Royalmail is an annagram of useless.

  • Thread starter Thread starter mex
  • Start date Start date
mex

mex

Suspended / Banned
Messages
7,974
Name
Nigel
Edit My Images
Yes
I sold a Gitzo tripod to a fellow TP member last week. Over the years the tripod had travelled the globe with me to Brasil,USA (a number of times),Turkey,Venezuela and Spain on aircraft and ferries. In that time it had only ever suffered superficial scratches. I posted the tripod to Nottingham with Parcelfarce and to my horror I received a phone call from the buyer to say it had arrived damaged, OK I thought at least it can be repaired? Nope, the wakners have managed to pierce the packageing with something sharp and metallic and the hole in the package is only about 1" wide and has smashed the cast aluminium plate thingy (the plate where the legs attach,there was no head attached) into 3 bits. To add salt to the wound, even though rhe PO clerk asked if the parcel is to be posted insured, I cannot make a claim as I do not have the original receipt for it. I explained to the numpty on the phone that at the point of sale their term and conditions regarding the insurance are not available to read, the silence was deafening and then after she had spoken to her superior, unless I can provide the original receipt then I may as well go pee in the wind. The lessson here for me is that from now on I will use another postal service for my parcels.
 
mex said:
I sold a Gitzo tripod to a fellow TP member last week. Over the years the tripod had travelled the globe with me to Brasil,USA (a number of times),Turkey,Venezuela and Spain on aircraft and ferries. In that time it had only ever suffered superficial scratches. I posted the tripod to Nottingham with Parcelfarce and to my horror I received a phone call from the buyer to say it had arrived damaged, OK I thought at least it can be repaired? Nope, the wakners have managed to pierce the packageing with something sharp and metallic and the hole in the package is only about 1" wide and has smashed the cast aluminium plate thingy (the plate where the legs attach,there was no head attached) into 3 bits. To add salt to the wound, even though rhe PO clerk asked if the parcel is to be posted insured, I cannot make a claim as I do not have the original receipt for it. I explained to the numpty on the phone that at the point of sale their term and conditions regarding the insurance are not available to read, the silence was deafening and then after she had spoken to her superior, unless I can provide the original receipt then I may as well go pee in the wind. The lessson here for me is that from now on I will use another postal service for my parcels.
Click to expand...

I'd make an official complaint in the first instance. If you'd known their carriage conditions you wouldn't have sent it via them. I'd also contact the office of fair trading as that may be an unfair contract term as any proof of purchase should do.

Binding you to terms they don't make clear isn't reasonable either.
 
one reason why i keep all proof of postage until the recipient has said all is okay.

but you do realise royal mail isnt parcelforce, in that the post office accept the parcel then it goes through a completely different system/company..
 
I thought the OP meant the original receipt for the item not for the postage?
 
Bad show I must say, but are you sure it cannot be repaired?

Is this the damaged part http://www.manfrottospares.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1177

Maybe even use something like this and get a nice systematic type job

$T2eC16RHJHcFFkRn3)YLBRzdHg7SG!~~60_3.JPG
 
Last edited:
Do you mean the original receipt for when you bought the item or receipt for proof of posting? If the former then I would persist. Show then details of the transaction and costs of similar items if you can find them, then fill out the claim forms here:

http://www.parcelforce.com/help-information/frequently-asked-questions/claim-compensation

Get the buyer to take photographs of the damage if they are not sending the item back to you. It's obvious that thousands of items being sent through the system are secondhand and won't have the original receipt but just put together what information you can and persist.

If you meant proof of posting or the item is worth a tenner then ignore the above ;)
 
Last edited:
Can you not give the receipt of the item you sold?

Ie you sold it for £80. Buyer gets their money back and then you get £80 from Royal Mail.
 
In the 1970s I remember reading how David Vizard had posted a camshaft - a crack-tested 10lb billet of case-hardened steel, designed to run in a racing engine.

... it arrived in two pieces! :bang:
 
When I looked at claiming for items I was posting and thought something was lost I needed to prove the value of the item, so my E-Bay "receipt" was sufficient, according to their T&C's. Having said that it was the PO own guaranteed next day option, so maybe ParcelFarce are different, none the less if you're claiming for a loss of an 'old' item a receipt would be highly unlikely to be available and the claim would be for loss of goods to the value of <the sale price> in my view and I suspect most reasonable people, I am sure the small claims court would take that view also and that's the threat I would be making.
If its proof of posting receipt then the tracking number and a bank/credit card statement should be sufficient I would have thought.
 
