Item sent late - I no longer need it. What shall I do?

Mindless_Clone

I am planning a wedding (um, today) for my nephew - doing the hall and decorations etc. I had a brainwave last weekend and, having searched all the local high street shops and coming up with nothing, ordered some lights from an ebayer on Monday evening. It was free delivery, 4-6 working days, but with an option to upgrade postage to 2-3 days. So I upgraded, paid extra and paid immediately so I would get them in time.
I got a payment notification on Tuesday at 18.30 (so not sure if that's when the transaction went through but definitely cleared from my paypal on 28th).
The seller only dispatched them last night - Friday 31st (I checked at around 3pm and they were not marked dispatched then but were around midnight when I checked again).
Meanwhile, realising I'm not going to get them in time, I've managed to buy the components I need and make something myself.

Obviously the lights aren't going to arrive in time - postie has already been today - so I no longer need them. I was going to send him a cancellation request which would have been easier to do had he not actually sent them, but not sure what to do now. I don't want the hassle or cost of sending them back when they get here but looks like I am going to have it because the seller hasn't fulfilled their end of the contract and dispatched it on time.

What are my options here? Do I cancel the transaction or open an INR and then tell him to cancel because they're no longer needed due to late dispatch? Can I then just drop them in the post return to sender? It's a small item so I expect will come in normal post, and is not recorded, just standard 1st class.

And how would you rate him on feedback/DSRs?

littlerat

You state the postage time, which is royal mail's service, but what did the seller list as their dispatch time? They dispatched 3 working days after payment so you need to check what the P&P section in the listing says about dispatch.


If it was later even with that you may be on shaky ground as to whether you can return on that grounds. If a business seller you could return under DSR but I believe would be responsible for return postage.

Mindless_Clone

I stated the estimated delivery time, which is calculated out based on the information the seller inputs about dispatch time and postal method: "Estimated delivery dates include seller's dispatch time, and will depend on postal service selected and receipt of cleared payment."

The seller has a lot of stuff in his detailed listing about his dispatch etc. which was why I chose to purchase from him and not someone else. Among this it says orders before 4pm are dispatched the same day, and that they estimate delivery to UK destinations: 1-2 working days with Royal mail 1st Class delivery (not sure why I am paying for upgraded delivery then, or what that actually is if it all comes out 1st class).
It also says that on bank holidays and at peak times, dispatch could be within 2 - 3 days. I accept the fact it was immediately after a bank holiday but even so, I paid Monday night and it wasn't marked dispatched until Friday evening. Given I'd paid extra for postage, I would have hoped that the seller would prioritise my - and other orders - where this is the case.
Anyway, the seller instructs buyers to notify them when an item hasn't arrrived after 5 -6 days. The listing actually says "if you do not contact us after 5-6 days of payment we will assume that item has been delivered and no responsibility will be taken." so I am going email them and then open an INR as soon as I can since that appears to be what they want us to do. If it turns up, I will refuse delivery or throw it back in the post box with return to sender on it.

New_World_Order

If like you said its sent royal mail first class then it might be a bit tricky to refuse delivery, also chucking it in a post box is certainly not the right way to go about returning it, it should be sent sign for at the very least.

ulsterbeef

Always message the buyer first. You do not know if its RMs fault or anything like that, there may be a valid reason. I for one would not be happy if someone opened a case for someone that was RMs fault. You may not be able to open a case anyway as you have to allow several days. However, as you say it was marked as dispatched 4 days late then.... it likely is their fault.

Mindless_Clone

New_World_Order wrote: »

If like you said its sent royal mail first class then it might be a bit tricky to refuse delivery, also chucking it in a post box is certainly not the right way to go about returning it, it should be sent sign for at the very least.

It's not going to be signed for. It's an £8 item with (normally) free P&P. I paid a little bit extra for the P&P but certainly not recorded delivery extra. And I selected the option for RM first class standard. There was an option to select first class recorded anyway, which was a lot more and probably useful on the higher value lines stocked by the seller but, again, an £8 item that will likely fit in my letterbox, I didn't see the need.

ulsterbeef wrote: »

Always message the buyer first. You do not know if its RMs fault or anything like that, there may be a valid reason. I for one would not be happy if someone opened a case for someone that was RMs fault. You may not be able to open a case anyway as you have to allow several days. However, as you say it was marked as dispatched 4 days late then.... it likely is their fault.

