not using your myHermes pre-paid postage? Did they have the label in time? What is their own personal preference not to use it? As far as I am aware if you choose not to use the pre-paid method provided, tough luck, you bear the cost.

    You might be better off posting on the ebay board asking for advice on how to fight this with eBay rather than trying to fight parcel hero over something that is not their fault.

    I an NOT disputing the ebay charge, here. This is another matter. What I am asking here is can ParcelHero (legally) charge ME a cancellation fee, for cancelling a postage label, even if it is not listed (clearly) in their Terms & Conditions. I have been through their T&Cs several times, and conducted a search for "Cancel" and "Refund"; I have been unable to find anything about a charge. Even on the website, when requesting the refund it states the charge is for a "cancelled collection" but there was never going to be a collection, unless they refer to a shop drop off as a collection. Either way I cant find it in the T&C.
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