Lost Recorded Delivery

chrisdhorne

I recently signed up for an ISA with IF and had to send off my passport as proof of identity. IF recieved this and sent it back recorded delivery on the 24th September, however it has not arrived and Royal Mail have stated that it is lost and I must send in a claim.

The problem I have is that I can only claim, according to Royal Mail, a maximum of £39 for this, whereas a replacement passport will cost me £77.50 giving me a loss of £38.50 as well as an inconvenience to myself. This seems very unfair and unjust as I was required to send my passport off in order to open an account to help me save, it wasnt me that sent it when it got lost, and yet I come out of this losing money.

Surely there must be some way I can claim back more than just the £39 that I am allowed to claim?

Mrs_justjohn

Hi

From experience you have no recourse against Royal Mail. They clearly state that standard insurance with recorded delivery is £39. I would say that IF had an obligation to ensure that the passport was adequately insured whilst in transit.

I don't know how far you will get persuing them but I would suggest it is your only hope

soolin

Actually you can't even claim back the £39 as recorded only covers items, not consequential loss, and replacing of a passport is the latter.

Unfortunately the wrong service was used for this and I would be taking this up very strongly with the person who returned it, surely they must stand the loss for you?

OlliesDad

soolin wrote: »

Actually you can't even claim back the £39 as recorded only covers items, not consequential loss, and replacing of a passport is the latter.

He can claim back the cost that he paid for that passport, as that is how much it took to buy (therefore the cost of that item).

In reality it is IF who should compensate you for the loss as it is them who failed to properly insure you.

custardy

OlliesDad wrote: »

soolin wrote: »

Actually you can't even claim back the £39 as recorded only covers items, not consequential loss, and replacing of a passport is the latter.

He can claim back the cost that he paid for that passport, as that is how much it took to buy (therefore the cost of that item).

In reality it is IF who should compensate you for the loss as it is them who failed to properly insure you.

no the max is £39 regardless of who you blame however that is not the OP's problem
the dept sending it will have no proof it was returned so its up to them to 'fix' this
more and more we see posts on MSE where people just dont grasp or bother to check what service is appropriate for what they require
for anything of value it has to be special delivery with has £500 cover at the basic level(up to £2500 available) and the option for consequential loss available.

edit: OP was the return postage method down to you or them?

tbw

As an aside from what can/cannot be claimed, I was under the impression that it is the Sender who has the contract with Royal Mail, not the Recipient. So surely it is the Company who sent the passport back to the OP who will have to argue this one out? I don't think the OP will get a bean out of the Royal Mail if he tries to claim.

I could be up the proverbial gum tree though!!!

chrisdhorne

I had no choice in how it was sent back to me - it was them who choose that method of sending that back. If it was them at fault for sending it back wrong, how do i claim from them?

custardy

chrisdhorne wrote: »

I had no choice in how it was sent back to me - it was them who choose that method of sending that back. If it was them at fault for sending it back wrong, how do i claim from them?

well you need to contact them and ask them where it is
dont get bogged down with chasing RM as its not your problem

Mrs_justjohn

tbw wrote: »

As an aside from what can/cannot be claimed, I was under the impression that it is the Sender who has the contract with Royal Mail, not the Recipient. So surely it is the Company who sent the passport back to the OP who will have to argue this one out? I don't think the OP will get a bean out of the Royal Mail if he tries to claim.

I could be up the proverbial gum tree though!!!

This is a myth...Sender or Receiver can claim....In fact I think it asks on the claim form whether you are the sender or recipient?

HOWEVER....they prefer the sender to claim and this is because...they can get away with paying out less.

For example...If I buy an item at a boot fair for £2 and sell it on Ebay for £20 and it goes missing in the post...If the recipuent claims they have to reimburse them the £20 they paid. If I (as the sender )claim then they only have to reimburse me £2 as that is all the item cost me!

custardy

Mrs_justjohn wrote: »

This is a myth...Sender or Receiver can claim....In fact I think it asks on the claim form whether you are the sender or recipient?

HOWEVER....they prefer the sender to claim and this is because...they can get away with paying out less.

For example...If I buy an item at a boot fair for £2 and sell it on Ebay for £20 and it goes missing in the post...If the recipuent claims they have to reimburse them the £20 they paid. If I (as the sender )claim then they only have to reimburse me £2 as that is all the item cost me!

why would the recipient get bogged down trying to claim in this situation?

Mrs_justjohn

custardy wrote: »

why would the recipient get bogged down trying to claim in this situation?

They shouldn't - I never suggested they should. In fact my very first post says that the sender should be held responsible for not ensuring it was adequately insured

I was merely answering your post that the recipient 'couldn't' claim:rolleyes: