Missing Parcel

RhondaD

Not sure on any thoughts on this please?

I ordered an item on eBay from China of low value only $11.40 so it didn't cost a fortune but it didn't arrive. On chasing it up I discovered that Royal Mail delivered it to an address more than 2 miles away from me then sent the seller a picture of a random stranger's patio table as proof of delivery. I raised a complaint with Royal Mail but got no response and the recipient kept the parcel. 

I contacted the seller and he said he hadn't done anything wrong and offered me $4, leaving me out of pocket and without the item. I then explained to eBay the situation hoping they would find in my favour and they have just contacted me saying the seller did not provide them with valid proof of delivery so they are refunding me in full for $11.40. I'm now back where I was at the start.

But what about Royal Mail? They still facilitated the theft of my parcel by giving it to a random stranger miles away from my house who kept it. Is it reasonable to expect them to also offer compensation for their own role in the situation? They were solely responsible for it afterall. Until now I had a good relationship with the seller as a middle man and bought multiple items per month adding up to a lot of $11.40's but he now thinks I am a scammer trying to get things from him without paying and won't deal with me anymore thanks to Royal Mail. 

I still haven't even had a response at all from the delivery office which made the mistake and only know what happened because the call centre told me. There's been no apology or anything from the actual delivery office in question which does seem a little shabby on their part.

GadgetGuru

I think at this point you just need to cut your losses and move on. I doubt you will get any compensation from RM, and you have your refund so you are 'whole' again. Concentrate on maybe mending the relationship with your seller. 

RhondaD

Totally agree, it's just the thought that the relationship has probably been damaged beyond repair and Royal Mail were fully to blame and just get to walk away. Obviously I can just move on but it does feel a little unjust not holding them to account.

TripleH

Sadly you are owed nothing from Royal Mail. Compensation is there to put you in the position you should be had the error not occurred. EBay have fixed that for you.

Now the seller / EBay are in a position where they should be claiming from Royal Mail as they currently have suffered a loss (paying out for Royal Mail's error).

The incentive for Royal Mail to fix this issue is loss of business and/or money if they don't. Unfortunately as you now have no contract with Royal Mail for this item, you cannot take action.

RhondaD

Oh I do agree but the position I was in before was one where I had a very good relationship with a particular seller who deals in a niche product with is difficult to source elsewhere. I am no longer in that position because they have blocked me and think I am trying it on, thanks to Royal Mail. 

elsien

You weren’t the customer though. The vendor is the person who had the contract with RM so it was up to them to chase with regards to the incorrect delivery. 

So there’s no holding them to account from your end, and even if you could there’s not going to be any compensation for your seller not wanting to send to you any more.