Making a RM claim

rainbow_carnage

I posted a lens to a buyer in Lithuania more than six weeks ago using RM's International signed for service. I insured the parcel for £200. Got an e-mail from the buyer this weekend that he hasn't received it.

I checked the tracking number on the RM site. It just says that it "has been passed to the overseas postal service for delivery in Lithuania". No sig is available.

I'd like to refund the buyer's payment. Can I make a claim with RM? If so, how long does it take to get the money?

I've looked on the RM site for answers. It's not very clear. It says I can claim if the item has been lost. How do I demonstrate that it has been lost? There's no sig that I can see, but is there ever for international post? Wouldn't the Lithuanian postal service have that?

Many thanks in advance.

cyberbob

I hink its 20 days before you can claim for an international parcel. RM do not offer any service that can guarantee a signature as once it lands in another country its out of their hands. By the sounds of it I doubt yours will get updated.

I would refund the buyer and put a RM claim in

soolin

Just one thing when you do make a claim make sure you have all the bits photocopied as it is not unknown for RM to lose a claim.

You';ll need to send everything in with your claim, including the receipt with tracking number and the receipt that shows the enhanced insurance paid for plsu a print out of the ebay page and receipt to show refund has been made.

Anecdotally it can be difficult to get RM to pay out on International signed for as RM can track it until it leaves the UK so they know they haven't lost it and don't of course guarantee a sig on delivery anyway. However, I would have thought the very fact that they allow you to do it and take out enhanced insurance must count for something.

One last thing, I hope it wasn't a phone as that would not be covered for loss.

rainbow_carnage

Thanks for the replies.

I'm a little reluctant to just refund the money unless I know for sure that a) the buyer hasn't received the lens, and b) I'll get the money back from RM. If I do refund, is it possible that RM will come up with proof of delivery? In that case, I won't have the lens or the money.

Also, is it possible to get the full £200 I insured the lens for? It's worth that much. I agreed with the buyer on a slightly lower BIN price because I wanted a quick sale to pay the rent.

Does the claim include the cost of the postage?

Thanks again.

soolin

rainbow_carnage wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

I'm a little reluctant to just refund the money unless I know for sure that a) the buyer hasn't received the lens, and b) I'll get the money back from RM. If I do refund, is it possible that RM will come up with proof of delivery? In that case, I won't have the lens or the money.

Also, is it possible to get the full £200 I insured the lens for? It's worth that much. I agreed with the buyer on a slightly lower BIN price because I wanted a quick sale to pay the rent.

Does the claim include the cost of the postage?

Thanks again.

You will have to refund regardless of whether you want to as item does not show as delivered, so forget trying to get round that. You could try phoning RM and ask them but even if they say they believe it to be delivered that is no good at all unless you have a copy of the signature online that paypal can view, they won't take any other form of proof.

Secondly, RM will pay out the item amount as demonstrated by the ebay print out and paypal refund, that is what the item was worth. They will also pay out the actual postage paid, not what you charged the buyer.

rainbow_carnage

soolin wrote: »

You will have to refund regardless of whether you want to as item does not show as delivered, so forget trying to get round that.

The way I understand it, RM never guarantees a signature on delivery (even though I've paid for one). Without a sig, the seller can never prove than an item has been delivered to an international address. Is this correct? So there's nothing to prevent an overseas buyer from claiming that he has not received the item even though he has?

It's not just an overseas issue. I regularly get recorded mail through the door without being asked for a signature.

Is there any way to solve this problem?

soolin wrote: »

Secondly, RM will pay out the item amount as demonstrated by the ebay print out and paypal refund, that is what the item was worth. They will also pay out the actual postage paid, not what you charged the buyer.

What do people do who haven't any physical proof of the value of the parcel? Say I just sent something to a friend. There'd be no proof of sale.

I'm not trying to make a profit from a parcel going lost, but I'd like to at least cover my costs (packaging, eBay listing, time spent going to the PO). It seems to me that even if I get the eBay sale price and actual postage cost back from RM (which is far from certain), I'll still be out of pocket. That doesn't seem terribly fair.

soolin

rainbow_carnage wrote: »

The way I understand it, RM never guarantees a signature on delivery (even though I've paid for one). Without a sig, the seller can never prove than an item has been delivered to an international address. Is this correct? So there's nothing to prevent an overseas buyer from claiming that he has not received the item even though he has?

