Delivery dispute with Parcelforce

miccollinsuk

Hi,

Firstly i apologise if I have posted this in the wrong section, I'm not too experienced when it comes to using discussion forums. But as my issue ultimately is based on an eBay sale then hopefully someone here will be able to give me some advice.

At the beginning of August i sold a jacket on eBay (I have a business account but do not sell much, it is more of a hobby), which the buyer chose to be delivered using Parcelforce 24. He subsequently got in touch to say it had not been delivered. The service requires a signature however, and when i checked it online it had been signed by a 'J Sharp'. Sharp is the recipients surname.

When I told him about the delivery signature, he continued to insist that it had not been delivered, and called up Parcelforce to contest the delivery confirmation. These conversations led to him being told multiple conflicting stories about the delivery. For example, one time he was told it was delivered to a neighbour, then someone else said it was left at the back door of the house.

Meanwhile I spoke to PayPal to ensure that I was covered by their seller protection scheme, which they confirmed as I had followed all of their terms correctly. I passed this information onto the buyer, saying that I would not mind if he could still try to make a claim for non delivery through eBay. He decided against this, and I agreed to make a 'failed delivery' claim to Parcelforce on his behalf, hoping to receive the compensation which I would then refund to him.

Having submitted all of the information for the claim on 30th August I had to wait until 3rd October to be told that the claim had been rejected. The driver claims to have delivered the item to a neighbour, albeit one 12 house numbers away. This obviously has left the buyer very unhappy, although not with me, just with Parcelforce. I wasn't too surprised myself, as always felt that they would simply point to the delivery signature.

Now the buyer has mentioned that he may have to go through the courts to make a small claim against me, something which it turns out Parcelforce recommend he do. He then suggests that I in turn make a counter claim against Parcelforce. But none of that makes much sense to me. I certainly don't have the motivation to make a claim against Parcelforce myself, as I cant even be certain that he is telling the truth.

So after all that... has anyone got any help/advice? Its taking up so much of my time now, and I just don't know what to do. I cant help feeling like I wish I'd just recommended he made a item not received claim through eBay, and left it at that.

theonlywayisup

Having read your post I am not sure what is 'hearsay' and what is fact.

Gather the facts yourself and then if the item was delivered to the house 12 numbers away, you should lodge a claim with PF.

But you cannot do anything without the facts and we cannot help with a post which is part fact part hearsay without knowing which is which.

miccollinsuk

theonlywayisup wrote: »

Having read your post I am not sure what is 'hearsay' and what is fact.

Gather the facts yourself and then if the item was delivered to the house 12 numbers away, you should lodge a claim with PF.

But you cannot do anything without the facts and we cannot help with a post which is part fact part hearsay without knowing which is which.

Thanks for your response, I see understand what you mean.

What i know for a fact:

- A delivery signature was recorded and viewable online, signed J Sharp. This is the surname of the recipient.

- In their decision Parcelforce stated that it was delivered to number 20. The delivery was addressed to number 32. Looking at the addresses on street view, the two houses are at completely different parts of the street.

- My initial claim with Parcelforce has been rejected for the above reasons. This was made by me on the addressee's behalf.

Unfortunately, everything else would have to be classed as hearsay. Although I believe the buyers version of events over that of Parcelforce, there is no factual evidence to support it.

I suppose my main worry now is that the buyer has mentioned the possibility of making a small claim in the courts against me, in the hope that I would make a counter claim against Parcelforce. I do not know how realistic this course of action is, and it is certainly something I would not want to happen. But the thought of a claim being made against me in court is concerning.

I also do not know what further action I can take against Parcelforce, as the only factual evidence I have available is that the item was delivered. Perhaps the addressee can gather this evidence, but as he was not the sender I don't believe that he is able to make a claim against Parcelforce.

theonlywayisup

Firstly, you are claiming on YOUR behalf not on behalf the addressee, in law you are responsible for ensuring safe receipt of the item by the addressee.

Secondly, do you know from the buyer if they have gone to the address to collect. Ie, where is the item now?

I would appeal the claim which was refused by PF on the grounds that the item was not delivered to the addressee.

Sometimes a tweet is more effective than litigation intent, so perhaps a query via twitter may help.

If it were me, I would be trying to ascertain from the buyer if he has the item. And I would be wanting to knows what PF are going to do.

In this situation a claim by the addressee and counter claim by you is totally normal and one that happens in various guises, so do not dismiss it. But hopefully with Twitter and then an LBA it won't get that far.

miccollinsuk

theonlywayisup wrote: »

Firstly, you are claiming on YOUR behalf not on behalf the addressee, in law you are responsible for ensuring safe receipt of the item by the addressee.

Secondly, do you know from the buyer if they have gone to the address to collect. Ie, where is the item now?

I would appeal the claim which was refused by PF on the grounds that the item was not delivered to the addressee.

Sometimes a tweet is more effective than litigation intent, so perhaps a query via twitter may help.

If it were me, I would be trying to ascertain from the buyer if he has the item. And I would be wanting to knows what PF are going to do.

In this situation a claim by the addressee and counter claim by you is totally normal and one that happens in various guises, so do not dismiss it. But hopefully with Twitter and then an LBA it won't get that far.

Great advice, thank you. The buyer has not been to check at the address it was delivered to, but has said he will do so this weekend.

miccollinsuk

theonlywayisup wrote: »

Firstly, you are claiming on YOUR behalf not on behalf the addressee, in law you are responsible for ensuring safe receipt of the item by the addressee.

Secondly, do you know from the buyer if they have gone to the address to collect. Ie, where is the item now?

I would appeal the claim which was refused by PF on the grounds that the item was not delivered to the addressee.

Sometimes a tweet is more effective than litigation intent, so perhaps a query via twitter may help.

If it were me, I would be trying to ascertain from the buyer if he has the item. And I would be wanting to knows what PF are going to do.

In this situation a claim by the addressee and counter claim by you is totally normal and one that happens in various guises, so do not dismiss it. But hopefully with Twitter and then an LBA it won't get that far.

The addressee has now spoken to the residents at number 20, they did not sign for the parcel and are going to put a letter together saying as much. Hopefully that will help.

RFW

As above really, this needs to be sorted with Parcelforce. They have admitted to not delivering to the right address. You have paid them to deliver to number 32, delivering to number 20 is not doing their job properly. Write, call, tweet, etc Parcelforce management to get them to pay up. Keep your buyer updated.

This has happened to me a few times with a few couriers, either getting a parcel signed for at a different address or signed by the driver and left somewhere else. On every occasion I've put a claim in and been refunded. It isn't a common occurrence but certainly isn't rare.

The buyer could call the police and report a theft and it may be an idea to let Parcelforce know this may be happening.

Brooker_Dave

Refund your buyer and tackle Parcelforce yourself.

Your buyer should not be doing any of the leg work.