Royal Mail - lost item sold on Ebay. Sent Special Delivery Next Day Guaranteed

[Dollydoo]

I sold on Ebay. Sent Special Delivery Next Day Guaranteed (1pm).  Tracking updated to read: Undelivered as couldn't identify the recipient address, returning to sender.  It hasn't been returned, that was 15th February, no further updates.  I issued the buyer a refund straight away.

 

Royal Mail refused to pay out because I had incorrectly labeled the parcel (I know I didn't and now I can actually prove it)  It's currently in the hands of the postal review team.   

 

I decided to do some digging and I sent a signed for letter to same address, it got delivered.   Seems it's a shipping company that forwards the items on to the buyer in the Mid East.  

 

Ebay can't get the buyer to pay me because I issued the refund and I've appealed to the buyer myself but he's ignoring me.      

 

Where do I go from here?  The parcel got delivered but RM failed to track it properly so now I've lost my goods and my money.  it's RM's fault should they pay up?

 

 

[BankFodder]

Very difficult because although Royal mail clearly were at fault, they eventually did carry out their side of the bargain although later than they should have done.

When you sue somebody in contract you generally speaking have to show that your losses are foreseeable and within the expectation of your contracting partner.
Although you clearly showed best practice by refunding the purchaser immediately, I suppose in retrospect it might have been better until eBay enforced the refund. Then at least they would have had an element of responsibility.

I'm really not sure what to suggest.

 

[Dollydoo]

I didn’t know that I’d only have help from Ebay if it was a forced refund in all honesty and RM actually delivered on the day they said they hadn’t, to the address they said they couldn’t identify. Just how they managed that I don’t know. Had I not sent a letter I still wouldn’t know where my parcel ended up. 

 

Surely if Royal Mail failed to track it to being delivered back to me, as stated on their tracking system, then effectively they haven’t fulfilled the service I paid for?

 

They certainly failed to obtain a signature on delivery which has resulted in me losing £211.15p 

[dx100uk]

so the buyer has the item and he got his money back and is in the middle east?

[Dollydoo]

yes!  

 

he actually messaged me early this morning and asked me to send another invoice,  fingers crossed.  

[dx100uk]

thats promising