item tracking states delivered but buyer says not

parent_of_too_many

hi, im looking for some advice as ive never had this happen before.
i posted an item 1st class recorded delivery, online tracking is showing as delivered but there is no signature just left blank where signature should be.
The buyer has contacted me to say the item has not arrived and they have checked their sorting office and its not there either.
I understand i will have to refund and have got a claim form but on the form it only gives the options for lost , delayed, damaged or delivered with contents missing.
Because my item is showing as delivered can i still claim that it is lost?
even though according to royal mail is is not .

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

You have to make a slightly different claim disputing the signature. I'm not sure how exactly, may be best to call RM and ask unless someone else here knows. As I understand Royal Mail will still pay out after investigating, especially as in this case the signature is blank.

Have you asked the buyer to check with their other household members, neighbours, recycling boxes, etc, etc just to make sure it hasn't been sort of delivered but just not in their hands yet?

custardy

I would contact the buyers delivery office yourself
get them to do an intranet track and check when/where/how it was scanned

bris

I would let it go to disput and hopefully ebay will see it as a no fault case and let you keep the money.

parent_of_too_many

thanks for the replies, i will try to contact the buyers local sorting office tomorrow, looking at the buyers feedback it may be they have a problem getting their mail, a few items not turned up in the last few months.
if i let it go to dispute i will probably end up with a neg and disputes go against you i believe,
its fustrating and even though its not massive amounts of money to be told i will only get stamps back is annoying.

parent_of_too_many

hi, looking for some more advice if anyone can help please,
To follow up what has already happened i have spoken to the buyers sorting office they are stating the item has been delivered and thats the end of that, they didnt really want to help to be honest.
i have spoken to royal mail at the helpline and they are basically saying the same, the item has been delivered the reason there is no signature is because whoever signed did not press hard enough when signing and there is a small mark on their screen so they know it has been signed for.
Also just to add further problems the address is not registered with royal mail ( its a bungalow on a farm not the main farm building) only the main building is registered and that is where it has been delivered to.( buyer says not )
Therefore i cannot claim for loss as the item is not lost !!
not sure what i can do now if i refund i have no item no money and cannot claim,
what would you do?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

You can still claim, call Royal Mail back, don't mention anything about the parcel being missing, tell them you wish to dispute a signature and ask what paperwork you need to file to do this.

If they don't give you an acceptable answer, call the head office switchboard and ask to speak with the MD's office, they have a team of people there to deal with complaints.

If you feel the buyer is genuine, you should refund them. If you was in their position and didn't have a parcel but the seller said I've got a signature tough luck you wouldn't be happy.

I would wait until Royal Mail investigate the signature and reassuring comms should prevent them leaving bad feedback, especially if they appear to be having issues with their mail in general.

Regarding the address not being on the Royal Mail database, I wouldn't accept this and would take the matter to the regulator if they refused to pay based on this.

RFW

parent_of_too_many wrote: »

hi, looking for some more advice if anyone can help please,
To follow up what has already happened i have spoken to the buyers sorting office they are stating the item has been delivered and thats the end of that, they didnt really want to help to be honest.
i have spoken to royal mail at the helpline and they are basically saying the same, the item has been delivered the reason there is no signature is because whoever signed did not press hard enough when signing and there is a small mark on their screen so they know it has been signed for.
Also just to add further problems the address is not registered with royal mail ( its a bungalow on a farm not the main farm building) only the main building is registered and that is where it has been delivered to.( buyer says not )
Therefore i cannot claim for loss as the item is not lost !!
not sure what i can do now if i refund i have no item no money and cannot claim,
what would you do?

I've had a similar problem with a special delivery item, but RM are still investigating, after I have continually pestered to get this sorted out. If you can contact Royal Mail via Twitter and their customer service team on there will help, failing that write to Royal Mail customer services, Freepost, Plymouth, PL9 7HJ.

custardy

ludovico wrote: »

You can still claim, call Royal Mail back, don't mention anything about the parcel being missing, tell them you wish to dispute a signature and ask what paperwork you need to file to do this.

If they don't give you an acceptable answer, call the head office switchboard and ask to speak with the MD's office, they have a team of people there to deal with complaints.

If you feel the buyer is genuine, you should refund them. If you was in their position and didn't have a parcel but the seller said I've got a signature tough luck you wouldn't be happy.

I would wait until Royal Mail investigate the signature and reassuring comms should prevent them leaving bad feedback, especially if they appear to be having issues with their mail in general.

Regarding the address not being on the Royal Mail database, I wouldn't accept this and would take the matter to the regulator if they refused to pay based on this.

a claim can only be made on a legitimate RM address
so it could be an issue for the seller

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

a claim can only be made on a legitimate RM address
so it could be an issue for the seller

Assuming the place exists it's not of my concern whether RM have it in their database, my understanding is that RM have a legal obligation to deliver to every address in the UK so I fail to see why they should be resolved of responsibility if they don't have an address on their database. If I was making the claim I wouldn't take no for an answer, especially as RM's answer to the OP is currently that the parcel been delivered, my question to them would be how did they deliver it if they claim the address doesn't exist.

custardy

ludovico wrote: »

a claim can only be made on a legitimate RM address
so it could be an issue for the seller

Assuming the place exists it's not of my concern whether RM have it in their database, my understanding is that RM have a legal obligation to deliver to every address in the UK so I fail to see why they should be resolved of responsibility if they don't have an address on their database. If I was making the claim I wouldn't take no for an answer, especially as RM's answer to the OP is currently that the parcel been delivered, my question to them would be how did they deliver it if they claim the address doesn't exist.

every address in the UK
however that doesn mean you can stick a number on your shed and RM are legally obliged to deliver to it
you may feel you wouldnt take no for an answer
Im simply telling you if the address isnt on RMs database(and as such the councils before that) then they wont entertain a claim
eg they are saying it delivered
then it could be delivered to the main house
I'm not saying the OP doesnt have a claim,only that for them to claim for a failed delivery that the address must be on RM database