Item delayed and damaged in the post (royal mail) 28 December 2022 at 5:13PM edited 28 December 2022 at 5:19PM in Ebay, auctions, car boot sales, post & parcels 10 replies 258 views

Yellowstone2

I bought an item for £20 via FB marketplace and paid via bank transfer. (I know, not ideal, but I couldn't find this particular item on Ebay)
The seller agreed to post, and sent it on 16th December with royal mail 24 hour tracked.

I expected some delay, due to it being just before Christmas, bank holidays and the strikes, so was prepared to be patient. It was delivered today 28th December, 12 days after it was posted.
The added problem is that the parcel was damaged (crushed by the looks of it, and the box was ripped open)

The item (it was a pottery item) has broken. Unfortunately the sender didn't put any 'fragile' tape on the box, so I imagine royal mail will not entertain a refund for the damage?  I wondered if I could recoup a bit of my loss by claiming for the delay (24 hours tracked taking 16 days) As it was a tracked item, at least there is proof that it was delayed.

I've never done any sort of claim with royal mail. I've googled and read contradicting things. One says either the sender of receiver can make a claim, another says that 24 and 48 hour tracked, has to be claimed by the sender.

I've messaged the sender to see what they suggest, and if they can help, but I've not had a reply yet. Wonder if to chalk this down to experience or if I could pursue claim for delay and/or breakage, as I've got nothing to lose. 

I'm guessing a chargeback through the bank is only against a business? (This was from a person, not a business)  

Any advice appreciated, thank you.

marcia_

 You can't do a chargeback of a bank transfer. Only card payments allow this. 

Rantband

You can't claim against RM tracked 24,It’s not a guaranteed service.

soolin

As above a bank transfer has no leverage against the seller so you are reliant on their good will . PayPal would have been better, but I suspect you realise that already.

Incidentally for card payments claims can be made against individuals as well as businesses, not that it is applicable in this instance. 

Also, a claim for damage can be made and is not reliant on the use of fragile tape. However, it depends whether you can supply all the relevant details required ,as claims are normally done by the sender. 

Spoonie_Turtle

I suspect you're rather at the mercy of the seller here.

Royal Mail almost certainly won't pay out for pottery/ceramics (they rarely deem broken ceramics to have been packaged well enough) so the seller won't get anything back from them to refund you.  You have no recourse against the seller anyway.  So you'll probably only get anywhere if they agree it's not fair for you to be totally out of pocket and maybe refund you half so you're both equally out of pocket.

Yellowstone2

Thanks for all your replies. You are right, I was getting card and bank transfer mixed up, thanks for clarifying.
I shall cross my fingers that the seller at least attempts a claim for breakage, or like you mention Spoonie, maybe a part refund. Thanks a lot for all your advice 

MalMonroe

Yellowstone2 said:

Thanks for all your replies. You are right, I was getting card and bank transfer mixed up, thanks for clarifying.
I shall cross my fingers that the seller at least attempts a claim for breakage, or like you mention Spoonie, maybe a part refund. Thanks a lot for all your advice 

Hi, please don't forget that you can also contact Facebook about this. And you can report someone for being careless enough not to ensure that a fragile item reaches its destination in good condition. Just because it's FB doesn't mean you have lost out. 

See this link - https://en-gb.facebook.com/help/1300403490093419

and scroll down to "contact our team" - it's worth a try, Facebook need to be accountable to those of us who choose to use their 'marketplace'.

Hope that helps. And also that you get a refund soon. 

soolin

MalMonroe said:

Yellowstone2 said:

Thanks for all your replies. You are right, I was getting card and bank transfer mixed up, thanks for clarifying.
I shall cross my fingers that the seller at least attempts a claim for breakage, or like you mention Spoonie, maybe a part refund. Thanks a lot for all your advice 

Hi, please don't forget that you can also contact Facebook about this. And you can report someone for being careless enough not to ensure that a fragile item reaches its destination in good condition. Just because it's FB doesn't mean you have lost out. 

See this link - https://en-gb.facebook.com/help/1300403490093419

and scroll down to "contact our team" - it's worth a try, Facebook need to be accountable to those of us who choose to use their 'marketplace'.

Hope that helps. And also that you get a refund soon. 

