I sold an item on Ebay a few weeks ago, packaged it up nicely and sent it off recorded delivery with Parcel Fail. A week later I get a message from the buyer saying he didn’t receive the item and the tracking info says it was last tracked at a local depot.

Would you refund the buyer the full amount or am I no longer responsible for the item?

Thanks.

you refund him.

Get on to Parcel Force to see what compensation you’re entitled to first. The parcel’s value may be covered. Then refund him.

you refund him.

+1

You have the contract with Parcel Force or Royal Mail.

awh – Member

Get on to Parcel Force to see what compensation you’re entitled to first.

Why?

You chose the courier and have a contract with them, your buyer doesn’t. You responsibility doesn’t end until your buyer has the item and is satisfied with it.

Your Buyer’s responsibility ends when they pay you, which is why responsible and totally honest eBayers leave the buyer feedback upon confirmed payment.

I would be happy to wait for the seller to be compensated for a lost parcel before he then refunded me.

I would be happy to wait for the seller to be compensated for a lost parcel before he then refunded me.

There’s no point, if push came to shove, eBay and Paypal with side with the buyer and pay him out
The buyer needs a refund and the seller needs to sort it out with PF
I can’t see why the 2 would be linked TBH

jota180 + 1, it’s not the buyers fault.

I think you’ll be covered up to £46 with RM.

First was probably not the best word for me to use, I was meaning contact PF quickly.

I would submit a claim/complaint to RM first in case they can find it (and possibly refund you) (and have been flamed for stating this position here previously)

I would wait the 15(?) working days*, that RM say it can take, then start the compensation claim (you can’t start it earlier anyway), also at that point refund the buyer.
As it ‘might’ still turn up in those 15 working days, so he’d end up with the item and the refund & you would have no recourse.
Though talk to the buyer and explain your situation and what you plan to do.

Oh and good luck with getting compensation from Royal fail.

*check the royal mail website for details

If there is a fair chance of it turning up, I think it is reasonable to ask the seller to wait for the stated time that ParcelForce/Royal Mail will wait before accepting the item as lost.

If the last tracking info shows it at the local depot, does that not mean its waiting to be delivered/delivery has failed and they are waiting for the recipient to collect?

You chose the courier and have a contract with them, your buyer doesn’t. You responsibility doesn’t end until your buyer has the item and is satisfied with it.

Your Buyer’s responsibility ends when they pay you, which is why responsible and totally honest eBayers leave the buyer feedback upon confirmed payment.

Should have read…….

Your Buyer’s responsibility ends when they pay you, which is why unscrupulous and totally dis-honest eBayers buy stuff, then claim it never turned up

as said previously, wait 15 days for the item to ‘turn up’…

If it doesnt refund the buyer and go through Parcel fail for compensation – as its a tracked item this should cover you up to £500? but check there web site for details….

You can tell the buyer to wait for a few more days,usually after 15 days or ask the customer to go to the local post office for help.

It’s 15 Working days .. so 3 week’s or more, as you do not include the weekends or bank holidays….

Was it sent 12/24/48hour delivery? If so and it’s still not arrived then you can claim the postage costs anyway for a delivery failure within time. My mum has had to do the several times with accounts etc. I would call them and see what they say rather than just use the online tracker.
As said above its fair enough not to give the buyer the refund until the 15days is up but I would contact Parcel Force just in case. If you did refund him and the aprcel turned up he would be receiving it for free.
Was the address written exactly the same as what the buyer had provided? I’ve had a parcel sent to me but the seller didn’t write twasn’t entitled to compensation.
Bit of a sh***er but hopefully the buyer undertands. He’s [probably] got the tracking number so knows that you’re not trying it on.

You need to log it with Royal Mail first and keep the buyer up-dated.

Royal Mail give themselves quite a bit of time before they will act on a claim so if you give a refund before this and they suddenly find the parcel and deliver it then you have no way of getting your money back and the seller gets a free item.

Contact RM first and go from there. See if you can arrange it so the parcel goes back to you if found.

Your Buyer’s responsibility ends when they pay you, which is why unscrupulous and totally dis-honest eBayers buy stuff, then claim it never turned up

Right up there with gods/pixies/fairies as far as I’m concerned.

Over 600 sales between us, not happened once, and we always leave feedback upon confirmed payment. So our feedback rating is 100% genuine and not in any way given because the buyer worries about not getting feedback from us.

It’s all paperwork from the 15 working day point, and appeasing the buyer.

I lost an expensive item in the past I once sent out (fork) and after I put in my claim they suddenly found it and delivered it. Must have got stuck in a dark corner of a warehouse or something. I was refunded the postage costs because I applied for them.

It can get a bit sticky here really. You’ve spent money selling the thing, then it disappears and reappears after you’ve paid back the buyer. You’ve wasted time and possibly money claiming for the lost item and then it’s back in your hands, not quite square one.