'Delivered' item stolen.

JustAnotherSaver

Ok the title is misleading as this didn't actually happen but I'm asking more from the point of what if so hopefully it doesn't happen to me but I'm sure it'll happen to someone & I'm just generally curious as to where you stand should it happen.

So I ordered something from Music Magpie yesterday. Few £100 it cost.

2 options on the postal - the freebie one or the tracked for like £3odd which is what I went for due to the value of the item.

Now this is probably where some of you come in & say the extra postage cost for tracked isn't worth a damn but as I didn't know whether it was or wasn't, I thought it sounded like it was worthwhile so paid it.

Now this was ordered yesterday evening around 5pm/6pm.

I go out this morning only to get a notification saying Royal Mail have my Music Magpie package & it'll be delivered today before 7:30pm.

I thought this was odd as I've never had or known of anyone have Royal Mail delivering on Sunday's.

Again, this is probably where some of you come in & say you have all your mail delivered on a Sunday which is great, but it doesn't change the fact that I've 1) never ever had anything from Royal Mail on a Sunday and 2) never ever known of anyone having anything from Royal Mail on a Sunday.

I wondered if maybe it was an auto-generated thing and they actually meant Monday. Have had similar in the past with Nike using a courier service.

So I head home to find a missed you card & on it it says parcel left down the side of the house.

Which it was - by the side door.

Which is where the question comes in.

So obviously I'm happy & shocked by how fast the delivery was bearing in mind not only the day I ordered it but the time of day.

But I'm curious what would've happened in the event I got home to find the card & someone had whipped the parcel from the side door.

Now I've been considering putting in CCTV anyway but it's not there yet so I wouldn't have that.

I know it 'doesn't really matter' as it hasn't actually happened but as I said, I'm asking what if. So I'd just get in touch with Music Magpie, tell them the card was dropped off but no parcel & they'd say tracker says delivery so no cares given, jog on (I'm assuming).

Paid with a credit card if that makes any difference whatsoever, probably not.

So would it literally be a case of nothing you can do, you've just lost a few £100 or could you go anywhere with it to reclaim your loss?

Oh & before we get in to leaving with neighbours, that doesn't actually answer the question and I have this on the door.

pinkshoes

You ordered a parcel and received it the next day. I don't get what the issue is?

As per any delivery, if they leave it in a safe place and you didn't specify safe place and it goes missing then you can make a claim for the parcel not arriving.

diystarter7

OP

I was shocked to see a parcel delivered by Royal Mail on Sunday a while ago and again today about noonish - he was there for a while but defo parcel/s in his hand.

Others may confirm this - we live in London

comeandgo

Yup, we’ve had Royal Mail parcel deliveries on a Sunday for a while now.  I was not shocked as I had read in the newspaper that they were to be started again.

TELLIT01

If you hadn't informed RM of a 'safe place' the postie shouldn't leave it anywhere if you are not there.  It's not up to them to decide a location is safe.  If anything, we have the opposite problem, where our regular postie knows he can leave things in our enclosed porch but others refuse to leave items.

Manxman_in_exile

The law clearly states that goods remain at the trader's risk (ie they remain the trader's responsibility) until delivered into the physical possession of the consumer (or someone nominated by the consumer to take posession of them).

Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)   See s29.

Leaving a parcel outside a door at the side of your house is not delivering it into your physical posession, so you would contact the trader (in this case Music Magpie) for either a replacement or a full refund.

If Music Magpie want to dispute it, they do so with Royal Mail and not with you.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Was this Royal Mail Tracked 24/48?

The postie should take a photo of the parcel for  Tracked and I don’t think they should leave them if there isn’t a safe place designated.

Not sure if the retailer can specify the parcel can be left though. 

Manxman’s reply covers the consumer rights aspect. 

Olinda99

However, just to add, if you HAD specified it was OK to leave it in  a 'safe place' (eg porch) and it was stolen from there before you got home then, like any theft, you would be a victim of crime and have the option of reporting it to the police but no-one to make good your losses.

custardy

diystarter7 said:

OP

I was shocked to see a parcel delivered by Royal Mail on Sunday a while ago and again today about noonish - he was there for a while but defo parcel/s in his hand.

