Tracked post 'disapppeared'....AGAIN. Challenge for MSE to solve the Royal Mail riddle.

DashingBlade

Apologies if there is a specific post about this (which there surely is because this is an everyday nightmare) but I definitely cannot find it. I sent an international parcel, signed and tracked, last seen in UK depot, no update for I month. Obviously lost, and when I say lost I'm pretty sure I mean stolen. The customer is furious and blames me. Thats not the problem. I could eventually claim from Royal Mail. The most they will pay is the cost of the 4 items. I'm a professional retailer. I'm not in business to spend time fighting 3rd party facilitators to maybe pay me the cost price for something.
Anyway my riddle is, how can goods be posted ( via any provider in the UK ) with a value >100 and < 250 with insurance that pays back the retail ( proven ) value, which does not cost an illogical looking price that a right minded person would consider obscene eg £90 to insure and ship something bought for £135 ????
I would genuinely appreciate some practical guidance as opposed to " it's an inevitable consequence of being in business that you must include in your overall expenses"
Many thanks.

theonlywayisup

IME Royal Mail are the least expensive  if the item is under 2kg.  I send things that are heavier with a courier.  

theoretica

Have you had any contact with Royal Mail - I have heard from other shippers that some stuff is indeed sitting in airports for weeks at a time as there are fewer planes and less cargo space.

mgdavid

DashingBlade said:

Apologies if there is a specific post about this (which there surely is because this is an everyday nightmare) but I definitely cannot find it. I sent an international parcel, signed and tracked, last seen in UK depot, no update for I month. Obviously lost, and when I say lost I'm pretty sure I mean stolen. The customer is furious and blames me. Thats not the problem. I could eventually claim from Royal Mail. The most they will pay is the cost of the 4 items. I'm a professional retailer. I'm not in business to spend time fighting 3rd party facilitators to maybe pay me the cost price for something.
Anyway my riddle is, how can goods be posted ( via any provider in the UK ) with a value >100 and < 250 with insurance that pays back the retail ( proven ) value, which does not cost an illogical looking price that a right minded person would consider obscene eg £90 to insure and ship something bought for £135 ????
I would genuinely appreciate some practical guidance as opposed to " it's an inevitable consequence of being in business that you must include in your overall expenses"
Many thanks.

but your loss IS the cost price; why should you expect to claim more?

DashingBlade

theoretica said:

Have you had any contact with Royal Mail - I have heard from other shippers that some stuff is indeed sitting in airports for weeks at a time as there are fewer planes and less cargo space.

mgdavid said:

DashingBlade said:

Apologies if there is a specific post about this (which there surely is because this is an everyday nightmare) but I definitely cannot find it. I sent an international parcel, signed and tracked, last seen in UK depot, no update for I month. Obviously lost, and when I say lost I'm pretty sure I mean stolen. The customer is furious and blames me. Thats not the problem. I could eventually claim from Royal Mail. The most they will pay is the cost of the 4 items. I'm a professional retailer. I'm not in business to spend time fighting 3rd party facilitators to maybe pay me the cost price for something.
Anyway my riddle is, how can goods be posted ( via any provider in the UK ) with a value >100 and < 250 with insurance that pays back the retail ( proven ) value, which does not cost an illogical looking price that a right minded person would consider obscene eg £90 to insure and ship something bought for £135 ????
I would genuinely appreciate some practical guidance as opposed to " it's an inevitable consequence of being in business that you must include in your overall expenses"
Many thanks.

but your loss IS the cost price; why should you expect to claim more?

Thats a lot like telling a qualified barrister that they've no business charging £350 per hour just because they spent too long studying a bunch of books full of legal mumbo jumbo.

jon81uk

DashingBlade said:

theoretica said:

Have you had any contact with Royal Mail - I have heard from other shippers that some stuff is indeed sitting in airports for weeks at a time as there are fewer planes and less cargo space.

mgdavid said:

DashingBlade said:

Apologies if there is a specific post about this (which there surely is because this is an everyday nightmare) but I definitely cannot find it. I sent an international parcel, signed and tracked, last seen in UK depot, no update for I month. Obviously lost, and when I say lost I'm pretty sure I mean stolen. The customer is furious and blames me. Thats not the problem. I could eventually claim from Royal Mail. The most they will pay is the cost of the 4 items. I'm a professional retailer. I'm not in business to spend time fighting 3rd party facilitators to maybe pay me the cost price for something.
Anyway my riddle is, how can goods be posted ( via any provider in the UK ) with a value >100 and < 250 with insurance that pays back the retail ( proven ) value, which does not cost an illogical looking price that a right minded person would consider obscene eg £90 to insure and ship something bought for £135 ????
I would genuinely appreciate some practical guidance as opposed to " it's an inevitable consequence of being in business that you must include in your overall expenses"
Many thanks.

but your loss IS the cost price; why should you expect to claim more?