Facebook are not going to sort out a refund for them, they will be lucky to get any sort of response at all. There ate different options on marketplace, if you buy direct and use bank transfer then it is between buyer and seller, if you use the new system (which is rolling out very slowly) and pay via the facebook payment system then there is a small measure of buyer protection.

from the link 

“ Purchase Protection only applies when you purchase an item with delivery or checkout on Facebook.”

Yellowstone2

soolin said:

MalMonroe said:

Yellowstone2 said:

Thanks for all your replies. You are right, I was getting card and bank transfer mixed up, thanks for clarifying.
I shall cross my fingers that the seller at least attempts a claim for breakage, or like you mention Spoonie, maybe a part refund. Thanks a lot for all your advice 

Hi, please don't forget that you can also contact Facebook about this. And you can report someone for being careless enough not to ensure that a fragile item reaches its destination in good condition. Just because it's FB doesn't mean you have lost out. 

See this link - https://en-gb.facebook.com/help/1300403490093419

and scroll down to "contact our team" - it's worth a try, Facebook need to be accountable to those of us who choose to use their 'marketplace'.

Hope that helps. And also that you get a refund soon. 

Facebook are not going to sort out a refund for them, they will be lucky to get any sort of response at all. There ate different options on marketplace, if you buy direct and use bank transfer then it is between buyer and seller, if you use the new system (which is rolling out very slowly) and pay via the facebook payment system then there is a small measure of buyer protection.

from the link 

“ Purchase Protection only applies when you purchase an item with delivery or checkout on Facebook.”

Soolin, I had heard about this, but there was no option for it, or I would have gone for that. As it's in the process of being rolled out, I'm guessing it just hadn't got to me yet  

soolin

Yellowstone2 said:

soolin said:

MalMonroe said:

Yellowstone2 said:

Thanks for all your replies. You are right, I was getting card and bank transfer mixed up, thanks for clarifying.
I shall cross my fingers that the seller at least attempts a claim for breakage, or like you mention Spoonie, maybe a part refund. Thanks a lot for all your advice 

Hi, please don't forget that you can also contact Facebook about this. And you can report someone for being careless enough not to ensure that a fragile item reaches its destination in good condition. Just because it's FB doesn't mean you have lost out. 

See this link - https://en-gb.facebook.com/help/1300403490093419

and scroll down to "contact our team" - it's worth a try, Facebook need to be accountable to those of us who choose to use their 'marketplace'.

Hope that helps. And also that you get a refund soon. 

Facebook are not going to sort out a refund for them, they will be lucky to get any sort of response at all. There ate different options on marketplace, if you buy direct and use bank transfer then it is between buyer and seller, if you use the new system (which is rolling out very slowly) and pay via the facebook payment system then there is a small measure of buyer protection.

from the link 

“ Purchase Protection only applies when you purchase an item with delivery or checkout on Facebook.”

Soolin, I had heard about this, but there was no option for it, or I would have gone for that. As it's in the process of being rolled out, I'm guessing it just hadn't got to me yet  

It's barely rolled out at all and not popular with sellers as it is chargeable,, whereas currently selling on FB marketplace is free. This time last year I recall MSE here on this sub board claiming we all had to switch to the new system by Feb 2022, in fact it is quite the opposite and if anything the roll out has now ground to a total halt. Loads of issues with it in the US where it is quite widespread, both buyers and sellers seem unhappy at the way they get treated with FB never responding to any complaints or requests at all.

However the current FB marketplace is quite safe as long as buyers know how to protect themselves - I would normally suggest paypal using the goods and services option - if a seller won't use that then walk away. A few sellers can take cards but realistically any small seller whether private or a micro business is unlikely to have the facility for online card payments (my card reader for instance requires the card and owner to be physically present)- so it is really just paypal. As you have been unfortunate enough to find out a bank transfer is rather like paying cash to a stranger , much of the time it's fine- I certainly wouldn't treat any of my bank transfer customers any different to one paying by paypal and would refund for damaged or lost items. It does however leave you vulnerable if a seller is less interested in helping a buyer in a timely manner. 

I would continue trying to reach the seller to see if they will assist you with a full refund, as that is what you are entitled to if something you buy reaches you damaged. 

Yellowstone2

Thanks Soolin, I will do, in the hope that they at least try and claim through Royal mail, or share the hit. I know I would if the situation was reversed.