Item not received, how long should I wait?

sinar

Hi,

I bought an item from Ebay, which was shipped Royal Mail first class recorded delivery on 19th October, it still has not arrived and when I check the tracking number on the PO website is says "Information for your item is not yet available online"

If it has not arrived tomorrow I'll go to my sorting office to see if they have it there.

I know its only been a few days but I was wondering how long I should wait before I make a non delivery claim?

A couple of things are worrying me, firstly the item was sent recorded delivery even though it cost £240, and that I bought the item on September 24th, a month ago.

The item was not in stock, and it was supposed to be in stock a week later, but it kept getting delayed, I was happy to wait as nobody else had the item in stock, and the seller did ask me if I wanted a refund every time I was told of the delay.

So I"m a bit concerned that my buyer protection might elapse before I take action.

Also on the Ebay listing it states:

"We offer traceable services and advise customers that it pays to use these wherever you can we do provide lower cost alternatives, such as Royal Mail Recorded Signed For but there is NO TRACKING and normally a transit time of at LEAST 3-5 days after shipping to receive the item. When using Royal Mail Recorded Signed for in the UK you should be aware that it only provides proof of posting and, if delivered, proof of delivery.

If a parcel is lost it is only regarded as lost by the Royal Mail 15 working days after posting. When a claim form is submitted to Royal Mail after this time has elapsed they "aim to deal with all inland enquiries within 30 days of receipt". So in total it can be as much as 45 days after posting before we can replace or refund the order as we require confirmation from the Royal Mail on non-delivery."

I did not pay for extra for delivery, and the item is underinsured.

I know Royal Mail can take its time and I'm not panicking (too much!) right now, I was just hoping somebody could advice a reasonable time scale for me to consider reporting the item not received, as I don't want to run out of my buyer protection.

Hope that makes sense, thanks for reading,

Julie

theonlywayisup

If you paid on 24th September, I would quickly stick in a Paypal claim for INR (not Ebay). You will run out of time soon, you only get 45 days.

Recorded is NOT sufficient for an item over £46, so the seller is unwise to say the least. They also are outside of any seller protection as they didn't send it within 7 days of payment. Open the claim and do not close it under any circumstances, other than upon safe receipt of the item.

sinar

Hi,
I've just contacted the seller about my concerns and he replied as follows:


I just called Royal Mail for you. As it was shipped "Royal Mail Recorded - Signed For" they can't track the shipment directly. All they have available is proof they received the parcel from me. The only other reference that will appear is the actual proof of delivery when that happens.

What we do in cases like this is we can of course provide a refund or replacement, but we have to follow the Royal Mail guidelines on this which are that:

"If a parcel is lost it is only regarded as lost by the Royal Mail 15 working days after posting. When a claim form is submitted to Royal Mail after this time has elapsed they "aim to deal with all inland enquiries within 30 days of receipt". So in total it can be as much as 45 days after posting before we can replace or refund the order as we require confirmation from the Royal Mail on non-delivery."

This means the earliest date when the Royal Mail will consider it a lost parcel will be Tuesday, 8th November.

I wish there was something I could do to help you track the parcel but the only thing I can provide you with just now is our proof of receipt by Royal Mail if that helps?"

Obviously that puts me outside my timescale for buyer protection and is unacceptable (to me).

sinar

I'm not sure how to reply to them, i don't doubt that they have posted the item, does anyone know any ebay rules I can quote to him about him being responsible for the item getting to me in a suitable time period?

theonlywayisup

The seller has a contract with you. What he has to do in order to get his refund is of no consequence. Open the claim.

This is a very silly seller indeed.

theonlywayisup

It isn't your job to be quoting rules at him. Just go into paypal and open the claim (not Ebay). If you really feel you want an excuse for him, then tell him the you rang Paypal and they advised you to open the claim.

It isn't unusual for RM claims to take months. He has had £240 of your money for long enough. I accept you agreed to the delays, but I feel you are being strung out until you are out of time.

soolin

OK, now seller has shown their hand (ie they are an idiot) don't correspond with them anymore and as suggested above, just open a full INR claim in paypal.

sinar

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the advice, I replied to the seller earlier to say that I would wait until tommorow to see if arrives, and if not check with my local sorting office.

But assuming it does not turn up I'll go straight ahead with a paypal claim.

I feel a bit guilty (stupid I know) as I think he has posted the item, and he could potentially be out a lot of money, I wish I had opted for special delivery as it would have been trackable and not have been under insured.

But I suppose that is his problem not mine.

Thanks again,

Julie

martindow

sinar wrote: »

But I suppose that is his problem not mine.

Absolutely! Don't worry about his problems. You paid money to receive an item and it is the seller's responsibility to get it to you, or refund your money.

sinar

Just an update.

The item did not arrive today, so I went to my local sorting office to see if it was there, they had a good look around, and sadly, it was not there.

So I have just opened a paypal dispute, I've never done this before, at what point do I escalate the complaint?, do i have to give the seller a certain amount of time to try and resolve the issue?

Thanks for all the advice,

soolin

sinar wrote: »

Just an update.

The item did not arrive today, so I went to my local sorting office to see if it was there, they had a good look around, and sadly, it was not there.

So I have just opened a paypal dispute, I've never done this before, at what point do I escalate the complaint?, do i have to give the seller a certain amount of time to try and resolve the issue?

Thanks for all the advice,

I usually escalate after 24 hours