If a parcel goes missing and postal insurance question

[YMW]

what happens with regards to the payment? Who's responsibility is it to claim from Royal Mail-the customer or the retailer?
I was thinking of offering insurance for the exact price, now if the customer does not buy the insurance and the parcel does not turn up, what can happen? If they paid by credit card then they can claim the money back from the credit card company which means I am out of pocket :roll:

So what do you do-offer insurance/refunds/claim from royal mail please let me know :)

[creative-keyrings]

Hi,

i send everything out via parcelforce and they gurantee every parcel up to the value of what its worth.

If it does go missing the sender should claim the money back for the customer and then re process the order if they want to.

Hope this helps,

Callum Slade

[fastfences]

Agree with Callum.
I've sent via Parcel force and if you keep the recipt and the item is undelivered you just file a claim. Takes about 2 weeks to process and then you'll receive a cheque. (Well that's the theory, I did).
Cheers, Nigel

[SillyJokes]

If you are distance selling goods you are responsible for delivery of those goods to your customer. Therefore if it does not turn up it is your responsibility to sort it out. All these folks on ebay who say it's not their problem once it is sent are wrong.

Royal Mail First Class is insured up to £28 so it is ideal for light weight low value goods as it is actually pretty quick and good in the majority of cases. Couriers are much more expensive and frankly they make mistakes too. Nobodys perfect.

If you have high value or very heavy goods then use a courier. If you have high value but light goods (under 2kg) you will be hard pushed to beat Royal Mail Special Delivery.

[Pink Bubbly]

I agree with Silly Jokes, but do remember that in August Royal Mail are bringing in Pricing In Proportion and this could affect the postage value. I suggest contacting Royal Mail (go to their website royalmail.com) and look for SME information and telephone numbers.

[clairemackaness]

I use special delivery or parcelforce as the claims process is easy, however I have been lucky wenough to claim £50 back from Royal Mail when a painting went missing that had been posted 1st class. The customer had refused insurance, but I said I'd give it a try and although it took some 6 weeks to process a cheque turned up in the end.

[confused]

Agreed also, I once had a parcel got damaged in the post (I was the sender) and it was entirely up to me to sort it out, it took me some time, and the best (worst?) is, they tried to imply that the goods were damaged prior to me sending them as the box was TOO WELL PACKAGED! even though there was a hole right throught it.
I often see things listed on Ebay where it says things like "not responsible for damage in transit or lost items" this is totally untrue according to royal mail, it is the senders responsibility to ensure the goods are insured correctly, not to offer £2 postage on an item worth £10000.

CALV

[YMW]

Thanks for the replies. I too have read on ebay sellers saying its not their responsibility and I wondered if that could be right, apart from being bad business really!

Many thanks!

[visagephoto]

Do you have to prove the value of items lost in transit? or do you state the value prior to sending?

[confused]

when you send it, I think the default value is about £30 for standard mail but dont quote me, then depending on the value of the item and the service (i.e. recorded, special delivery etc) then the price to send goes up accordingly.

CALV

[WakingDragon]

My experience of Royal Mail was that the claims process is lengthy and cumbersome so we use Business Post now.

One additional benefit of Business Post is that it is very easy to collect "returned goods". Under the distance selling regs a punter can change their mind 7-14 days after receipt, and they don't have to send them back - just make them available for collection. Less of a problem selling to businesses, but if you are B2C then I would recommend charging postage and packing in addition to the unit price. You can even turn a nice profit on it ;)

[visagephoto]

Under the distance selling regs a punter can change their mind 7-14 days after receipt, and they don't have to send them back - just make them available for collection.

I thought that under the distance selling regulations the customer has 10 days to change his/her mind, and is responsible for returning unwanted goods, (including the costs), unless of course they are damaged in transit, faulty, or not as described when ordered.

[WakingDragon]

I am pretty sure that is wrong. It was about 4 years ago when I last needed to know but I believe the default is 14 days unless you specify 7 in your T&Cs. And if the customer does not agree to return the goods they are only obliged to make them available for collection.

Things might have changed - but it is worth checking them out if you are unsure.

[visagephoto]

The following has been taken from the OFT website, under the heading "Shopping From Home".

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You can cancel at any time until:

* the end of the seventh working day after the day on which you receive your goods; or
* the end of the seventh working day after the day on which the trader agreed to go ahead with the service.

Returning goods

if your contract says that you should return the goods, you will probably have to pay the cost of returning them.

If you choose not to return the goods yourself, the supplier can arrange to collect them – but still charge you for the cost of recovering them.
-------------------------------------------------------------

This obviously only applies where you have changed your mind about buying a product or service. Other conditions apply if the goods/services are late, faulty, or not as described.

[WakingDragon]

Hi Alan - thanks for the clarification.