Royal Mail ignoring me - What now?

[triggerfish56]

A couple of months ago I bought an item costing £44 from eBay and paid with PayPal.

 

The item should have been sent by Royal Mail 1st Class signed for but for reasons unknown the seller only used standard 1st Class parcel although he did get a tracking number. That tracking says delivery was made the next day and due to that eBay will not accept my claim even though the service used was not as advertised.

 

I was in all that day and delivery was not made to me however I live in a block of flats so it is impossible to know if it has been left in a public area and stolen by another resident or visitor. The delivery person has stated that it was delivered as addressed however none of the procedures, even where amended by the Covid - 19 situation, stated on Royal Mail's website were followed. No knock on the door and no card left to say who it had been delivered to so the delivery person has clearly ignored the correct working practices.

 

My initial complaint to RM has been rejected and closed and while I have escalated it I am getting nowhere.

 

It is now close to the time where I won't be able to reopen the case with eBay so I need to figure out what to do next.

 

I see some people say it is possible to sue Royal Mail but is that the correct thing to try?

 

Other than that I see my options as being to sue the seller or attempt a charge back from my bank as the PayPal payment was made direct from my current account.

 

All advice gratefully received.

[BankFodder]

Haven't you made an item not delivered claim through eBay?

If the eBay auction said that the item was going to be sent in a certain way and then it wasn't, it seems to me that you have a slamdunk case.

[triggerfish56]

Yes making a claim through eBay was my first action.

 

Sadly, even though the item was not sent by the way it should have been and the seller will not communicate with them they are taking the view that as the minimal tracking information says delivery was made I do not have a case.

[BankFodder]

Is the seller a commercial seller? Are they in the UK?

[triggerfish56]

Yes a VAT registered UK business although trading from a residential address if that makes any difference.

[BankFodder]

Well of course to a certain extent it is your word against the sellers – but you are helped enormously by the fact that you entered into a contract for delivery on certain terms and those terms weren't adhered to.

This tends to make your side rather more believable and so you might want to consider beginning a claim against the seller. How far away from you does the seller live?

 

[triggerfish56]

About 10 miles

[BankFodder]

Okay, I was hoping that it was further away because a commercial defendant dealing with a litigant in person would mean that if there was a face-to-face hearing then the case would be listed in your local court and the defendant would have to travel which would add to the inconvenience and risk factor.

I think you have to decide what action to take. It seems to me that there is a breach of contract and in fact I gather that you probably paid a certain amount for delivery and the means of delivery which was eventually used cost less than that for which you paid.
I hope you have got evidence of everything – print outs et cetera.

 

If you think you are prepared to bring a small claim then you should read up on this forum about the steps involved in bringing a small claim – it's very easy but it is worth knowing in advance how it goes.

Then you should send the seller a letter of claim giving  14 days to reimburse you or else you will bring a legal action in the County Court and without any further notice. If you send this letter then you must go ahead with your threat. Don't bluff because you will lose all credibility. It's extremely likely that the seller will ignore you or will simply call your bluff – so that you will have to issue the claim papers on day 15.

This means that you need to be fully decided to go ahead on day 15 if your reimbursement is not forthcoming. We will help you all the way – but it is something that you will have to consider.

Your risk factors include the claim fee at £25. A hearing fee which for a small value like this may be only £50 also. If you lose then you lose them. If you win then you get them back plus your money.


 

[triggerfish56]

OK thank you for all the advice.  I will give RM the remaining days until eBay will not reopen the claim then decide whether to proceed.

 

Will update the thread when I have more news.

[45002]

Have you tried PayPal for a refund ?

 

http://tiny.cc/3k26qz

 

 

,,,

Edited June 23, 2020 by 45002

[triggerfish56]

No, I mistakenly thought that eBay and PayPal operated pretty much hand in hand.

 

Having checked your link I will continue to wait the days until the eBay dispute can't be reopened but then go to PayPal before considering legal action.

 

BTW does anyone think a charge back through my bank would work?

[dx100uk]

of course you can do a chargeback and then simply walk away too yes.

[cjcregg]

11 hours ago, BankFodder said:

Okay, I was hoping that it was further away because a commercial defendant dealing with a litigant in person would mean that if there was a face-to-face hearing then the case would be listed in your local court and the defendant would have to travel which would add to the inconvenience and risk factor.
 

 

Sorry to butt in here but although the small claims courts are transferring cases from MCOL to the litigant in person's local court in the normal way, they are just not holding hearings at the moment and are issuing orders to the parties to agree to a paper determination. If either party does not agree they have to provide persuasive reasons why. The court can then either offer to hold a remote hearing where verbal evidence can be given by Skype etc or the court has the power to order that the case is determined on paper without attendees. I doubt that a claim for £44 would be a high enough priority for a court not to order that it should be held in any other way than on paper.

 

Therefore I think it's important that potential claimants consider whether their claim is suitable to be heard on paper alone and if not, to hold off issuing a claim until the courts are back to normal.

 

I've upload the relevant passage from an order. Hope this helps.

Order Example.pdf

[BankFodder]

Yes, that's right