Hi All,

At the start of June I ordered some tools from an online seller (Uni-Thread LTD) which were shipped via Royal Mail with an un-recorded next day service. After about 3 weeks* I called the seller to find out what had happened and after some investigation RM tracking said the parcel had been delivered - no signature or any further details.

*The reason for the 3 week delay is I didn't get a confirmation email or invoice from the seller, so assumed there had been some error and it had failed to go through. It's only when looking back through my accounts that I saw the money had actually left my account.

I've searched all my neighbours who would normally take in parcels and found nothing.

The seller is offering a 25% discount if I order again, which I do *sort of* appreciate but am still unhappy about having to pay for these parts twice.

What are my rights in this instance? I should mention this was a purchase for tools that my business made, not a personal purchase.

As you probably have guessed, because you contracting as a trader, you have fewer rights than a consumer. A consumer contract would include an implied term that the goods must be delivered in order for the contract to be executed. I'm afraid that it seems that no such term exists for a trade contract and so you would have to look at the terms and conditions or other circumstances to see whether you could imply a term. What kind of value are we talking about here?

Did you have a choice of delivery methods? In other words instead of accepting the unrecorded presumably cheaper delivery service which was offered, where you offered some faster or more secure or tracked or insured delivery?

It does seem rather strange to me that they organised next day delivery without any tracking information. I think you should check with Royal mail to see whether that is possible.

It would of been normal1st class postage.

Definition from royal Mail.

When you want to know your mail is in safe hands, you can trust 1st Class for quick, efficient delivery across the UK. We aim to deliver your letters and parcels to their destinations the next working day – including Saturdays.

Why send 1st Class?

• Great value option to get your post delivered safely and on time

• Prices start at 67p for letters up to 100g

• Send parcels up to 20kg in weight

• Includes compensation cover up to £20

We aren't talking much - £60 originally and now £45 with the discount.

From our phone conversation, the trader uses a franked delivery service and apparently tracking info on this is extremely limited.

From what I can ascertain, I can claim £20 compensation from RM for loss of the items, but only if the trader doesn't also do this. I'll still be out of pocket £25, which sucks, but it's better than nothing I suppose.

If the trader claimed money from Royal mail for a failed delivery then he would be obliged to give it to you. I would suggest that you take responsibility for claiming the money back yourself otherwise you won't know what's happening and maybe the trader can't be bothered. They have got their money. Out-of-pocket £25 is a shame but in the circumstances it's probably not worth doing very much about it.

Thanks for the replies, we managed to solve this diplomatically in the end.

I responded to the trader's offer by stating if he were to reduce the cost by the £20 he could reclaim from Royal Mail and send via recorded delivery, I would be happier with the outcome.

We spoke on the phone this morning and his concern is that he won't be able to reclaim anything due to RM saying it has been delivered (according to their system), so we have met in the middle. I'm still out of pocket £30, but I think that's the best outcome I can expect given the circumstances.