Royal Mail refusing compensation

sghughes42

I sent an item to Australia via Royal Mail International Tracked. It seemed to get as far as Heathrow from the info supplied when you track it, but didn't arrive at the destination.

I put in a compensation claim, but it has been rejected because I have no proof of postage. I know this is my 'fault' but surely the fact they've tracked it in their system means they can't claim I didn't post it?

Has anyone had success contesting this or am I really stuck here? While one of their terms is having proof of postage I can't see how this is reasonable when I can prove posting by another means - in this case the fact they've recorded it as being in their system.

What's worse is when you submit the claim they say if you don't have PofP then the most you'll get is a refund of the postage cost you paid, but they are even refusing to refund this without one.

They are totally useless in trying to contest this - I've repeatedly asked what a PoP gives them that the tracking doesn't but they won't even engage with the question. This makes me suspect they are hiding behind T&Cs rather than there actually being a reason.

user1977

sghughes42 said:

surely the fact they've tracked it in their system means they can't claim I didn't post it?

How are you evidencing that it was you who posted the item rather than someone else?

MobileSaver

sghughes42 said:

one of their terms is having proof of postage I can't see how this is reasonable when I can prove posting by another means

That seems completely reasonable to me; the only person that Royal Mail have a contract with is the person who paid for the postage. There's no dispute that the item was posted, you just need to prove that you were the person who paid for it and therefore are entitled to any refund.

Undervalued

user1977 said:

sghughes42 said:

surely the fact they've tracked it in their system means they can't claim I didn't post it?

How are you evidencing that it was you who posted the item rather than someone else?

Exactly. Plus, had you posted it at a PO it would have been weighed and also checked that it complied with any dimension restrictions. Also you would have been shown a list of prohibited items and asked to confirm that it complied.

Finally, despite the tracking having stopped at Heathrow, has the parcel actually arrived at its destination. I had two returns, for which I have received refunds from the companies concerned after receipt, despite the RM tracking showing that they are stuck at a major UK hub! 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

OP how did you buy the label? 

You don't need proof of postage but you do need proof you purchased the label.

Exodi

I don't want this to turn into an echo chamber, but if you think of it this way; what's stopping a nefarious actor from spamming random tracking numbers into their online tracking site until they found a parcel that has been in transit for an unreasonably long time, and attempting to claim a refund against it?

It is understandable that Royal Mail would want to confirm that the person they are refunding is the same person that paid for the service (whether this be via proof of postage or proof of purchase). Obviously they wouldn't want to refund someone then have the 'real' poster approach them for a refund.

Many businesses operate like this, it's not just Royal Mail being unreasonable for asking for PoP.

Undervalued

Exodi said:

I don't want this to turn into an echo chamber, but if you think of it this way; what's stopping a nefarious actor from spamming random tracking numbers into their online tracking site until they found a parcel that has been in transit for an unreasonably long time, and attempting to claim a refund against it?

It is understandable that Royal Mail would want to confirm that the person they are refunding is the same person that paid for the service (whether this be via proof of postage or proof of purchase). Obviously they wouldn't want to refund someone then have the 'real' poster approach them for a refund.

Many businesses operate like this, it's not just Royal Mail being unreasonable for asking for PoP.

I suspect, given the number of digits (plus letters) in the tracking number, it is very difficult to come up with one at random that is valid. I think credit card numbers rely on this concept as one of their security measures too.

anmarj

Normally there is a link to their postal partner who take over the delivery, if you go to Australia post, it should accept the RM tracking number and provide an update, it potentially could be stuck in customs. The next update RM may get is when it has been delivered.

savergrant

sghughes42 said:

I sent an item to Australia via Royal Mail International Tracked. It seemed to get as far as Heathrow from the info supplied when you track it, but didn't arrive at the destination.

If you have the tracking info for it then presumably you have some sort of receipt? How did you purchase the postage? 
Presumably you didn't get a receipt from them that you had handed the item into their custody, and they are refusing to accept the tracking info given through their tracker. Can you get a screenshot of the date/time stamp where it says 'received at post office/csc'?

Exodi

savergrant said:

sghughes42 said:

I sent an item to Australia via Royal Mail International Tracked. It seemed to get as far as Heathrow from the info supplied when you track it, but didn't arrive at the destination.

If you have the tracking info for it then presumably you have some sort of receipt? How did you purchase the postage? 
Presumably you didn't get a receipt from them that you had handed the item into their custody, and they are refusing to accept the tracking info given through their tracker. Can you get a screenshot of the date/time stamp where it says 'received at post office/csc'?

You're making the same misinterpretation as the OP. They are not arguing that the parcel was not in their possession.

RefluentBeans

Exodi said:

savergrant said:

sghughes42 said:

I sent an item to Australia via Royal Mail International Tracked. It seemed to get as far as Heathrow from the info supplied when you track it, but didn't arrive at the destination.

If you have the tracking info for it then presumably you have some sort of receipt? How did you purchase the postage? 
Presumably you didn't get a receipt from them that you had handed the item into their custody, and they are refusing to accept the tracking info given through their tracker. Can you get a screenshot of the date/time stamp where it says 'received at post office/csc'?

You're making the same misinterpretation as the OP. They are not arguing that the parcel was not in their possession.

I think it’s more that the receipt given (if you go to a counter, last time I did anyway) tells you what service was paid for, and what that tracking number is. This receipt confirms proof that the OP paid for this service. But may not confirm that they posted it that day (you can buy services and then put them on future parcels). 

Additionally, the OP has said they are asking for proof of postage, not proof of purchase. Proof of postage is just that - proof the parcel was posted. If you return something through a prepaid label, you can ask for proof of postage to confirm it’s been posted. That doesn’t transfer  the contract to the poster, merely confirms that the package has been posted. 

I would imagine the argument RM will make is that sometimes the scanners can misread barcodes, and so there may be phantom scans. The proof of postage confirms when the parcel entered the network, where it entered, and who accepted the parcel. Plus will have the weight listed, so if there’s any ‘accidents’ that happen that result in the mass changing, the proof of postage will confirm what the original weight was.