So why is Royal Mail useless when you sent this via parcelforce :shrug:
 
Gremlin said:
So why is Royal Mail useless when you sent this via parcelforce :shrug:
Click to expand...

My mistake as I took parcelfarce (deliberate spelling) and Royal mail to be one and the same, the parcel was sent via royal mail signed for.

In answer to previous posts, I have the posting receipt,however according to the numpty I spoke to, I need the original purchase receipt,some 7 or so years ago.
 
mex said:
My mistake as I took parcelfarce (deliberate spelling) and Royal mail to be one and the same, the parcel was sent via royal mail signed for.

In answer to previous posts, I have the posting receipt,however according to the numpty I spoke to, I need the original purchase receipt,some 7 or so years ago.
Click to expand...

Royal Mail claim form:
Original proof of value if claiming for the contents, e.g. till receipt, bank statement, etc
Click to expand...

Is there anything that you can provide to demonstrate the value, e.g. a copy of the sales page at the dealer's website together with a copy of the forum sales page?
 
How well were the contents packaged?
Does the recipient still have the original packaging?
 
gramps said:
Royal Mail claim form:


Is there anything that you can provide to demonstrate the value, e.g. a copy of the sales page at the dealer's website together with a copy of the forum sales page?
Click to expand...

I seem to recall another part ot the T&C's that said "or value based on selling price via e-bay or similar, with evidence to support" or somthing similar, an e-mail agreeing a price and a bank statement showing receipt of money should suffice.
 
mex said:
My mistake as I took parcelfarce (deliberate spelling) and Royal mail to be one and the same, the parcel was sent via royal mail signed for.

In answer to previous posts, I have the posting receipt,however according to the numpty I spoke to, I need the original purchase receipt,some 7 or so years ago.
Click to expand...

Well they're not giving you the whole picture. You can make a claim. If you didn't buy extra insurance the claim is limited to £50 (and the original postage back) assuming you can put a good case for the item's value together. If you can't you'll get 6 first class stamps.

And ParcelForce is part of Royal Mail Group :thumbs:
 
The recipient,when he phoned to tell me of the damage,agreed that the tripod was well packaged,it was infact rolled in bubble wrap and then packed in 6 layers of corrugated cardboard with more bubble wrap stuffed into the ends of the 'tube,then wrapped in parcel tape. The item was then sent back to me in the original packaging and wrapped in a plastic liner. I spoke at length today to the postmaster in a main post office about it, showed him the parcel and his adivce was to not ring them but to carry out a claim anyway,in his words " the telephone operators are cr@p......". We'll see what happens.
 
Spuff said:
And ParcelForce is part of Royal Mail Group :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Very true but they are separate companies, as in both have their own registration in Companies House and operate as such with their own boards of directors, etc..
 
mex said:
I spoke at length today to the postmaster in a main post office about it, showed him the parcel and his adivce was to not ring them but to carry out a claim anyway,in his words " the telephone operators are cr@p......". We'll see what happens.
Click to expand...

I would tell Parcelforce (on the claim form) that the tripod can be repaired and the part you need appears to be available for £57.61 plus vat.

Gitzo G1228 Centre Support - part number D1228.16 - http://www.gitzospares.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1180

It's just a case of swapping the legs & centre column over.

Parts diagram here: http://www.gitzo.co.uk/service/service+&+repair/?f=s&v=1228&.x=20&.y=12
 
Ozei said:
I would tell Parcelforce (on the claim form) that the tripod can be repaired and the part you need appears to be available for £57.61 plus vat.

Gitzo G1228 Centre Support - part number D1228.16 - http://www.gitzospares.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1180

It's just a case of swapping the legs & centre column over.

Parts diagram here: http://www.gitzo.co.uk/service/service+&+repair/?f=s&v=1228&.x=20&.y=12
Click to expand...

This is the best way - you have shown you are not after anything more than entitled to - then IF no joy put the director generals name and tell them you are starting small claims court proceedings:thumbs:
 
Well, I have now filed my claim as per the postmaster I spoke to. I have also unwrapped the tripod,the snapped part is not the centre colum as first thought,it is one of the leg locks,how the chuff they managed not only to snap it but to shatter the lower centre colum too!! yet they were able to avoid damaging the legs at all. I can live without the colum and I have ordered the leg lock (13 squids including the vat). Thank you for the input/advice,much appreciated.
 
You'd have a point if you'd retained the original receipt/proof of postage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top