Item stolen in Transit. Unhelpful Seller

TiddlyPom

Hi
I bought an item on Ebay and asked the seller yesterday where it was. PO Track and Trace show it having been delivered yesterday and shows a "signature" that is just lines. Not my signature and not een delivered too me. It has obviously been stolen in transit somewhere.
Seller has said "tough"- Post Office must have delivered it to someone who knows you and they wash their hands of it basically, saying I need to phone the Post Office and track it down myself.

Ebay won't let me open a case as it is before the estimated delivery date even though we know it has gone missing.

Item was £45 and a big purchase for me so am sat here out the money, no item and being told to contact the Post Office myself when I don't have the paperwork because I was the recipient not the sender.

Help!!!
Thank you

theonlywayisup

Firstly you will lose a case. The item shows as delivered and it requires no signature so Ebay won't be interested.

Ask the seller if they would kindly confirm the address the item was sent to, then at least you will know that is correct.

If the carrier was Royal Mail, then I suggest you go to your local delivery office (NOT Post Office, it is nothing to do with them) with the tracking details and make a formal complaint. With it only being yesterday, they may be able to find out where your parcel was delivered to.

Check with neighbours etc.

Unfortunately some sellers do wash their hands of a problem when it is something like this as it is difficult for the seller to prove/disprove what you are saying. You can vent your frustration by leaving them a negative, don't threaten it and don't do it until you have exhausted all avenues.

TiddlyPom

It did require a signature and the signature given on Track and Trace is not mine.
It was Royal Mail and I know my Postman (benefits of a small village) and he didn't call here the day it was "signed for". It has definitely not been delivered here or to neighbours. I will double check sent address with seller.
If the item was insured in transit, how do I invoke that as I wasn't the one who posted it?

Unfortunately, it was a mobile phone I was buying so ripe for being stolen. I have suggested that the seller blocks the phone if they still have the relevant codes.

theonlywayisup

TiddlyPom wrote: »

It did require a signature and the signature given on Track and Trace is not mine.
It was Royal Mail and I know my Postman (benefits of a small village) and he didn't call here the day it was "signed for". It has definitely not been delivered here or to neighbours. I will double check sent address with seller.
If the item was insured in transit, how do I invoke that as I wasn't the one who posted it?

Unfortunately, it was a mobile phone I was buying so ripe for being stolen. I have suggested that the seller blocks the phone if they still have the relevant codes.

It may well have a signature but it is NOT required for EBAY. So you WILL LOSE the Ebay/Paypal case.

That fact it was sent with a signature required is irrelevant.

Your only redress is via the delivery office, NOT with your local postman. But if you know him, then ask him where it was left.

Royal Mail will not pay up as 1. the item is 'delivered'.

custardy

TiddlyPom wrote: »

It did require a signature and the signature given on Track and Trace is not mine.
It was Royal Mail and I know my Postman (benefits of a small village) and he didn't call here the day it was "signed for". It has definitely not been delivered here or to neighbours. I will double check sent address with seller.
If the item was insured in transit, how do I invoke that as I wasn't the one who posted it?

Unfortunately, it was a mobile phone I was buying so ripe for being stolen. I have suggested that the seller blocks the phone if they still have the relevant codes.

Has it been delivered from the correct DO/SPDO?

Violet3

Funnily enough I am in this situation myself, except in this case I am the seller. I sold an item for £40, so I sent it by Recorded post. Five weeks later the buyer contacted me asking where it was, so I tracked it and it showed it had been delivered and signed for. My buyer says it definitely wasn't their signature, so I phoned Royal Mail with the details and they have started an investigation and said I should be sent a letter about it within 10 days.
The woman I spoke to did advise that I shouldn't refund my buyer yet. I'm sure you could phone Royal Mail yourself to get them to investigate, if your seller gives you the tracking details. Though I'm not sure how much it will help you in getting a refund unfortunately.

theonlywayisup

As a seller I've had this many times. Some you can put down to buyers being less than honest, other times it is a mis-delivery or left in a shed/greenhouse but the odd occasion it can be true and the parcel vanishes but shows delivered.

No matter what, I investigate them all, regardless of how I feel about the buyers email. Fortunately I use RMT so I get our account manager to investigate, we get an email back within 72 hours. The postie is always interviewed and the investigation is always thorough. Mostly it is resolved as being left where it shouldn't or the postie has mis-scanned. From memory I've only had 2 which didn't prove themselves as categorically delivered and on those occasions I refunded. The second buyer (the most recent) has been back and spent many hundreds of pounds since.

So despite what the paypal/ebay dispute will favour, it is always best to keep seller and buyer onside, whichever one you are.

spacey2012

amazing why they dont do what the US post office does with priority mail , they give you a print out slip with a pin number to send to the buyer, they enter the pin on the hand-held machine, no pin = no parcel.

earthstorm

spacey2012 wrote: »

amazing why they dont do what the US post office does with priority mail , they give you a print out slip with a pin number to send to the buyer, they enter the pin on the hand-held machine, no pin = no parcel.

Yes i agree, that would be a great idea, even with Recorded delivery as i have lost count how many RD letters i have had just posted as normal mail without ever getting a signature, yet go online and you see a signature

custardy

spacey2012 wrote: »

amazing why they dont do what the US post office does with priority mail , they give you a print out slip with a pin number to send to the buyer, they enter the pin on the hand-held machine, no pin = no parcel.

good idea
however it would mean investment on RMs side and delays at the door
I could imagine the faff of people going to check emails for pins!
neither of which RM are interested in

mrcol1000

I have also been in the situation as a seller where the postman signed for it himself and then left it on a doorstep directly on a busy road. The item then vanished. The buyer was more than happy to complain to Royal Mail and get a refund for the item from them.

The buyer lives near the sorting office where the problem happened and as sorting offices never seem to answer the phone it can be diffcult for the seller (especially the private seller) to really do much.