Refund to buyer for non-receipt of item - PO insurance

dollywops

I sold an item on ebay for £10.50. I sent out the item in a padded envelope with a return address. The buyer advised they had not received the item. I was able to send a replacement. I filed a claim with the Post Office, sending the Certificate of Posting and a copy of the Paypal payment. The response from the Post Office was to say they would only compensate for the retail value of the item!

My advice to anyone making a refund and hoping to claim from the Post Office, is to advise the buyer you are making a claim from the Post Office and when the claim has been settled, you will then send the refund.

Bargainbabe_2

dollywops wrote:

My advice to anyone making a refund and hoping to claim from the Post Office, is to advise the buyer you are making a claim from the Post Office and when the claim has been settled, you will then send the refund.

Aww thats a bit harsh! I have never heard that PO's response before...not good! This is my terms anyway..mind you not sure what I would do if the PO had this response.....

MarkyMarkD

I don't understand what the problem was with the PO response. Are you saying that the auction value was MORE than the retail value?

dollywops

MarkyMarkD wrote:

I don't understand what the problem was with the PO response. Are you saying that the auction value was MORE than the retail value?

Yes, the auction value was more than the retail value. In any event, what the Post Office should have reimbursed was the actual amount that the buyer paid for the item. The original retail cost to me is totally irrelevant. It was not mentioned anywhere in the claim form.

stavros_2

dollywops wrote:

Yes, the auction value was more than the retail value. In any event, what the Post Office should have reimbursed was the actual amount that the buyer paid for the item. The original retail cost to me is totally irrelevant. It was not mentioned anywhere in the claim form.

But surely they have to get a base figure from somewhere?

I also just think this goes to show how silly some buyers are in thinking that ebay is always the cheapest place to get anything :rolleyes:

Cat72

Do they reimburse for the postage ? And how did the post office have a price for the item you were claiming for - I take it you gave them a retail price ?

dollywops

To Satvros - the base figure is the amount that the seller paid for the item on ebay.

To cat72 - I listed a Nike Anti Racism band and someone paid £10.50 for it - his choice, you will agree. The fact that it only cost me £1.50 is totally irrelevant. What is relevant, is that someone paid me £10.50 for this item. It got lost in the post, and I filed a claim for that amount. I can't reimburse the seller £10.50, if I only get back a figure the Post Office deems to be appropriate.

I started this thread to warn people not to make immeidate refunds to buyers on the basis of a claim having been filed, but to wait until it has been settled by the Post Office. That was the purpose of this thread.

stavros_2

dollywops wrote:

I started this thread to warn people not to make immeidate refunds to buyers on the basis of a claim having been filed, but to wait until it has been settled by the Post Office. That was the purpose of this thread.

I can understand why you're annoyed, but I don't see how waiting for the claim to be settled before you refund the buyer will change anything Are you saying that you will only refund the buyer the amount you get back from RM?

Js_Other_Half

I had to claim from the PO once on this scheme. They did eventually refund me the cost of the item, but not the postage costs!

Hermia

In my experience the Post Office never refund postage, only the cost of the item. That does annoy me that they are basically saying you should be paying for a service that failed!

dollywops

stavros wrote:

I can understand why you're annoyed, but I don't see how waiting for the claim to be settled before you refund the buyer will change anything Are you saying that you will only refund the buyer the amount you get back from RM?

I don't understand your confusion. I think it is quite simple. A buyer advises non-receipt. You tell the buyer you are filing a claim and as soon as it gets settled, you will make a refund equivalent to the amount reimbursed by the Post Office.

Let's just say, for arguments sake, that I sell a book on ebay for £10. I get paid for it. I send it. It does not arrive. I make a claim for £10, but only get £5. Am I supposed to refund £10, be down £5 and have nothing to show for it?

In any event, it is my choice to complete the Certificate of Posting for small items. If I list anything of value, recorded delivery or special delivery is included in the p&p charge. Equally, if I buy anything of value, I pay for that service.