Seller didn't pay enough postage (China?)

Shrimply

Hi guys looking for a bit of advice.

I received a card through the door today from the Royal Mail informing me that I need to pay an extra £2 due to unpaid postage.

The only thing that I can think this could be is a low cost item I bought from a seller based in China on ebay. It cost less than the amount I'm being asked to pay the Royal Mail. I am slightly confused about how a parcel from China could get this far with the wrong postage I didn't really think it would be possible. But I can't see it being anything else. Saying that, checking the sellers feedback there is not suggestion that this is a regular occurrence.

Is there a way to claim this back through ebay? Or anything I should do to ensure I'm not out of pocket. I know it's only £2 and I'm not hugely concerned if I end up paying it and losing it, but I would like to get it back it possible.

theonlywayisup

You won't know what it is until you see it, and even then it may not be obvious who the sender was. At our DO they will get the item and give you an opportunity to make a decision on whether you want to pay or not. If you don't then fine.

If you do pay it and ascertain it is from a seller, upload a copy of the receipt and ask them for reimbursement.

soolin

Shrimply wrote: »

Hi guys looking for a bit of advice.

I received a card through the door today from the Royal Mail informing me that I need to pay an extra £2 due to unpaid postage.

The only thing that I can think this could be is a low cost item I bought from a seller based in China on ebay. It cost less than the amount I'm being asked to pay the Royal Mail. I am slightly confused about how a parcel from China could get this far with the wrong postage I didn't really think it would be possible. But I can't see it being anything else. Saying that, checking the sellers feedback there is not suggestion that this is a regular occurrence.

Is there a way to claim this back through ebay? Or anything I should do to ensure I'm not out of pocket. I know it's only £2 and I'm not hugely concerned if I end up paying it and losing it, but I would like to get it back it possible.

It is unlikely to be the Chinese item as it relates to a letter or large letter to which no postage has been added at all:

Letters/Large Letters - no postage paid - £2 flat fee

https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/143/~/ive-received-a-grey-fee-to-pay-card%2C-what-do-i-need-to-do%3F

mrcol1000

When did you order the item from China? A lot of Chinese sellers use a UK drop shipper. As above though, all you can do is tell the seller and see what they say. Ebay won't be able to force them to refund you. If it is their letter that is the problem.

gardner1

Shrimply wrote: »

Hi guys looking for a bit of advice.

I received a card through the door today from the Royal Mail informing me that I need to pay an extra £2 due to unpaid postage.

The only thing that I can think this could be is a low cost item I bought from a seller based in China on ebay. It cost less than the amount I'm being asked to pay the Royal Mail. I am slightly confused about how a parcel from China could get this far with the wrong postage I didn't really think it would be possible. But I can't see it being anything else. Saying that, checking the sellers feedback there is not suggestion that this is a regular occurrence.

Is there a way to claim this back through ebay? Or anything I should do to ensure I'm not out of pocket. I know it's only £2 and I'm not hugely concerned if I end up paying it and losing it, but I would like to get it back it possible.

It probably inst your parcel china......remember the £2 fee includes royal mails fee
Someone might have sent you a letter with no stamp on

November2

Phone the local Delivery office and ask if it's from China. You can refuse to pay and refuse to accept the parcel/letter, it could turn out to be just a piece of junk mail. If it is your China parcel you can refuse it and open a INR, personally I'd at least give the seller a chance to help by contacting them as they may reimburse you the postage. If your seller refuses to reimburse you, don't pick up the parcel and open a INR instead. Give the seller the benefit of the doubt, it's usually the PO that screws up not the seller.

Shrimply

Thanks for all the advice,

On the piece of card it says as the reference "Small Pkt" - So I figure it's a parcel rather than letter. I will have to go and check it out tomorrow.

I presumed ebay would have a system in place to deal with this sort of thing rather than just relying on the honesty of the seller.

soolin

gardner1 wrote: »

It probably inst your parcel china......remember the £2 fee includes royal mails fee
Someone might have sent you a letter with no stamp on

The fee is now a flat payment for everything other than a medium parcel, it is no longer the missing amount plus a fee.

Shrimply wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice,

On the piece of card it says as the reference "Small Pkt" - So I figure it's a parcel rather than letter. I will have to go and check it out tomorrow.

I presumed ebay would have a system in place to deal with this sort of thing rather than just relying on the honesty of the seller.

Small packet is often used to denote a large letter and if you look at the link I posted £2 relates exactly to a letter or large letter with no postage at all added.

soolin

My link goes to this very clear explanation of the fee structure:

What are the fees for?
If your item had insufficient postage or no stamps attached, a flat-rate fee will be charged as follows:
Letters/Large Letters - no postage paid - £2 flat fee
Letters/Large Letters - insufficient postage paid - £1.50 flat fee
Small Parcel - underpaid/no postage paid - £3 flat fee
Medium Parcel - underpaid/no postage paid - £1.50 plus incremental postage rounded to the nearest 10 pence
If your item has had a Customs charge applied it will include a handling fee of £8.00
What if I don’t pay the fee?

Techno

I had a similar issue with P.O. requesting a fee. My seller had stuck the stamp on with sellotape and this is considered to be ‘reusing’ the stamp hence it was classed as postage not paid. It could be a late Christmas card

Shrimply

So for anyone who is waiting with baited breath to find out what it was it wasn't from China (although that parcel did arrive today).

It was a parcel which went missing in the hands of Amazon Shipping over 2 weeks ago. According to the tracking it was handed to the recipient... So how it ended up being delivered by the royal mail two weeks later is interesting.

I probably shouldn't have paid it but it wasn't until I left the delivery office that it registered what it was. Going to see what Amazon say but I can't see me getting a whole lot of sense out of them.