Recorded delivery not delivered and compensation

*_ash_*_2

Hi,

I sent two dresses total including postage was £105 on 9th march and the buyer contacted me saying the items are not received, I took £9 postage as well due to weight and sent first class recorded so buyer gets it next day or day after with tracking

I checked tracking and it shows this:
Item AU069082959GB was posted at 172 Heston Road TW5 0QU on 09/03/12 and is being progressed through our network for delivery.

In other tracking it showed (which was tracked by buyer)
according to royal mail track and trace online it says the following-


DateTimeStatusTrack point09/03/1216:33ACCEPTED AT POL172 Heston Road TW5 0QU
It doesnt seem to have left heston.

Now i am very worried as it is an expensive item and it has never happened before, things dont get lost so i sent with a tracking service, now i know that i would be out of pocket if this goes missing, as i wouldnt be able to claim for this as no insurance was included.

I have asked the buyer to see mondays post and if not arrived check at her local sorting office, they might have tried to deliver but she might have not been home, and they didnt leave card.

She has agreed to cooperate and we both are shocked it was sent first class recorded and its 5 days, I am really hoping its delayed and buyer gets her items asap, otherwise i will be out of pocket and i also dont have a return address on the item!:(

All i get is a lost claim form as an answer for my query to my post office.

I have had an buyer tracking showing the same thing about a month back, being progressed for delivery as a status update but i have received the feedback from the buyer already, so i know sometimes they dont update their status, but i have no choice rather than believe the buyer as royal mail also misplace the mails.

Can Anyone advise me if there post were delayed this long and if it happened with anybody else, can i have some ideas please.

A bit worrying, as it were party wedding outfits bnwt and already gone cheaper than usual value in auction, so i am really hoping the buyer gets it.
Thanks

sam.4000

The only thing is to get the buyer to check if the item is at their local sorting office.
Recorded very rarely tracks and you can only claim £46 if it is lost unless you pay for extra insurance. Next time use special delivery which is guarenteed to track.

hermum

Unfortunately recorded isn't a reliable service, often the recipient isn't asked for a signature & if they are it doesn't update.
As above it could be at their delivery office, I would google the local DO number & see if you can get through on the phone to ask if it's there.
If it's lost the most you will receive from RM in comp is £46, the same as you would get with COP.
Always put a return address on everything you send, you should then get it back eventually.
More importantly make sure you use the correct postal service to cover you for the amount you are sending.
Hopefully it will be sat at the DO, as that's a lot of money to lose.
You'd do well to read the sticky at the top of the page on postage.

Obviously_the_best

That was only 6 working days ago, 8 if you include saturdays (can't remember if RM do or not) but they say it has to be at least 15 working days for an item to be classed as lost, so there is hope yet, however with your dresses you should really have sent them special delivery or with Collect+ or myHermes

macfly

sam.4000 wrote: »

Recorded very rarely tracks and you can only claim £46 if it is lost unless you pay for extra insurance. Next time use special delivery which is guarenteed to track.

Recorded is a service used by thousands of businesses day in day out for items under £46 value. Around 10 million pieces of post a day. Contrary to your comment, it very rarely fails to appear on the website. It's this forum which has adopted this mantra, and it's anecdotal rubbish.
But as you said, not the right service for items like this.

vicx

Royal Mail recorded delivery is just standard delivery so only insures up to £46.00 for loss/damage in post. Your items should have been sent by Courier or Royal Mail Special Delivery which have extra insurance and tracks the parcel until it reaches the recipient. Recorded delivery is not tracked and Royal Mail do not always get a signature upon delivery. Some will hand the parcel over or post through the door without requesting a signature.

There could have been an attempted delivery and the item could be waiting collection at your buyers local delivery office or left with a neighbour without a calling card being left. Have you asked your buyer to check? You will be able to find your buyers delivery office telephone number by calling Royal Mail on: 0845 6050767. This automated service will give you the address, telephone number and opening hours of the nearest Delivery Office.

vicx

If the item is still undelivered after 15 working days from date the item was due to be delivered you can claim your loss from Royal Mail which is 100 x 1st class stamps (£46.00).

soolin

macfly wrote: »

Recorded is a service used by thousands of businesses day in day out for items under £46 value. Around 10 million pieces of post a day. Contrary to your comment, it very rarely fails to appear on the website. It's this forum which has adopted this mantra, and it's anecdotal rubbish.
But as you said, not the right service for items like this.

I never ever sign for a recorded item and more than half the items I send recorded never update past the 'I have your item' message.

Terrible waste of money as recorded serves no real purpose

macfly

That's your personal experience. Therefore anecdotal and not really useful.
Solicitors. letting agents, some ebayers who send 500 packets a week. have all sent by recorded week in week out in offices I have run.
Are they all mugs?
Everyone decides for themselves how to post. But members on this forum insist on giving out info based on nothing more than what they read on here.
There are 50 million items of post a day.
But half a dozen little ebay businesses know it all.

soolin

macfly wrote: »

That's your personal experience. Therefore anecdotal and not really useful.
Solicitors. letting agents, some ebayers who send 500 packets a week. have all sent by recorded week in week out in offices I have run.
Are they all mugs?
Everyone decides for themselves how to post. But members on this forum insist on giving out info based on nothing more than what they read on here.
There are 50 million items of post a day.
But half a dozen little ebay businesses know it all.

I work for two Government departments and thats why I used to have to use recorded a lot as it was in house rules for off site people. However a trial of services in October 2010 when virtually nothing got a signature finally made their mind up that it was not serving any useful purpose and they stopped.

Now all usual mail goes 1st class (to me) or 2nd class (from me) and urgent or items with value or of a security nature go by bike courier or special delivery.

needahol

macfly wrote: »

Recorded is a service used by thousands of businesses day in day out for items under £46 value. Around 10 million pieces of post a day. Contrary to your comment, it very rarely fails to appear on the website. It's this forum which has adopted this mantra, and it's anecdotal rubbish.
But as you said, not the right service for items like this.

From 100+ items I sent in summer last year, around 30 stayed at the 'we have your item' stage.

That's quite an outstanding failure rate for Royal Mail. I agree with Soolin, it's a pointless service and I will never use it again