Buyer opened INR case against me

kims_here

Hi,
I sold a top on ebay and posted May 25th second class standard and I got a certificate of proof of postage. The buyer says they were on holiday that week and when she got back there were some items there for her to collect but this parcel was not one of them. I contacted royal mail and they told me to wait at least 15 days before the item could be considered "lost". I told her that and I told her I would help her make a claim for lost parcel with royal mail/forms etc but then she just opened a item not received case against me on ebay.
My question is, I thought obtaining a certificate of proof of postage was supposed to be proof however ebay have said they only accept tracking numbers???? I told ebay that they buyer did not pay for recorded delivery or special delivery they paid for standard economy delivery and that's what I used. Where does this leave me? what was the point in the certificate of postage if ebay only accept tracking numbers? if the buyer chooses that method of postage, pays that amount how can they expect a free tracking number? I'm sorry I don't get this at all. Sorry this is so long, please advise me on the next step many thanks

soolin

Proof of posting has never been proof of delivery on ebay or anywhere else.

As the RM time scale for reclaim is nothing at all to do with the buyer i suggest you refund th ebuyer in full immediately, th elast thing you want is the claim being closed and a forced refund as that reflects badly on yoru seller stats and can alsmean you don't get your paypal fees back. So just refund.

Then after 15 working days use your COP to claim your losses form RM, you'll need to send them the paypal page showing the refund and also the ebay page showing the item cost.

marie-20

I agree with Soolin - the delivery of an item is the responsibility of the seller not the buyer.

If the item hasn't been received you need to refund the buyer in full and then claim the costs back off RM.

If you were a buyer you wouldn't expect to have to fill out the form yourself and wait a while for your money - it can be quite a slow process with RM.

The proof of postage allows YOU as the seller to claim that an item is lost in the post.

techspec

Ebay refuse to accept proof of postage. They have accepted it from me on a couple of occasions, but this was rare, and seems to have stopped again. Also. if you do charge for the tracking number - ebay threaten to throw you off. You can't win with them.

But your problem was offering to help THE BUYER claim - its you who as to claim.

When you set a postage time , the delivery time will have been set in the auction (view order details). After that, its lost as far as the buyer is concerned. There is nothing wrong with trying to get then to wait a bit longer until its clearly lost (some will , some son't) but then you refund and claim yourself.

Problem then is, sometimes Royal Mail contact the buyer. The buyer then refuses to confirm the item got lost - and you lose your money.

soolin

techspec wrote: »

Ebat state that tracking is only required over £150. Yet, they refuse to accept proof of postage. They have accepted it from me on a couple of occasions, but this was rare, and seems to have stopped again.

Your problem was offering to help THEM claim - its you who as to claim.

When you set a postage time , the delivery time will have been set in the auction (view order details). After that, its lost as far as the buyer is concerned. There is nothing wrong with trying to get then to wait until its clearly lost - but then you refund and claim yourself.

Whilst a signature is only required on items over £150 all items need proof of delivery to be covered by paypal rules.

kims_here

Thank you all for your responses, from what I understand all items must be sent recorded delivery or special delivery regardless of the cost (even for a 99p top). My mistake I think was offering buyers a choice of standard mail or recorded delivery, I should have only offered recorded delivery that way the buyer cannot choose the cheaper option. I didn't know that I was responsible for royal mail losing the parcel, silly me! so I have to refund straight away and then fingers crossed royal mail will refund me "if" the buyer decides to confirm it's lost and if they don't I loose the money..excellent thanks

Harry_Flashman

For what it's worth, I've never had any problems claiming from RM for lost parcels.

kims_here

Thank you very much, going to refund now and then do royal mail form, thanks

hermum

You're covered with your certificate of posting up to £46, the same as you would be if you used recorded delivery.
RM don't always contact the recipient.
Yes the sender is the one who has to claim for lost post, whether it's an ebay purchase or a Xmas present sent to a friend.
When somebody buys from you it is your responsibility to get the item to them or refund, including postage costs.

mikey72

kims_here wrote: »

Thank you all for your responses, from what I understand all items must be sent recorded delivery or special delivery regardless of the cost (even for a 99p top). My mistake I think was offering buyers a choice of standard mail or recorded delivery, I should have only offered recorded delivery that way the buyer cannot choose the cheaper option. I didn't know that I was responsible for royal mail losing the parcel, silly me! so I have to refund straight away and then fingers crossed royal mail will refund me "if" the buyer decides to confirm it's lost and if they don't I loose the money..excellent thanks

It doesn't matter how you send it.
If RM lose it, it's still down to the seller to claim.