Buyer not collecting from Post Office

claire07

I am selling some of my specialist plants and always send first class to avoid them deteriorating. However a buyer who bought on 20 August and paid 22 August has just today said they have not received their plant.


I posted it first class 23 August and Track & Trace says Royal Mail tried to deliver 24 August but no-one in and they could either request redelivery or collect.


It also says they tried to redeliver today 5 September, again no-one in and they could collect from the local post office.


I have sent them details of what Royal Mail say but where do I stand and what is the best thing I can do? By the time they collect the plant or it is returned to me it is likely to be burnt to a crisp.

[Deleted User]

In all fairness that’s their problem. There’s no come back on you.

They paid.
You sent.
They failed to organise redelivery or collect it.

Where’s the problem?

theonlywayisup

MarkN88 wrote: »

In all fairness that’s their problem. There’s no come back on you.

They paid.
You sent.
They failed to organise redelivery or collect it.

Where’s the problem?

In the real world it's the sellers problem.

The law requires the seller to deliver the item to the buyer in instances such as this [online distance sales].

If it's eBay or Paypal then it could even be worse - the buyer could claim non receipt, get a refund and collect from the delivery office.

So it's not "where's the problem" but more "deal with YOUR problem".

OP, where did you sell, how did you receive payment [how did the buyer pay].

[Deleted User]

I am in the real world.

The OP sold something, got payment and sent via Royal Mail.

Royal Mail have attempted delivery, the recipient hasn’t been in and not responded to the card left by reorganising the delivery or going to collect it.

The OP has fulfilled their obligation, if the recipient chooses to ignore Royal Mail that’s not the sellers problem at all.

soolin

MarkN88 wrote: »

I am in the real world.

The OP sold something, got payment and sent via Royal Mail.

Royal Mail have attempted delivery, the recipient hasn’t been in and not responded to the card left by reorganising the delivery or going to collect it.

The OP has fulfilled their obligation, if the recipient chooses to ignore Royal Mail that’s not the sellers problem at all.

As above it is on eBay or PayPal, buyer should easily be able to get a full refund as they haven't received their item.

[Deleted User]

But how can it be said they haven’t received It?

Surely it was sent and tried to be delivered and the buyer wasn’t in nor has tried to reorganise deliveryof going collect, in my eyes the seller has delivered it, it’s the actions of the buyer that has stopped delivery so theeedore surely they should be responsible for arranging redelicery or going to post office to collect.

theonlywayisup

MarkN88 wrote: »

But how can it be said they haven’t received It?

Surely it was sent and tried to be delivered and the buyer wasn’t in nor has tried to reorganise deliveryof going collect, in my eyes the seller has delivered it, it’s the actions of the buyer that has stopped delivery so theeedore surely they should be responsible for arranging redelicery or going to post office to collect.

The seller has track and trace facility on the item, therefore they can see it hasn't been delivered.

If it hasn't been delivered, the buyer hasn't received it - not difficult to work that one out.

"your eyes" can have whatever opinion you like, but thankfully the law and even Paypal and eBay disagree.

claire07

Many thanks for the replies. To those who asked it was on ebay and the payment was from Paypal.


I am only selling some of my surplus plants and the reason I send them first class with a tracking number is I don't want them hanging around in the postal system.


Maybe I should have checked the tracking before now but I am more surprised the buyer took so long to wonder where their plant was.

[Deleted User]

If that’s a case of you send a letter with a normal first class stamp and it doesn’t arrive, that’s my fault?

No difference here tbh but hey ho.

I’ve sold on eBay and used PayPal for about ten years and never had this issue.

Many times collections haven’t been made and people have had to make their arrangements with Royal Mail for a redelicery.

If I was expecting a parcel and wasn’t In then again I would be the one holding myself responsible and arranging myself for a redelicery not expecting the seller to do this.

soolin

MarkN88 wrote: »

If that’s a case of you send a letter with a normal first class stamp and it doesn’t arrive, that’s my fault?

No difference here tbh but hey ho.

I’ve sold on eBay and used PayPal for about ten years and never had this issue.

Many times collections haven’t been made and people have had to make their arrangements with Royal Mail for a redelicery.

If I was expecting a parcel and wasn’t In then again I would be the one holding myself responsible and arranging myself for a redelicery not expecting the seller to do this.

It isn't a common scenario so it is quite possible to never come across this personally, but it is definitely worth checking out seller protection on both ebay and paypal. Paypal is the easiest to check as it is specific, seller must be able to prove delivery to the buyers address as given on the paypal payment (note address, not RM delivery office ) with postage having taken place within 7 days of payment.

There are a lot of us here who have had issues with no cards being left for instance, so buyer doesn't even know item is awaiting collection.

Incidentally, if you sell using Argos click and drop it is the same, but in that case the system is automated. Item arrives at Argos, gets logged in and buyer doesn't bother collecting, after so many days (completely forgotten how many) item automatically gets returned using a tracked method to seller, when tracking shows it has been returned buyer gets a refund.

Lastly be warned some budget couriers are even worse. If the buyer is not in and the number of delivery attempts is reached seller may well have to pay extra to get their own parcel back- and buyer still gets a refund in full.

alykatz

MarkN88 wrote: »

If that’s a case of you send a letter with a normal first class stamp and it doesn’t arrive, that’s my fault?

No difference here tbh but hey ho.

I’ve sold on eBay and used PayPal for about ten years and never had this issue.

Many times collections haven’t been made and people have had to make their arrangements with Royal Mail for a redelicery.

If I was expecting a parcel and wasn’t In then again I would be the one holding myself responsible and arranging myself for a redelicery not expecting the seller to do this.

Not really a good comparison.
Its very different when selling goods as opposed to sending a letter, buys have certain rights by law.