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

stavros_2

dollywops wrote:

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 a word .. yes. That is precisely what you should do! Why should the buyer not be given a full refund?! Let's give another example. Bidder wins an item for £100. Seller sends it without insurance. Doesn't arrive. Seller gets £28 refund from RM. Are you saying the buyer is only entitled to a refund of £28?!

biblejohn

How i understand it, is that its the sellers responcibility to ensure that the buyer gets the item. So, in the examples here, if the item never arrives then the seller has to send a replacement or give a full refund to the buyer.

The original poster is lucky that the item only cost him £1.50, so even if he refunds the full amount to the buyer and gets a couple of quid back from the post office, he is still making a profit!

soolin

biblejohn wrote:

How i understand it, is that its the sellers responcibility to ensure that the buyer gets the item. So, in the examples here, if the item never arrives then the seller has to send a replacement or give a full refund to the buyer.

The original poster is lucky that the item only cost him £1.50, so even if he refunds the full amount to the buyer and gets a couple of quid back from the post office, he is still making a profit!

BibleJohn you are quite right, the buyer should not be out of pocket at all due to problems at the Royal Mail.

Obviously though if a buyer has paid by cheque or cash then the argument will remain between the buyer and seller and the seller can decide on whatever refund methods they choose. If they want to wait until the RM refund and only give that to th ebuyer then there is nothing the buyer can do except leave a neg and report the seller as a non performing seller.

However, if the payment was made by paypal the seller will just get a chargeback against them anyway and the full amount will be refunded to the buyer whatever the terms and condition imposed by the seller.

Soo

biblejohn

soolin wrote:

However, if the payment was made by paypal the seller will just get a chargeback against them anyway and the full amount will be refunded to the buyer whatever the terms and condition imposed by the seller.

Soo

ah, i can see what the problem there will be, unless the seller refunds the buyer via paypal?

soolin

biblejohn wrote:

ah, i can see what the problem there will be, unless the seller refunds the buyer via paypal?

Exactly Bible John, unless the seller refunds the buyer in full via paypal *or* can prove delivery paypal will find for the buyer in any case.

Soo

chrisw

I found the PO very good. I sold an item for 5.50 plus 1.20 postage. The buyer said it never arrived and I didn't have proof of posting. There was something not quite right about the buyer as the addresses and things didn't tie up, ebay were no help, so I presumed I'd lost out.
However 3 months later I was looking at the Royal Mail website and thought I'd put in a claim. I sent off the form with a print out of the item and got a cheque back the next week for 6.70.

However, I always now get proof of posting or send recorded.

photoman_3

The buyer should get the full refund. He purchased the item off you for £10.50, he should get £10.50 back. What Royal Mail decide to refund you has nothing to do with it. It was your decision to NOT use recorded delivery, which in itself only covers up to the value of £30 (100 first class stamps). Proof of posting is just that. It only proves that you posted the item. As I see it, Royal Mail were under no obligation to refund you anything as you used standard mail. If it has a value, then use the proper service.

NellyLock

photoman wrote:

The buyer should get the full refund. He purchased the item off you for £10.50, he should get £10.50 back. What Royal Mail decide to refund you has nothing to do with it. It was your decision to NOT use recorded delivery, which in itself only covers up to the value of £30 (100 first class stamps). Proof of posting is just that. It only proves that you posted the item. As I see it, Royal Mail were under no obligation to refund you anything as you used standard mail. If it has a value, then use the proper service.

so what would you say if the buyer had instructed not to send using recorded delivery, ie did not want to pay the extra p&p fees? because then it is their decision NOT to use recorded del. im just curious?

soolin

NellyLock wrote:

so what would you say if the buyer had instructed not to send using recorded delivery, ie did not want to pay the extra p&p fees? because then it is their decision NOT to use recorded del. im just curious?

Recorded delivery is only to protect the seller not the buyer. I've just bought something from a seller that only took paypal and yet wanted an additional 65p for recorded plus an optional additional £1.95 for 'insurance' on a £12 item.

I declined to pay the extras as I can do a chargeback via paypal if my item doesn't arrive. However, when I saw the strange terms and coditions I did check the feedback before bidding, there are no negs for non delivery but several neutrals for excessive insurance charges!

As a buyer I only use paypal so it is immaterial to me whether the seller opts to send it recorded or not.

Soo

WHA

Whether or not you use recorded delivery, if the value is under £28, the RM will pay the same compensation, based on "their" value of the goods. Recorded delivery is just that - proof that it has been delivered. In my experience, it is just as difficult to get full value compensation from a recorded delivery item as it is with normal delivery.