Royal Mail Signed For - A Waste of Time and Money?

Al1944

Al1944

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I've sent and received many items by this means without any confirmation of delivery or without having to sign for items delivered to me. Anyone else had this problem?

AL
 
Yep.
 
I've sent something I've sold here. Went first class on Monday and would have expected it to have arrived by now. Have asked the buyer if it has arrived but had no reply yet.

What is the form when something is alleged not to have arrived? Does the seller refund straight away and claim from Royal Mail. Or claim first and then refund? I always take photos of the parcels I send and record the measurements of the parcel just in case.

AL
 
I wouldnt send anything without it being tracked and insured - there are just too many people who will try to pull a fast one and claim its not been delivered, particularly on ebay. Once you've got a tracking number and the courier/ post service confirms its been delivered particularly if you have a signature then its not your problem any more! Why leave yourself open?
 
Well the point I am making is that I do send by Royal Mail first class signed for:

Sending an important gift or letter? Need to know your item has arrived? Royal Mail Signed For® 1st Class aims to deliver your letter or parcel the next working day - and gives you the added benefits of :


  • proof of delivery including a signature from the receiver
  • check online or on your mobile to see when your item has been delivered
  • compensation cover up to £50.
However, more often than not items are delivered without a signature being given - I've received loads of stuff that should have been signed for but they have either been put through the letterbox or handed to me by the postman without any further action. I only use this system for items valued up to £50 obviously. But the system doesn't work!

AL
 
If they've not obtained a signature, apply for a refund as they've not fulfilled their contractual obligation (assuming there's no small print...)
 
I'm quite happy for my postie to treat signed for items as normal mail, but we have a good bunch who you can trust, obviously this is not the case everywhere of course. I only bother with signed for with ebay stuff as just the fact that it is sent as a signed for service puts a lot of potential scammers off. If it's anything of value, then it's RMSD and nothing else.
 
But if the postman delivers without getting a signature one relies on the addressee being honest and some might be tempted to take advantage of the situation.
 
Not sure I get what the problem is. If they haven't got a signature and have delivered it and he buyer says they haven't got it. Just claim it back from Royal Mail and move on. You won't be out of pocket.
 
dejongj said:
Not sure I get what the problem is. If they haven't got a signature and have delivered it and he buyer says they haven't got it. Just claim it back from Royal Mail and move on. You won't be out of pocket.
Click to expand...


This.

...and if it worth more than £50 use special delivery.
 
Complain! and keep complaining. My complaint finally got escalated, after I got a few books of stamps as compensation, and I ended up with £50.
More importantly unless you complain they will keep doing it. In general though I think that RM do a great job, like all organisations some of the people working there cut corners at times.
 
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