Not enough postage when something gets to the buyer

MultiCat

Hi, the issue is done and dusted (thankfully the buyer was very understanding!) but I was just curious as to whether anyone else had experienced this.

I sold something on eBay (clothing probably, can't remember) and took it down to my local Post Office to send off. The woman weighed the package and I paid the £2.70 postage. A couple of days later I got an email from the buyer saying that she'd had to go down to the local depot as Royal Mail had left a slip through her letterbox. When she got there she was told that she needed to pay extra postage costs because I hadn't paid enough.

Thankfully she didn't have to in the end once she explained that I'd had the package weighed at the Post Office before sending. I'm just curious as to how that could've happened. I could understand if I'd just whacked some stamps on it but I had the Post Office weigh it and check which category it fit into (packet). The item certainly didn't weigh over 1KG!

Has this happened to anyone else?

Crowqueen

Yes - like the item mix-up it happens once every so often. In my case it wasn't long after the large-letter/letter distinction had come in and I was used to just putting ordinary stamps on my collectable stamp sales and whizzing them into the postbox.

However, I sorted it out to the buyer's satisfaction and got another sale out of it. It happens with alarming frequency, and like losses it's obvious the seller's responsibility. I always take everything to the PO now, and err on the side of caution.

pawlala

not eBay but I sent a 'medium sized' Mother's Day card last year. Unfortunately postage was 7p short and mummy pawlala didn't receive her card until she picked it up from the local sorting office after paying £1.07 a week later.

I haven't used Royal Mail since.

starrybee

I had some free samples sent from a company and they'd stuck a normal stamp on it when it should have gone large letter...emailed complaining and got a refund plus some full-size products sent for free (with the right postage this time!)

MultiCat

Crowqueen wrote: »

Yes - like the item mix-up it happens once every so often. In my case it wasn't long after the large-letter/letter distinction had come in and I was used to just putting ordinary stamps on my collectable stamp sales and whizzing them into the postbox.

However, I sorted it out to the buyer's satisfaction and got another sale out of it. It happens with alarming frequency, and like losses it's obvious the seller's responsibility. I always take everything to the PO now, and err on the side of caution.

But that's what really confused me; I did take it to the Post Office where they weighed and measured it. And I paid for the packet postage (£2.70) so I don't understand how it can be classed as an underpayment as there's nothing bigger and it wasn't over 1KG.

soolin

MultiCat wrote: »

But that's what really confused me; I did take it to the Post Office where they weighed and measured it. And I paid for the packet postage (£2.70) so I don't understand how it can be classed as an underpayment as there's nothing bigger and it wasn't over 1KG.

Hopefully it was under 750g as well as under 1kg as £2.70 only covers up to 750g

soolin

pawlala wrote: »

not eBay but I sent a 'medium sized' Mother's Day card last year. Unfortunately postage was 7p short and mummy pawlala didn't receive her card until she picked it up from the local sorting office after paying £1.07 a week later.

I haven't used Royal Mail since.

Why haven't you used them since? If you are not sure about what service you should be using then take it to the post office in future.

Are you never going to send a card or letter again then just because you got the postage wrong?

MultiCat

soolin wrote: »

Hopefully it was under 750g as well as under 1kg as £2.70 only covers up to 750g

I'm not sure, but it was definitely under 750g too.

pawlala

soolin wrote: »

Why haven't you used them since?

Because I don't need to use them, and because I don't agree with their charges... and their discretion.

TAG

I had this problem a few weeks ago.

Buyer messaged me, as she'd been carded due to not enough postage being on the parcel and was it my parcel?

I contacted her delivery office, as the one I had sent she should of already received it. Delivery office confirmed it was mine and that no postage was on the parcel at all etc.

Now, I had taken the parcel to the post office, it was weighed, stamped and I got proof of postage. So the obviously the postage stamps had fallen off.

I'd sent it in a plastic mailing bag, but the post office staff had put on a licked stamp not a pre glued one.

Anyway, I refunded the buyer the excess she had to pay plus the original postage charge for her inconvenience. She was happy with that so all ended well.

I'm always careful to look out for the type of stamps that go onto my parcels now. Lesson learned!

Maybe that's what happened to your parcel op?

Valli

Tag

Hope you are going to write and complain to the PO and ask for a refund especially as you had PoP

Valli