buyer claiming item not arrived HELP

justpoppy

buyer just mailed me to say item sent 1st class on 7th april not arrived..

and i know she is taking the pee as it was an expensive item
my fault i know i should have sent it recorded moment of madness on my part as it was going to a work address and was a small clothing package
sent out 10 items that day and all the others have arrived safe and sound even 3 overseas ones...
I HAVE THE FEELING i dont have a leg to stand on and will have to refund
a three figure sum xx
this is so unfair do i have any options ?
or is this just a hard lesson learnt :eek:

Yasmine1984

No you don't have any options. You're gonna have to refund them. You can tell them to wait for 14 days,because Royal Mail doesn't count something as lost til then (or 21 days)

If you have a proof of postage you can claim £35 from Royal Mail.

If you don't have it,then you basically can't do anything.

Bowling_4_Gold

The buyer has an edge over you, as you have no proof of posting unless you kept the reciept from the PO but even then I don't think that will satisfy PayPal. You could either pass it as a lesson learned and forget about it, or if it really did get lost and you put your address on the back or inside, it will be returned to you eventually. Alternatively, you could withdraw the funds from PayPal and close your account, but that would be dishonest so I suggest you just pass it.

Yasmine1984

Closing your account won't do anything. They will end up chasing you and they will refund the buyer anyway.
Remember they have your address/bank account/credit card details. (unless you change the before closing it lol)

soolin

I suspect the OP already knows the answer to this one. Without proof of delivery you have no way of winning a paypal disptue, and forget all the nonsense suggested about closing paypal accounts etc.

I also question again why this buyer is automatically deemed a scammer, you say you sent it via ordinary mail yet to accuse them of scamming surely you must have proof of delivery, so which is it? Things get lost in Royal mail all the time otherwise why would any of us bother using tracked or guaranteed services?

Also recorded wouldn't have been the correct service here anyway, items over £39 must go special to be covered for loss.

Can I suggest a quick read of the 'tips for new sellerss' post here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1623183&highlight=tips+new+sellers

It is however still early days for standard mail, ask the buyer to check with their sorting office to see if package is there.

justpoppy

thankyou for your repliesxx
i do have postage reciept
and my own return address is always on the outside of package
i really hope this is an honest seller and just a delay by royal mail
my fault as i should have insured it !! as it was going to a work address i just assumed it would be fine
thanks again

FloFlo

How big was the parcel, it might b worth ringing their local royal mail sorting office just in case its stuck there - wouldnt be the first time.

soolin

The problem with work addresses is of course that you have no idea whether the parcel is stuck under someone desk waiting to be handed over at some point. I dislike work addresses for this reason, although of course am always happy to send if paypal tell me that is the 'ok to send to' address.