Three packages sent through Royal Mail-Maybe lost

isayoldchap

bleugh wrote:

if you use paypal, their rules state that for you to be covered you HAVE to use AIRSURE delivery to post

unfortunatley, this costs £4.50 extra on top of normal post

its up to you to decide if to do it or not

unfortunatley for me, around 50% of my cheaper international parcels that are paid for by paypal go 'missing' and have to be refunded thru paypal, people are so damn dishonest :-(

(and, yes, they're lying, if they pay by cash/cheque, only 1 has failed to turn up!)

bleugh
Have you the link to this information?

soolin

isayoldchap wrote:

bleugh
Have you the link to this information?

Assuming you mean the paypal chargeback bit, then it is here:

http://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_help-ext&eloc=1370&loc=1341&unique_id=61655&source_page=_home&flow=

where it states the way to stop a chargeback against you is to:

Provide valid tracking information in order to dispute the chargeback received

Provide valid proof of a refund (either within or outside PayPal) in order to dispute the chargeback

Accept liability for the chargeback

Soo

bleugh

soolin wrote:

Provide valid tracking information in order to dispute the chargeback received

Thats the bit

AIRSURE is the ONLY way of doing that for international parcels

isayoldchap

bleugh wrote:

Thats the bit

AIRSURE is the ONLY way of doing that for international parcels

bleugh
Please have you just this link?

Agent_C

I recently had an item go missing and I refunded the buyer the full amount, but Royal Mail have only refunded me the value of the item, not the postage, so I'm £2.70 out of pocket.

This strikes me as absurd, because presumably when I paid RM to deliver the item I entered into a contract with them, they have breached their contract by not delivering it, therefore, they should refund me the amount I paid for them to carry out the service? If for example I paid someone to do some work on my house and they didn't do it then I would have the right to a refund; why should RM be any different? Has anyone ever challenged this?

OllieLong

They probably right it in their small print which means you can't challenge it although I've heard people on this forum have got their postage cost back sometimes.

Contains_Mild_Peril

It's something I've wondered about too. A disclaimer hidden in small print which isn't always shown to customers posting items, would not provide RM with legal protection. Many disclaimers have no legal staus in any case, e.g. the oft-quoted example of "no refunds on sale goods", which is illegal, and does not absolve retailers of their statutory obligation to refund if goods are faulty. Unless there is a loophole in the law itself which exempts RM from the usual rules, then Agent_C is absolutely right; the customer should be entitled to a refund of monies paid for a service not provided.
I state in my listings that I will only refund for items lost in the post if it has been 3 weeks or more since posting, because that's when RM considers them lost.

sp41700

isayoldchap wrote:

bleugh
Please have you just this link?

You can also use International signed for at £3.30 Airsure does not cover all countries.

G.

https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_help-ext&ui_mode=answer&prior_transaction_id=0&action_code=4&answer_id=11883558&leafid=95937&_PPP=511&_PPC=4&_FI=Tracking_Deliveries

isayoldchap

Contains_Mild_Peril wrote:

It's something I've wondered about too. A disclaimer hidden in small print which isn't always shown to customers posting items, would not provide RM with legal protection. Many disclaimers have no legal staus in any case, e.g. the oft-quoted example of "no refunds on sale goods", which is illegal, and does not absolve retailers of their statutory obligation to refund if goods are faulty. Unless there is a loophole in the law itself which exempts RM from the usual rules, then Agent_C is absolutely right; the customer should be entitled to a refund of monies paid for a service not provided.
I state in my listings that I will only refund for items lost in the post if it has been 3 weeks or more since posting, because that's when RM considers them lost.

Contains mild peril
I now give my ebay customers a clear choice on which postal service they want ie surface mail.The problem here is that this could take 8 weeks and if then you do decide to refund the likely chance is that they will also receive the item.Whether they will be honest enough to tell you is another matter.

I have an ongoing dispute at the moment for a package sent 19/09 to USA.What stinks about this is the buyer paid me but did not pay four other buyers at the same time and now has been taken off.They maybe pulling a fast one but I have now way of finding out.

soolin

isayoldchap wrote:

Contains mild peril
I now give my ebay customers a clear choice on which postal service they want ie surface mail.The problem here is that this could take 8 weeks and if then you do decide to refund the likely chance is that they will also receive the item.Whether they will be honest enough to tell you is another matter.

I have an ongoing dispute at the moment for a package sent 19/09 to USA.What stinks about this is the buyer paid me but did not pay four other buyers at the same time and now has been taken off.They maybe pulling a fast one but I have now way of finding out.

As you say you do run the risk of protective chargebacks if you use surface mail, and as long as you are happy to refund in full before the item has a chance to arrive then that is fine.

Personally though I refuse to offer a surface mail option as half of the time there is no way at all the item can arrive before the paypal cut off time of 45 days for a claim for non receipt. I am upfront in my auctions and always quote for air so buyers can decide whether it is too much to pay or not.

Also with relatives abroad I know that this run up time for Christmas is a nightmare. For instance the last Christmas posting date for surface mail parcels to New Zealnd was 14th October, here's a ready reckoner to see how long surface mail can take to arrive:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400023&mediaId=17800253

Soo