Returned Recorded Delivery - Where do I stand?

MonstersMummy

Hi all,
I sold a baby jacket on ebay last month, got cheque eventually and when it cleared posted recorded delivery as listing stated, to the address supplied on winning bidders account.
I got it back Saturday, packaging opened, stating addressee unknown.
Have yet to contact buyer as I dont know where I stand with this. I shipped to address they provided, the packaging has been opened (came back in royal mail bag) and theres no way I'm forking out another £2.50 to post it again when it was obviously their fault, I'd end up making a loss!!!
I had an email the day it was posted asking where the item was and told them it had been poste dthat day and gave them the tracking number saying that it would arrive the following day..if not let me know and I'll chase it for them. Have heard nothing since.
What happens in situations like this? Can anyone help?
Many thanks.

Sinope_2

Do you know exactly who opened it? If it was delivered to them then they would have to sign for it, if they havent then its down to royal mail to re-imburse you. You need to first off find out who if anyone signed for it.

MonstersMummy

Hi,
I've just checked the website and although it states the tracking number was delivered the signature reads ENQ, I'm presumming that is short for enquiry, maening there was a problem.
Would it still be royal mails fault if the occupants have refused delivery because the person it wsa addressed to doesn't live there?
I have no idea who the package was opened by. It could have been just an accident in handling.

wileycat

You need to e-mail the buyer to find out what happened they're end. If they knew nothing about it (not carded), and it was just returned to you...then RM will reimburse you postage costs incurred as its their fault..

Have they opened it to find you're return address?

Theres nothing to stop you sealing it up again really and reposting it back to the buyer in the same packing and cross out the red sticker..

jen_cam_har

hi. I work for the post office. Maybe the person has moved and forgot to update their details - parcel should not have been opened unless royal mail looking for a return address. If royal mail has put addressee unknown they legally have to try to return it to you. Try e-mailing your winner for verification of their address.

frivolous_fay

If it was sent recorded, the slip should have had the return address details on it, so there's no excuse for opening it IMO.

Sooler

Ask Royal Mail if it was delivered or not – you paid for recorded delivery – did you get what you paid for?

Baby_J_2

This happened to me before. I posted a DVD out to a gentleman, two weeks later it came back stating that it had not been collected from the sorting office. I emailed the person who had brought it and never heard from them again....they had paid and everything.

pinkgem

My sister started using ebay to sell a few things a couple of years ago. She sold a pair of shoes and sent them in the shoebox by recorded delivery and although she didn't receive any feedback she thought nothing of it.

about 3 weeks later the shoes came back as not being called for. she emailed the person and said that they would need to pay for postage again if they wanted them sent again but she never got a reply and i think she still has the shoes and the money!

pinkgem

I also just remembered I sold a large ikea tv bench a few years ago, buyer paid and i arranged delivery by parcelforce. Myself and OH took ages wrapping it, we spent a fortune on bubble wrap and rolls of thick corrugated card then went round it loads with brown tape. Parcelforce collected and I emailed the buyer to let them know when delivery should be. I presumed it had been delivered ok as i checked the tracking on the day the delivery was due and it said it was out for delivery, then i checked it the following day and it said something like "we aim to deliver this item on the due delivery date" so i just presumed it had been delivered, that status hadn't been updated and because i never heard anything from the buyer.

about 3 weeks later i had a knock at the door, it was parcelforce with the tv bench! the packaging was all ripped open and it had been damaged slightly on all the corners. There was a sticker on is showing that they had attempted delivery 2 or 3 times.

I presumed I would hear from the buyer shortly and that they would want either a re-delivery or a part refund. So I went on Parcelforces website and asked for a claim form, it turned up about a week later and I filled it in stating that they had damaged it and asked for compensation and then sent it back to them. They replied a few weeks later stating that it was too late to put in a claim for compensation for damage but it was them that took 3 weeks to return it to me and then a week to send me the claim form! I wrote to complain, explaining the circumstances and sent the claim form again but they wrote back saying the same thing!

We kept the damaged tv bench for months, I emailed the buyer a few times asking why they had not taken delivery of it, why they had not contacted me or parcelforce and also told them that it was now damaged. I was planning on keeping hold of the money until I heard from the buyer as I wasn't sure what they would want to do and since I'd had the expense of the packaging and delivery and as they may have wanted it re-delivering.

In the end we took it to the tip as it was getting in the way and we never heard from the buyer. we could have re-sold it and described and pictured the damage but didn't really want the hassle especially as it needed repackaging again.

martindow

If it has come back in a Royal Mail bag it has either fallen apart in transit or been officially opened to find the sender's address. Unfortunately this is all too common where the recipient has not been left a card by the postman or has not bothered to contact the sorting office. After a period of time the PO will return the item to the sender.