Signature Received Non Delivery

[Its WAR]

I sold two items in two days £3700 and £2300, to buyers with two different addresses. Both payments were made by credit card and both items sent to card holders registered addresses (London and Manchester). Sent by Special Delivery before 9am.

 

Both persons at both the addresses claim not have authorised the purchase of the goods and made successful charge backs with their credit card provider. I assume they are being truthful and the purchases were made using their stolen details etc, both say they also failed to have received the items (for which I am insured by my business insurance policy).

 

Royal Mail insist the items were delivered correctly because they have signatures, therefore I can't even claim the minimum compensation level from them.

 

I find it too hard to believe that both items failed to reach the addresses unless the postmen were intercepted before reaching the front door.

 

I know Royal Mail will try to wheedle out of this with all manner of excuses but mostly they will claim all items are sent at my risk.

 

However in the light that it is clear they could not have delivered and the postie must have been negligent in getting signatures from people loitering outside the address etc, I wonder if I can try a county court summons for the uninsured amounts of my losses, ie £500 excess payments (two insurance claims) plus the loss of around £300 no claims bonus from next years renewal, plus the £40 postage etc.

 

We might suppose the items were delivered to the address but the card holders were not in, and a family member may have signed (thus satisfying Royal Mail). But the card holders deny this too. I am waiting to hear (via the credit card company) that at the time of supposed deliveries 08:30 and 08:15, the addresses were empty as the householders were commuting and therefore impossible to have taken delivery.

 

I do want to pursue this further but expect Royal Mail have been to court hundreds of times in similar cases and win. Is there anything I could find that will give me something to use. I wonder whether GPS would be useful? One of the addresses was a huge block of flats, I can just see a chap running down the stairs and asking the postie "got anything for number 4?" and posing as the addressee, in which case the gps may not record the front door. And the other guy pretending to be in the garden, knowing the occupier had gone to work.

 

Anyway, it transpires, both transactions were linked. Which is why both parcels were intercepted and because the items were both sent before 9am, the fraudster knew exactly when to expect the postie. I wonder whether such posting (before 9am) is known to be more risky for exactly this reason, and this is why the compensation levels are only £50.

 

Anyway, I want to issue a summons.

 

Any ideas?