It's not just an overseas issue. I regularly get recorded mail through the door without being asked for a signature.

Is there any way to solve this problem? .

There is no way round this and it is one reason why I won't send high value items overseas. I tend to limit myself to the standard airmail compensation (now £41). I believe though that some couriers are more reliable.

rainbow_carnage wrote: »

What do people do who haven't any physical proof of the value of the parcel? Say I just sent something to a friend. There'd be no proof of sale.

I'm not trying to make a profit from a parcel going lost, but I'd like to at least cover my costs (packaging, eBay listing, time spent going to the PO). It seems to me that even if I get the eBay sale price and actual postage cost back from RM (which is far from certain), I'll still be out of pocket. That doesn't seem terribly fair.

For non ebay items it can be very difficult as people still need to prove a value and that often involves trying to find original receipts or even photographs of the item being used. RM will not just pay up on the say so of a sender.

rainbow_carnage

soolin wrote: »

For non ebay items it can be very difficult as people still need to prove a value and that often involves trying to find original receipts or even photographs of the item being used. RM will not just pay up on the say so of a sender.

Surely that's the point of buying additional compensation insurance? I've paid for £200s worth of insurance. Shouldn't I get that, regardless of what was in the box?

If you buy a £500,000 life insurance policy, that's the amount the insurer has to pay out. They cannot say to the beneficiary, "Gee, we don't think his life was worth that much."

Why is it different with RM? I insured the package for the amount it was worth to me. I paid for that insurance. Who are they to argue it was worth less?

I realise that this isn't going to get me any more money, but I'd just like to know the rationale behind this policy. A lost parcel is a lost parcel. Why does it matter what was inside?

soolin

rainbow_carnage wrote: »

Surely that's the point of buying additional compensation insurance? I've paid for £200s worth of insurance. Shouldn't I get that, regardless of what was in the box?

If you buy a £500,000 life insurance policy, that's the amount the insurer has to pay out. They cannot say to the beneficiary, "Gee, we don't think his life was worth that much."

Why is it different with RM? I insured the package for the amount it was worth to me. I paid for that insurance. Who are they to argue it was worth less?

I realise that this isn't going to get me any more money, but I'd just like to know the rationale behind this policy. A lost parcel is a lost parcel. Why does it matter what was inside?

Life insurance though insures a life, so if that life is lost the full payment is due. You need to compare it to contents insurance, if you phoned an insurer today and told them to insure your £10,000 TV and then phoned up next month and tell them it had disappeared and you wanted your £10,000 do you honestly think they would just bung a cheque in the post? Yes they have accepted your premium, but that doesn't mean they accept the claim when item is lost or stolen, you would still need to demonstrate that loss.

The item was worth what you sold it for, not what you insured it for. The packing and time etc is immaterial, you had to do that whether or not item was lost.

Louisdf

You CAN see if the item has been delivered or not, use the track and trace site (google it because I can't post links)

If it has been delivered:
It might come up in Lithuanian, but you can just put into google translate. However, I remember posting an ISF package to Lithuania, and all I got was delivery confirmation and no signature. Luckily the buyer was honest. If the buyer claims through Paypal/CC company and you only have delivery confirmation, you will not be protected, as it's over £150 so you need the buyers signature. Royal mail will NOT give you any compensation, as a 'delivery confirmation' counts as being delivered even though it wasn't signed for.

if it hasn't: print out a copy showing it hasn't been delivered/entered the country, this should speed up your claim.

soolin

Louisdf wrote: »

You CAN see if the item has been delivered or not, use the track and trace site (google it because I can't post links)

If it has been delivered:
It might come up in Lithuanian, but you can just put into google translate. However, I remember posting an ISF package to Lithuania, and all I got was delivery confirmation and no signature. Luckily the buyer was honest. If the buyer claims through Paypal/CC company and you only have delivery confirmation, you will not be protected, as it's over £150 so you need the buyers signature. Royal mail will NOT give you any compensation, as a 'delivery confirmation' counts as being delivered even though it wasn't signed for.

if it hasn't: print out a copy showing it hasn't been delivered/entered the country, this should speed up your claim.

AS per original post:
I checked the tracking number on the RM site. It just says that it "has been passed to the overseas postal service for delivery in Lithuania". No sig is available.