Thats a lot like telling a qualified barrister that they've no business charging £350 per hour just because they spent too long studying a bunch of books full of legal mumbo jumbo.

But if a train was cancelled and a barrister was late to a meeting, they only get the train ticket cost back, not their time for the meeting that may need to be cancelled.
Without going to court to demonstrate the greater loss it is rare to get your time compensated when claiming for services not provided by a company.

Late1stTimeBuyer

Is it lost? Or just sitting waiting to be delivered? Does the tracking say delivered or sitting delivery? 
I was talking to our postman the other day and he said their warehouses are full and they can't deliver quick enough!

swingaloo

DashingBlade said:

Obviously lost, and when I say lost I'm pretty sure I mean stolen. 

What are you basing that on? If your buyer were to respond to you with 'Seller is obviously a scammer, probably never posted it in the first place' would you find that an acceptable comment?

mgdavid

DashingBlade said:

Thats a lot like telling a qualified barrister that they've no business charging £350 per hour just because they spent too long studying a bunch of books full of legal mumbo jumbo.

No it's absolutely not. There is no valid comparison between trade in goods and the value of intellectual property. I suspect you know this. If you made an insurance claim you only get the cost of the item not any consequential losses.

DashingBlade

jon81uk said:

DashingBlade said:

theoretica said:

Have you had any contact with Royal Mail - I have heard from other shippers that some stuff is indeed sitting in airports for weeks at a time as there are fewer planes and less cargo space.

mgdavid said:

DashingBlade said:

Apologies if there is a specific post about this (which there surely is because this is an everyday nightmare) but I definitely cannot find it. I sent an international parcel, signed and tracked, last seen in UK depot, no update for I month. Obviously lost, and when I say lost I'm pretty sure I mean stolen. The customer is furious and blames me. Thats not the problem. I could eventually claim from Royal Mail. The most they will pay is the cost of the 4 items. I'm a professional retailer. I'm not in business to spend time fighting 3rd party facilitators to maybe pay me the cost price for something.
Anyway my riddle is, how can goods be posted ( via any provider in the UK ) with a value >100 and < 250 with insurance that pays back the retail ( proven ) value, which does not cost an illogical looking price that a right minded person would consider obscene eg £90 to insure and ship something bought for £135 ????
I would genuinely appreciate some practical guidance as opposed to " it's an inevitable consequence of being in business that you must include in your overall expenses"
Many thanks.

but your loss IS the cost price; why should you expect to claim more?

Thats a lot like telling a qualified barrister that they've no business charging £350 per hour just because they spent too long studying a bunch of books full of legal mumbo jumbo.

But if a train was cancelled and a barrister was late to a meeting, they only get the train ticket cost back, not their time for the meeting that may need to be cancelled.
Without going to court to demonstrate the greater loss it is rare to get your time compensated when claiming for services not provided by a company.

My experience of barristers is different to that theory. They've charged for whatever they see fit. Would you seriously think or talk about hiring a second barrister to take the first one to court ?!?! I've asked a question about postage insurance here, nothing else.

theonlywayisup

DashingBlade said:

jon81uk said:

DashingBlade said:

theoretica said:

Have you had any contact with Royal Mail - I have heard from other shippers that some stuff is indeed sitting in airports for weeks at a time as there are fewer planes and less cargo space.

mgdavid said:

DashingBlade said:

Apologies if there is a specific post about this (which there surely is because this is an everyday nightmare) but I definitely cannot find it. I sent an international parcel, signed and tracked, last seen in UK depot, no update for I month. Obviously lost, and when I say lost I'm pretty sure I mean stolen. The customer is furious and blames me. Thats not the problem. I could eventually claim from Royal Mail. The most they will pay is the cost of the 4 items. I'm a professional retailer. I'm not in business to spend time fighting 3rd party facilitators to maybe pay me the cost price for something.
Anyway my riddle is, how can goods be posted ( via any provider in the UK ) with a value >100 and < 250 with insurance that pays back the retail ( proven ) value, which does not cost an illogical looking price that a right minded person would consider obscene eg £90 to insure and ship something bought for £135 ????
I would genuinely appreciate some practical guidance as opposed to " it's an inevitable consequence of being in business that you must include in your overall expenses"
Many thanks.

but your loss IS the cost price; why should you expect to claim more?

Thats a lot like telling a qualified barrister that they've no business charging £350 per hour just because they spent too long studying a bunch of books full of legal mumbo jumbo.

But if a train was cancelled and a barrister was late to a meeting, they only get the train ticket cost back, not their time for the meeting that may need to be cancelled.
Without going to court to demonstrate the greater loss it is rare to get your time compensated when claiming for services not provided by a company.

My experience of barristers is different to that theory. They've charged for whatever they see fit. Would you seriously think or talk about hiring a second barrister to take the first one to court ?!?! I've asked a question about postage insurance here, nothing else.

You brought the simile of a barrister into the equation, did you not?