Others may confirm this - we live in London

RM have been delivering parcels nationally 7 days since before covid.

JustAnotherSaver

pinkshoes said:

You ordered a parcel and received it the next day. I don't get what the issue is?

Probably because you didn't read the OP then. It's the only possible way you "don't get".

Also you didn't read the OP because you're saying there's an "issue". There isn't an issue, there's a question. There's a difference.

diystarter7 said:

OP

I was shocked to see a parcel delivered by Royal Mail on Sunday a while ago and again today about noonish - he was there for a while but defo parcel/s in his hand.

Others may confirm this - we live in London

I don't (live in London). I don't even live in a huge city.

When I said to my wife that I'd received notification about delivery today she said she'd heard about possibilities of Sunday deliveries.

News to me though. Never known of it.

Clearly though, it happens.

TELLIT01 said:

If you hadn't informed RM of a 'safe place' the postie shouldn't leave it anywhere if you are not there.  It's not up to them to decide a location is safe.  If anything, we have the opposite problem, where our regular postie knows he can leave things in our enclosed porch but others refuse to leave items.

Ahh I see, thanks.

I saw on the notification the start of "not going to be in?...." I never read it in full but obviously it would've lead to re-book or safe place etc.

I must admit, I thought it was an auto-generated notification & that they actually meant tomorrow. 

With the label on our door I assumed (wrongly I guess) that they'd leave it at the sorting office for me to collect, which I don't mind as it's not a huge walk.

Cheap items I'll mark up to leave in a safe place.

Costly items (so certainly anything 3 figures) I'll never do that because there's always that little * to say you do it at your own risk & I think what's stopping them taking a photo of it in the location you say & then picking it back up & walking off with it?

Manxman_in_exile said:

The law clearly states that goods remain at the trader's risk (ie they remain the trader's responsibility) until delivered into the physical possession of the consumer (or someone nominated by the consumer to take posession of them).

Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk)   See s29.

Leaving a parcel outside a door at the side of your house is not delivering it into your physical posession, so you would contact the trader (in this case Music Magpie) for either a replacement or a full refund.

If Music Magpie want to dispute it, they do so with Royal Mail and not with you.

Thanks for the clarification.

Obviously all's well that ends well & thankfully this isn't even a problem (or an issue ) but nice to know it wouldn't have been a case of tough luck just because the postie left it there.

I know they were probably meaning well but with the value of it, I'd have never selected that as an option.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Was this Royal Mail Tracked 24/48?

The postie should take a photo of the parcel for  Tracked and I don’t think they should leave them if there isn’t a safe place designated.

Not sure if the retailer can specify the parcel can be left though. 

Manxman’s reply covers the consumer rights aspect. 

It was Tracked 24 No Signature.

Personally I don't like no signature for things of this value. If there was the option then I'd have paid even more for signature required.

But perhaps they're still operating under Covid rules? Seems an excuse for many things still. With everything else that's A-ok these days, a signature is hardly the riskiest of things.

Olinda99 said:

However, just to add, if you HAD specified it was OK to leave it in  a 'safe place' (eg porch) and it was stolen from there before you got home then, like any theft, you would be a victim of crime and have the option of reporting it to the police but no-one to make good your losses.

True.

And a whole load of I saw nothing officers as well.

custardy said:

diystarter7 said:

OP

I was shocked to see a parcel delivered by Royal Mail on Sunday a while ago and again today about noonish - he was there for a while but defo parcel/s in his hand.

Others may confirm this - we live in London

RM have been delivering parcels nationally 7 days since before covid.

First time for everything then (for me).

Sandtree

Manxman_in_exile said:

If Music Magpie want to dispute it, they do so with Royal Mail and not with you.

This case is fairly simple because the postie noted it as being left in a "secure location" and so the law is clear on who's responsibility it is.

Clearly things get much more messy when its recorded as handed to the resident and the OP denies receipt