I sent item - vakue £150. Now in dispute

well-medicated

I sent an ebay item by royal mail for signature on receipt.

Now in dispute. But royal mail won't consider it lost until 15 days have elapsed.

Am I expected to refund imediately (it's just over a week)? Or will paypal wait until the 15 days. And what happens if the parcel is later delivered and I'm left out of pocket? and I won't have the money to repay into my paypal account until the end of the month!

W-M

Browntoa

is that Royal Mail Recorded or Special Delivery ??

soolin

I'm assuming this is recorded (ie standard mail) and not special delivery.

Always try and get the buyer into the second week at least, but play it carefully, be reassuring as buyer may leave a non positive if he feels you are going to be difficult about refunding.

However ultimately you will have to refund even if that is before the 15 working days that RM require before you can start a claim. You may also need the buyers co operation later if they are single dout for a random letter from RM to check whether item was delivered or not.

Realistically if this item does fail to arrive, and check every afternoon in case the RM status gets updated, you are looking at around 6 weeks minimum before you get any refund from RM. 3 weeks for the claim and then around 3 weeks for them to deal with it. You will also only get back the item cost plus actual postage paid..unless they have changed the rules again. As it takes so long it is unlikely, but not impossible, that the item will still arrive before RM pay you out. If that is the case then you would have to approach the buyer again for further payment.

well-medicated

Yes it was standard parcel delivery. I've filled out a RM form for lost item and sent it off, though I'm surprised the post office gave it to me before the two weeks were up. Anyhow, not complaining. Buyer has filed a claim with paypal. I don't think I'll ever sell on ebay again. Too much grief for an amateur like me.

Thanks for the help.

steviebabes

Standard parcels do not offer a signature on receipt. The only suitable service for an item of this value is special delivery or Parcelforce with extra compensation. Some buyers prey on sellers who use inappropriate postal services I'm afraid.

soolin

Can you please just clarify that you used standard parcels rather than a signed for service that you mentioned in your first post? Like Ssteviebabes says parcels are not tracked and no signature is taken.

The post office will give you as many forms as you like BTW so getting a form doesn't mean your claim will be accepted early. As it may be returned and as RM have a horrible habit of losing claims I hope you kept a copy of your proof of postage!

AS has been said above standard mail only covers items up to £39, so you will not be fully reimbursed by RM, you will however need to reimburse the buyer in full. If you stated parcels in your auction then again like stevies says you may unfortunately have been specifically targetted.

Ebay and paypal are fine if you know how to use them, unfortunately you have made some very basic mistakes and whilst that might not have been a problem it was compounded by misunderstanding the postal services offered as well.

I'm sorry but I think this could end with you severely out of pocket, unless the item arrives later (and parcels can easily take 3-5 working days) and the buyer stops the dispute. Do let us know what happens, I'm sure we are all hoping that item arrives and claim is stopped.