Question re An Post.

Mr.Lizard

Bought an item from the UK on ebay approx 1 month ago. I'm fairly confident the seller lived up to their end of the bargain and posted the item. However I'm not nearly as confident that An Post have done their job wrt to delivery. I buy a lot of stuff from ebay in UK and it never takes this long for any of it to arrive. This is why I suspect it has been lost somewhere enroute.

What is the correct way chase up this issue with them (either to get the item in my possession or failing that to make them pay for the cost of the item in the case they have lost the item)?

mikemac

You have zero proof unless it was registered post.
And if it was registered post you'll have to file and a claim and it will take weeks. Though maybe they can track it and investigate it, possibly it got lost somewhere in the system

Don't claim against An Post unless you can prove they lost it.
Get the seller to replace it, far faster!

spurious

The sender should contact his/her post office and ask them.

Mr.Lizard

The seller says they can give me a reciept of postage. I've just requested that from just now so I'll find out in time exactly what that consists of.

It doesn't seem fair to make the seller replace it if it was the postal service who messed up? Are ebay sellers obliged to do so?

nava

Mr.Lizard wrote: »

The seller says they can give me a reciept of postage. I've just requested that from just now so I'll find out in time exactly what that consists of.

It doesn't seem fair to make the seller replace it if it was the postal service who messed up? Are ebay sellers obliged to do so?

If the item does not arrive it's the sender who should start a claim with Royal Mail, if you contact an-post they won't do anything at all, even if it's register.

Regarding ebay, if you start a claim I think ebay will go against the seller as he cannot proof it was deliver to you.

Mr.Lizard

So should I just tell the sender to refund me the money and make a claim themselves?

dudara

Moved to Online Buying & Auctions

dudara

byte

If you haven't received the item, the problem lies solely with the seller. It's up to the seller to ensure that the buyer receives the item. If they've cut corners by not sending via registered/signed-for delivery, that's their own problem.

Mr.Lizard

Thanks for your advice so far. Seller says this

"its not my fault it hasnt arrived,ive got the proof of posting which says ive done my bit.you are the one won needs to make a claim with the post office because they have lost it and to do that you need the proof of posting.its not fare on me to give you a refund because ive lost the money and my item.i dont know why you are blaming me for this.
"
How should I respond?

pissed

Initiate a claim with paypal. You will get a refund.

jor el

Mr.Lizard wrote: »

Thanks for your advice so far. Seller says this

"its not my fault it hasnt arrived,ive got the proof of posting which says ive done my bit.you are the one won needs to make a claim with the post office because they have lost it and to do that you need the proof of posting.its not fare on me to give you a refund because ive lost the money and my item.i dont know why you are blaming me for this.
"
How should I respond?

He is completely wrong. A Recipient cannot make a claim with the post office, only the sender can do this, and only if it was sent by registered post. Start a Paypal dispute and escalate to claim for a refund, or ask for it to be re-sent, with tracking info.

Paypal will not entertain a postal receipt as any kind of proof, they will only accept a tracking number that shows a delivery was made.

eBay and Paypal both state that if a seller chooses to use unregistered post, then they will lose out in the event of non-receipt. It was the sellers choice, and he chose wrong.

Mr.Lizard

Thanks for these posts. They are a great help. I get the impression the seller isn't trying to rip me off but at the same time doesn't really know the 'rules' as you have stated them and is just seeing this issue from the POV that "well I did my bit so I don't have to do anything".

Is there any faq style page on ebay/paypal I can link them to just spell it out so that they will have to back down?

jor el

There is a rather unhelpful eBay page on shipping problems, but starting a dispute is the best route, since the seller has already fobbed off responsibility.

delllat

jor el wrote: »

There is a rather unhelpful eBay page on shipping problems, but starting a dispute is the best route, since the seller has already fobbed off responsibility.

it happens time and time again but people will never learn because they always try to increase profit margins by not using registered post

sticking a stamp on something and hoping for the best is no way to do a business transaction especially if your repuation/business/income depends on it

all sellers should use it and if they think its cheaper to not use it they should cover the losses when it goes wrong ,no questions asked

jor el

delllat wrote: »

all sellers should use it and if they think its cheaper to not use it they should cover the losses when it goes wrong ,no questions asked

This is the key. A lot of bigger sellers use standard mail, because it's far cheaper than using registered for everything, then if something goes missing (or is even claimed to have gone missing), they resend or refund. The savings made by using standard mail is more than enough to cover the small number of losses.

In this case, it sounds as though this seller either doesn't sell enough to cover the losses that you'll get with standard delivery, or doesn't care what happens. Either way, it's his problem to sort, not the recipients.

Mr.Lizard

If I open a dispute what exactly happens? Do I get my money back against the guys wishes or is it just a case that he is blackmarked? He's still playing sillybuggers so I'm going threathen him with dispute. However I want to at least sound like I know what I'm talking about and the consequences for him if I launch it.

Thanks.

jor el

You open a dispute claiming non-receipt. Paypal will ask the seller to provide tracking info and proof of delivery. He won't be able to provide this, so he can either close the dispute with a refund, or wait the 10 days Paypal give him and they will close it automatically, and refund you anyway.

That's how it works.

Mr.Lizard

Thanks!

padocon

So if paypal refund you, who refunds paypal, the seller?
What happens if the seller won't pay paypal?

Thanks

jor el

The money comes from the seller, through Paypal. The seller doesn't get a choice.

Mr.Lizard

I've brought the item to dispute with Paypal. The seller has provided the following information (recieved in an Paypal email) :

The seller has provided the following Shipment Tracking Information for your review:

Shipping Company: Royal Mail
Shipment Tracking Number: 2-XXXXXXX

The seller has provided the following Order Status information for your review:

Order Status: Posted

This makes no difference, right? A I understand it all that means is that they posted 'something', 'sometime' to 'someone'. What can I really do with that info and am I even required to do anything with that info? As I understand it so far none of this changes my position and I've fulfilled my end of the arrangement as buyer?

Paypal are now asking:

If you would like to escalate this dispute to a PayPal claim, you must do
so before Jun 8, 2009 or it will automatically close. A closed dispute
cannot be reopened or escalated to a claim.

Am I still correct to proceed with the claim?

jor el

That's not a tracking number, it's most likely a receipt number. A tracking number will be a 13 digit string, like RI123456789GB. At this point, Paypal are not even looking at it, this will only happen when you go to a claim, which you should do now, as the seller is obviously holding fast. What he has provided is meaningless.

padocon

What ever you don't let the seller get away with it. Two people I know have not bothered reporting it. I think its a big mistake to let them get away with it.

Mr.Lizard

I've escalated the dispute to claim status and paypal have said they'll look into it in the next 2-3 days.

Bob Z

Its the sellers responsibilty to send it on. If you dont recieve it comes out of their pocket even if the seller is genuine and nice and really did send it on and the post office did lose. Sometimes a seller will say on a listing that they are not responsible for items getting lost in the post but this is BS AFAIK they are

I wouldnt feel guilty about claiming for it as this isnt your fault either. This is the way ebay works. If posted YOU posted an item that got lost you too would have to pay for it

padocon

Any progress?