Buyer asked for parcel to be sent to different address

misterthrifty

Hi, I sold an item and the buyer wrote to say the address provided was incorrect as they had moved, so could I post to a different address? I pointed out that I was required to send it to the address provided, the buyer insisted and said they would accept all responsibility if it was lost. I was rushing getting a lot of parcels ready and I accidentally posted it to the original address as shown on the ebay order, it was sent without tracking but I have PoP. The buyer has now opened an INR as it was sent to their old address (they don't know that at the moment). Will ebay close the case in my favour as the buyer isn't at the address ebay have or will I have to give in as I don't have tracking?
Any suggestions?
TIA

Spoonie_Turtle

How did you send it, what service?  If it's Royal Mail standard parcel you'll have a reference number which will show proof of delivery when you put it in as tracking.  Any other courier usually has proof of delivery too.

With any proof of delivery you'll be covered because you sent it to the address given on eBay.

For future reference you would have left yourself open to losing a fraudulent INR if you had sent to a different address, so the best thing to do if anyone asks you to send elsewhere is to cancel the sale and get the buyer to buy again with the correct address.

soolin

As above if you have any Proof of delivery you will win an INR if it was just a large letter then you will lose the INR but can use your proof of postage to claim back from Royal Mail. 

However , it might just be worth contacting eBay if it was a large letter and buyer opens an INR  and ask them to check the eBay messages , although I doubt it will do any good it might be worth trying. 

misterthrifty

Thanks for the replies, in retrospect I would have handled it differently. The parcel was posted by standard RM (stamps) so I have PoP but no tracking. It seems a bit unfair that if I had sent it to the changed address then he would be able claim INR, however, as I sent it to the correct address (as required by ebay) he can still claim INR even though he has moved, but that's ebay for you.
I will try and contact ebay to see if they will help but I find it very difficult to get through to them nowadays, I don't want to try and dispute the INR as I may well lose and up with defect!

soolin

misterthrifty said:

Thanks for the replies, in retrospect I would have handled it differently. The parcel was posted by standard RM (stamps) so I have PoP but no tracking. It seems a bit unfair that if I had sent it to the changed address then he would be able claim INR, however, as I sent it to the correct address (as required by ebay) he can still claim INR even though he has moved, but that's ebay for you.
I will try and contact ebay to see if they will help but I find it very difficult to get through to them nowadays, I don't want to try and dispute the INR as I may well lose and up with defect!

Assuming you have your return address on the package then there’s a fair chance package will eventually come back to you. I have had a few returns over the years marked ‘not known at this address’. I’ve also sent back a few as well where packages have arrived to a person whose name I don’t recognise. 

ballisticbrian

misterthrifty said:

It seems a bit unfair that if I had sent it to the changed address then he would be able claim INR, however, as I sent it to the correct address (as required by ebay) he can still claim INR even though he has moved,

It would have been best to cancel the order and relist for them which I must admit is easier on a buy-it-now listing with many items the same. Sending to the old address was bound to end in disaster. As pointed out by other standard parcels does now include delivery confirmation, but you used actual stamps.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

misterthrifty said:

It seems a bit unfair that if I had sent it to the changed address then he would be able claim INR, however, as I sent it to the correct address (as required by ebay) he can still claim INR even though he has moved, but that's ebay for you.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210#specialcoverage-inr

The buyer provided an invalid or incorrect address at checkout - Not covered

Typically the buyer would win the INR as there's no tracking and then you'd have to appeal, I would assume for a low value item eBay would cover the loss. 

The issue here is that the buyer informed you beforehand, although you didn't say, it reads as if you agreed to them accepting responsibility? eBay will typically look at the messages and how this has played out isn't in your favour sadly. 

It's always best to cancel the sale with problem with buyers address and relist if you want them to buy again. 

Just as an FYI I've been getting delivery confirmation on Large Letters for a while now, I purchase online

https://send.royalmail.com/

so don't know if it applies when buying from other places like the Post Office. 

soolin

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

misterthrifty said:

It seems a bit unfair that if I had sent it to the changed address then he would be able claim INR, however, as I sent it to the correct address (as required by ebay) he can still claim INR even though he has moved, but that's ebay for you.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210#specialcoverage-inr

The buyer provided an invalid or incorrect address at checkout - Not covered

Typically the buyer would win the INR as there's no tracking and then you'd have to appeal, I would assume for a low value item eBay would cover the loss. 

The issue here is that the buyer informed you beforehand, although you didn't say, it reads as if you agreed to them accepting responsibility? eBay will typically look at the messages and how this has played out isn't in your favour sadly. 

It's always best to cancel the sale with problem with buyers address and relist if you want them to buy again. 

Just as an FYI I've been getting delivery confirmation on Large Letters for a while now, I purchase online

https://send.royalmail.com/

so don't know if it applies when buying from other places like the Post Office. 

I think the issue is that OP has no proof of delivery so can’t argue that it was delivered to an incorrect address. I am also getting proof of delivery for about 75% of my large letters sent via eBay postage , it’s a shame that the OP used stamps. 

apw81

soolin said:

As above if you have any Proof of delivery you will win an INR if it was just a large letter then you will lose the INR but can use your proof of postage to claim back from Royal Mail. 

What for? For delivering the item to the address they were given? They did their part, as instructed, so how would they be liable?

misterthrifty

I have managed to speak to ebay, not particularly helpful but that is as expected. They say that even if there is no tracking, I can ask RM to investigate the delivery (ie ask the postie) and if they confirm it was delivered to the address provided by ebay then that would swing it in my favour. I'm not sure how I can do that with RM?

Interestingly, the agent said that if I buyer asks the seller to send to a different address and this can be seen on messages, then ebay would then provide seller protection for the new address if it goes missing, not sure I would trust that though.

I think the point made by apw81 'What for? For delivering the item to the address they were given? They did their part, as instructed, so how would they be liable?' is fair, RM have done nothing wrong here.