Seller didn't dispatch it until after I should have received it so I think it unlikely to be delayed by RM. I imagine it will arrive tomorrow, having been sent Friday afternoon some time. In all my years living here I have never once had an issue with delivery from RM... courier companies, slightly different matter, but RM are spot on every single time and I always get things posted out to me the next day or the day after if second class. That's not to say there might not be a problem with it getting lost in the post anyway but it's never happened yet, and I ordered something else the same day from another company very near location-wise to this one and most likely coming from the same main sorting office. That I also paid to upgrade the postage from 5-7 days to 3-4 days and it arrived on the Thursday.

Anyway, I've messaged him and asked him what's going on and told him I don't want it now so can I cancel the transaction. The next issue is, if they do turn up, can I refuse delivery on the grounds that I have cancelled the order? I understand under Distance Selling Regulations then I have the right to cancel anyway, but since the reason I am cancelling is because the seller has not fulfilled the contract and delivered them within the stated time, where does that leave me with regards to having to pay to return them?

Contains_Mild_Peril

If you refuse delivery, RM should return it to the sender. If it fits through your letterbox you might not have the opportunity to refuse at the point of delivery, and tbh I'm not sure what happens if you then put it in a postbox marked "return to sender".

theonlywayisup

Refuse delivery if you are home to do so.

But, if it is delivered then you shouldn't send it back without postage.

RainbowDrops

I've done this a couple of times - ordered things last minute & they've not arrived in time. And I've never considered asking for a refund as it was my own choice to risk it.
To be honest, even though you paid a little extra for slightly faster delivery, you didn't have a guarantee that it would reach you in time.
Personally I'd just peg it up to experience that you should have either got it sorted sooner, or bought it in a shop to have it in your hands, not at the mercy of Royal Mail.

Crowqueen

If the seller was a business and the sale was at fixed price, what trumps all that is the right of cancellation and return under the DSRs, the timescale of which starts after receipt rather than purchase.

So a buyer is free to reject an item that arrives late, regardless of what anyone here thinks to the contrary.

Mindless_Clone

RainbowDrops wrote: »

Personally I'd just peg it up to experience that you should have either got it sorted sooner, or bought it in a shop to have it in your hands, not at the mercy of Royal Mail.

If it were available in a local shop, I would have bought it in one. I looked everywhere on the Sunday before reluctantly turning to ebay. I assumed, given the detailed listing was full of lots of glossed up assurances of fast dispatch that it was worth the risk for a tight timescale; i.e. at least it would be dispatched in plenty of time and I'd just have to hope RM (which, as I said before is normally spot on) would do their bit.
If the seller had actually dispatched in in a timely fashion - in line with the extra I paid for quicker delivery - and then it still got delayed due to RM, I would take it on the chin and absorb the cost/chalk it up to experience. In this case, I think it's clear there's a business seller who I entered into a contract with based on their promises, and who has failed to fulfil that contract. That's how I see it anyway.
I fully expected it to arrive today but it's still not arrived. The seller hasn't responded to my email (over 24 hours ago). Not sure how long I should give him to reply before I escalate it but looks likely that I'll have to to get anywhere.

Crowqueen wrote: »

If the seller was a business and the sale was at fixed price, what trumps all that is the right of cancellation and return under the DSRs, the timescale of which starts after receipt rather than purchase.

So a buyer is free to reject an item that arrives late, regardless of what anyone here thinks to the contrary.

Thanks for clarifying the DSRs. It was BIN fixed price item so assume I'm covered under DSR. I just hope I am in to reject it if/when it arrives. If not, I hope it's too big to fit through the letter box because rejecting it if it's returned to the post office is a lot easier than coming in to find a parcel on my mat. If it's even been sent at all that is (half of me would love to see the post mark on it) If it does end up dropping through the letter box, I'm not sure what I will do but I'm not prepared to be out of pocket to send it back when the only reason I don't want it now is because the seller failed to fulfil their part of the contract.