Seller increases delivery charge after auction ends

mandymack

Can anyone tell me where I stand with this. Bought an item on "Buy it now" and paid the cost of the item plus the stated delivery charge by Paypal immediately. Seller has now emailed me to state that the courier company requires an additional £30.00 to deliver to my address, even though the listing states quite categorically that "Our standard delivery service covers mainland England, Wales and Scotland".
Can the seller insist I pay this additional charge or refuse to complete the transaction and refund me the money which is the only options I am being given
Mandy

soolin

He can't insist you pay, but actually you can't make him sell it to you either so it might be less stressful to take the refund (in full) and leave it at that.

However, personally (as I'm a meanie) I would not accept a mutual FVF refund claim. If I got a claim via ebay I would tick the box that says I still want the item, and deny him his refund, but that;s just me.

FloFlo

If the seller is only charging actual costs for delivery and this is the cheapest courier then it is only fair that this cost is paid by the buyer. It was probably genuine that they did not realise that your address would incur a large additional fee. Were you aware when buying that your address usually costs more to post to?

mandymack

FloFlo wrote:

If the seller is only charging actual costs for delivery and this is the cheapest courier then it is only fair that this cost is paid by the buyer. It was probably genuine that they did not realise that your address would incur a large additional fee. Were you aware when buying that your address usually costs more to post to?

I'm not in the back of beyond just north of Inverness which is still on mainland Scotland. I refuse to buy from any company which puts additional costs on delivery to certain areas, and that is why I chose to buy from this company because the listing stated the following

"DELIVERY

We will send out all items the same day if payment is received before noon using an overnight delivery service (deliveries and collections Monday to Friday only). Our standard delivery service covers mainland England, Wales and Scotland. Please note that an extra surcharge of £20 is imposed by our courier company for delivery to Northern Ireland or to any island (except the Isle of Wight)."

As far as I can see they couldn't have made it more clear that I would not incur anything other than the standard delivery charge, that is what is annoying me so much.

soolin

If you are Mainland Scotland then maybe you could suggest to the seller that he talks to his courier company again and finds you on a map to see you are not an Island or something.

The delivery charges you quote seem quite clear, Scotland is covered in standard rate unless you are on an Island ie not on the mainland.

Soo

FloFlo

If you think they are overcharging you for delivery then you have a right to feel annoyed perhaps they can use another courier. But if the cheapest courier is going to cost them £30 more than they expected I don't see how you can expect them to just absorb the cost. I understand that they have made a mistake and should hold their hands up and apologise.

mandymack

"If you are Mainland Scotland then maybe you could suggest to the seller that he talks to his courier company again and finds you on a map to see you are not an Island or something.

The delivery charges you quote seem quite clear, Scotland is covered in standard rate unless you are on an Island ie not on the mainland.

Soo"

Thanks Soo I have already emailed the company involved and their "Customer Service Dept" say they are sorry and will amend the advert shortly. I just wondered whether they were breaking any rules on Ebay by not completing the transaction as listed.

"If you think they are overcharging you for delivery then you have a right to feel annoyed perhaps they can use another courier. But if the cheapest courier is going to cost them £30 more than they expected I don't see how you can expect them to just absorb the cost. I understand that they have made a mistake and should hold their hands up and apologise."

FloFlo
I have sold a few things on Ebay recently and sometimes I have made a mistake with the postage quoted but I always just absorbed the additional cost as it was my fault, I never even considered contacting the buyer asking them for an extra payment. Surely the emphasis is on the Seller to ensure that the postage/delivery charges quoted are correct, otherwise no one will ever know what the final cost of something they bid for is, in this instance they are stating it is due to geography will it be due to increase in fuel costs next or where will it end. The price quoted should be the price the buyer pays it's not as if they are charging me next to nothing for delivery the price I paid is £39.99 for delivery of an armchair.

shellsuit

I wouldn't pay it.

Sellers mistake so seller should cough up.

Been there, misquoted and swallowed the difference myself, why should the buyer be out of pocket?!

soolin

We've all made mistakes on postage, I remember a track suit in heavy velour that I sold for a 99p opening bid to a person in the US and where I had stupidly left worldwide airmail postage at £1 from a previous auction. Cost me an arm and a leg and I never even get feedback from the buyer. I would never have asked her to cough up the difference though, it was my stupid mistake and it taught me to be more careful in future...or at least until I did the same again about a month ago on a very heavy book where I had postage of less than a pound.

Soo

Contains_Mild_Peril

Since the mistake in this case was the courier's and not the seller's, I would let the seller off the hook and ask for a mutual agreement not to proceed with the transaction.

bleugh

offer meet them HALF WAY on the extra cost...........if you want to

the other options

you give neg
he gives neg
he has to relist
you have to purchase something else

if you got a good deal, even with the extra shipping, then why not!