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I'm hoping someone can help me with a dispute I have with Royal Mail. I sent a large box of items by special delivery, which when delivered, turned out that some of these items had been damaged.
Special delivery offers compensation for goods that are damaged in delivery and out of 12 items three were damaged. I paid for special delivery in good faith that my goods would be cared for and delivered in one piece.
The goods were delivered in with the normal post and the recipient advised me that the parcel had been badly abused.
I filled in a form detailing the damage and requesting compensation and then things went rapidly downhill.
The post office told me it would take up to two weeks for Royal Mail to respond. When after two weeks they didn't I rang I was told it would take three weeks. I was also told that as the packaging that the goods were delivered in was not kept by the recipient my claim would likely be thrown out. He also said that I must have wrapped my goods badly, which was not the case as I received advice from the Post Office and actually purchased a box, bubble wrap and brown paper from the post office to ensure this was done correctly and securely. When I stressed this the response was that if they paid out every claim then the whole country would be doing it. Which I felt was a personal insult to me, and that he was saying I was a liar and a fraud.
Anyway, from here I rang the complaint line and was told that I had to allow up to one month for a reply. After a month I went back to my local post office and they told me to take it up with my local sorting office.
So I rang the sorting office, got no reply, went there by car and spoke to someone at the counter. I left my details at the counter and they said the appropriate manager would ring me back. They never did. I rang the next day to be told the duty manager had left early for the day. The next day I was put through to a manager of some description who again took all the details and promised to ring me back. He never did.
Yesterday I received a letter from royal mail customer service asking me to return to them the damaged goods along with the damaged packaging. I do not have the damaged packaging. I am worried about sending my goods to them. I have also been given 5 days to do this otherwise my claim is void. Is that 5 days from the date of their letter? If so that time runs out tomorrow.
I'm furious at the run-around they have given me and now I think they are going to refuse my claim....meaning I've lost £200 because of the damage they caused.
I would really appreciate some advice here if any is available.
I know from past experience that the Royal Mail will need to see some proof the the items were damaged. They also now want to see the packaging. What were the items and how did you pack them?
I know from past experience that the Royal Mail will need to see some proof the the items were damaged. They also now want to see the packaging. What were the items and how did you pack them?
They were collectors editions of model cars. They come in mounted in perspex cases. Each case was wrapped in bubble wrap. Then each case was placed in a large box with bubble wrap round the sides so that there was no movement inside the box. Then the box was wrapped in brown paper and labelled.
I never thought to ask the recipient to keep the packaging. He did e-mail though to say that the box 'looked a bit abused, as if thrown around'.
My partner works for Royal Mail, special Delivery just means the item will be delivered by either 09.00 hrs or 13.00 hrs whichever is choosen, the cost also covers some damage, again this depends upon the cost choosen see below.............and there website for whats covered and whats not.....
Weight not over Stamps/SmartstampFranking/AccountCompensation for loss or damage Compensation for loss or damage Up to £50Up to £1000Up to £2500Up to £50Up to £1000Up to £2500100g £9.35 £10.40£11.40 £9.25£10.30 £11.30 500g£10.95 £12.00£13.00 £10.85 £11.90 £12.90 1kg£12.75 £13.80 £14.80 £12.55 £13.60 £14.60 2kg£15.80 £16.85 £17.85 £15.55 £16.60 £17.60
Use Special Delivery™ and get up to £50 automatic compensation cover for loss or damage. If your item is more valuable, you can get extra cover up to £2,500 for a small additional fee.
I'm not going into detail, but sending items recorded delivery or special delivery, doesnt give the item better service, if you are sending many items boxed together, the hustle and tussle of the bumping and banging the box will get during transit, from the depot to the person recieving the box, is very very extreme......... When sending such items again, it might be worth considering, using another transportation company, whom collect the boxes from your place of address and deliver to the person getting it, yes this costs more money, but better than facing such things as items missing, items broken, items stolen in transit, damaged items ... the list is quite endless.....
Try using Royal mails PARCEL FORCE see below details, rather than just royal mail delivery services,
UK parcel delivery services
We offer a range of parcel delivery services within the UK to meet your needs. Our delivery speeds range from a fast same day courier service to a 2 day parcel delivery service.
A same day service in conjunction with Royal Mail for our account customers
Unless you have taken photos of the items sent and the box packaged up before placing in royal mail hands, proofing the goods when delivered were damaged are somewhat slim, as a royal mail customer services person has said, there not trying to say you are telling untruths, just that proof is required to make your claim valid, without such, the chances of asuccessfull claim become slimmer. Hopefully you have taken the correct insurance and transportation costs to cover such a large box you did sent, otherwise the goods you did send, might not be fully covered in the costs of any claim, people tend to use the cheapest of postage, but expect much more when claiming... If you think ur claim is valid, presue with the claim, and send all theinformation there have requested, not doing so will in-validate the claim...Personnally i use Parcel Force for heavy or big boxes, as this gives more cover when things are damaged in transit...
No company will payout insurance on hear say alone, proof is the key to a successful claim........
I have just noted what the items were that you sent, i deal with such on ???, i buy and sell model cars and bikes, sending many per day and recieving them, the cases of such are so finely made, any minor bumping will crack the said cases, thankfully ive never had to make a claim as every delivery is spot on, if the parcel has arrived at its distination, damaged, i'd be inclined to look elsewhere than royal mail, you seem to have packaged the items and box very well, which says to me, damage in transit is unlikly, unless of course, a huge TV was dropped onto your box , again this will need to be proofed...
Perspex cases can be bought individually, and replaced over the car or bike, when cracks etc appear....making them look like new again at a small cost....
I take it ur just claiming for damaged perspex cases as there protect the items in side the casing, there cheap enouf to buy and will cost less time than making a small claim to royal mail... I'd be inclined to send the buyer serveral cases to remount the cars or bikes....
PS Welcome to the site and hope you enjoy helping/assisting others and receieving such urself...
I'm afraid to say that if you have disposed of the packaging your claim will be unsuccessful, and even if you appeal and go to Pos[EDIT - PLEASE REFRAIN FROM PERSONAL ABUSE]ch etc you still won't get anywhere - you need to prove the packaging was sufficient.
One thing I don't understand - if the recipient could clearly see that the box was damaged and had been "abused", why did he accept the item without pointing it out to the postman or inspecting the item before signing for it?
Opinions given herein are made informally by myself as a lay-person in good faith based on personal experience. For legal advice you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.
"Some people say The Stig chews on spark plugs and drifts while walking. Some say he is terrified of ducks, and that there is an airport in Russia named after him. All we know is that he is really barracad from The Consumer Action Group" - Jeremy Clarkson (allegedly)
As barracad has stated, they will not entertain your claim at all without the original packaging. Although if the recevier had taken photos they sometimes do accept them but too late in this case.
Idax
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I had a similar thing happen but I kept the packing, and sent it to Royal Mail, who returned it and said the packing was not good enough for their postal system. I contacted Pos[EDIT - PLEASE REFRAIN FROM PERSONAL ABUSE]ch and they got my insurance claim money refunded.
Royal Mail - Special Delivery
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Originally Posted by 1stlifeline
