a different sort of postage moan

soolin

This isn't the usual 'I've been overcharged p and p' moan , but a different question and one I wonder if others have encountered.

I bought a couple of things at the weekend from different sellers, one small and one a bit larger, I paid for 1st class recorded on one, RM parcel post on the other. I live fairly close to a main sorting office so I thought if I was out when either package was delivered then I could just go and collect, no problem. However, both sellers sent an email after auction end to say they use a courier now and require me to be in on a certain day between 8am-6pm. One does say in the email that if i am not in I can phone them before 3pm the previous day and ask for delivery on a different day...but I didn't read that email until after the cut off point as I was out.

One email also said that if I didn't cancel the delivery and I was not in to take delivery then I would have to make my own arrangements with the courier company and if I lived 'remotely' there was a small chance that I would have to pay an additional delivery fee direct to the courier.

Is this a new thing only if it is I shan't be buying again, my work pattern means that while I am at home most of the day I am never at home for the whole of the day and I bought on the basis that the postal methods were convenient to me. Maybe I've just been unlucky

Soo

skylight

Thats a bit cheeky of the seller!

I can understand they want to keep an eye on traceability and stuff, but its really cheeky to throw the onus back onto the buyer!

I'll have to keep an eye out too.

seabiscuit_2

thats well cheeky - if you paid for 1st class royal mail then you should receive the service you have paid for

if they have changed their delivery method to something which would frankly annoy me (and im home more often than not), then i would want it clearly on the auction stating as such

its not something ive come across YET but will be making sure that none of my sellers do something so annoying if i can help it

Becles

That's unfair if they are sending it by a different way than listed on the auction page.

I've got a different sort of postage moan too!

I took a number of parcels to my local PO yesterday and said they were to all go 1st class with proof of postage. I know the Postmaster well, so we were chatting on while he was doing the packages. He got to the second last parcel and said "oh no, that's got a number 2 on it!". He checked back, and for some reason he'd put first class on the first few parcels, then second class on the rest. He was really apologetic, so I said it didn't matter and just left them with second class postage on.

I just had "sellers standard rate" on the auctions so I'm hoping nobody complains!

soolin

I forgot to mention that one of the sellers in his automated email sounded rather like the advert on the TV for a well known bank where the man puts his fingers in his ears and doesn't listen. His mail said that for his buyers convenience and due to inefficiencies in the Royal mail delivery systems which has inconvenienced his buyers he has personally and at his own expense upgraded his deliveries to a courier service but due to his committment to customer service his buyers do not have to pay one single note more for this extra service!

Soo

bleugh

fair point OP, i've taken to using business post for some of my larger items i hadn't really considered what would happen if the person wasn't there for a re-delivery

i'll mark up my future auctions clearer, as i know they haven't that many depots around (my local one is cardiff, 20 miles away!!)

soolin

bleugh, it's not the fact that they are using a courier that bothers me at all, it's that I didn't know until I bought and paid for the items. I don't have any problems with couriers per se and can totally understand why some sellers want to use them especially for awkwardly shaped items.

I'm going to try putting a note on my door asking courier to leave items next door if I am out, so wish me luck.

Soo

Moglex

Both your sellers are right out of order.

Courier services can be a royal pain, and you should know that is the delivery method before you order.

Last week I had something (non ebay) sent by ParcelFarce, and it was a nightmare getting hold of it.

They say they will deliver between 8:00 and 18:00, so you need to be in 2 hours longert than a normal working day.

On top of that, it didn't turn up the first day, so I went out at 18:00 only to come home and find a card claiming they'd tried to deliver at 18:00 (Yeah, right).

The chimp on the van made a complete hash of filling in the card so I had no tracking number, and he'd ticked the option saying they'd taken it back to the depot and to contact them (as opposed to auto redelivery).

The next working day I got a tracking number from the sender and found that they had (or claimed to) attempted a second delivery.

In the end I had to arrange for it to be taken to the local PO for a 50p fee.

How much simpler when stuff just comes by RM, and if you miss the postie you can just pop down to the local sorting office and pick it up. The nearest Parcelfarce depot is 30 miles away!

Contains_Mild_Peril

Soolin, have you replied to the sellers? I would send polite but firm messages saying that while you appreciate they have their reasons for choosing a courier service, you specifically chose to purchase items offering Royal Mail delivery because that is the service you require because of your working hours, and the relative proximity of your local RM sorting office compared with more distant courier depots.

soolin

I started emails to both sellers but held off sending them until I'd got the parcels. One actually arrived 1st class recorded despite the email about it now coming by courier and my son was co incidentally back from his exam early and signed for it. The couriered parcel was just left im open porch, so I will amend my email to that seller pointing out that their secure method of delivery might not be all it seems.

Hermia

Moglex wrote:

Both your sellers are right out of order.

Courier services can be a royal pain, and you should know that is the delivery method before you order.

Too right! A seller once sent a parcel to me via a courier. I live in London yet the nearest depot was a 2 hour journey away and they only delivered Mon-Fri 9-5. I would now never buy from a seller who uses a courier and would be VERY annoyed if they used one without telling me. The Royal Mail has many faults, but at least they have depots all over the place.