This occurred when the seller did NOT put my, the purchaser, name and ECP number on the parcel label. It was just addressed to ARGOS, and the only other address on the label was the return address of the seller .
With no name/ ECP on the parcel ARGOS could not issue a collection code to me the buyer and they could not physically find my "parcel with no name on it" when I went to the store.The parcel was "lost".
No refund was possible from anyone:
There was no claim against the delivery firm because it was tracked postage and was delivered to Argos.
A non-delivery case opened through ebay for a refund from the seller was rejected and closed because of the proof of delivery from Royal Mail. The fact that my ebay record for the item showed a tick for item paid and for dispatched but NO TICK for item ready (at Argos) or for collected ( from Argos) was ignored by ebay when they closed the case.
There can be no claim against ebay /Argos under their Click and Collect "terms and conditions" until the item is booked in by Argos, which was not possible because there was no identification on the label.
After 7 days ARGOS either scrap the item or return it to the sender, if this return address is on the label. The only hope for the buyer is that the seller just might tell the buyer,
Otherwise all is lost for the buyer. The seller wins and the buyer loses from the seller's mistake! This could even be a POTENTIAL SELLER SCAM with the easy defence of a simple mistake by them in missing off the name / ECP.
I have had two instances of a "lost parcel at Argos".
In the second of the two instances , when I was wiser, I was fortunate that I acted quickly and the TRACKED delivery ( whilst proving delivery for the seller) meant I knew , only from the delivery firm's tracking system , that my parcel had arrived at Argos.
From the delivery firm's photo I also knew the size shape and wrapping of the parcel ( the label was not legible on the photo).
Therefore I took the photo ( which I enlarged) into Argos ( they cannot access the tracking photo themselves) After some fuss and two visits to Argos they eventually found the "lost " parcel with a day to go before they destroyed/ returned the parcel under their 7-day rule. They could then issue a collection code to my mobile and I could finally take my parcel away and this is how I now know all of the above facts and series of events.
With a huge amount of effort and much angst, my item costing £82 was saved this time, but in the first instance I never got the item. It was delivered to Argos, it was lost at Argos, then presumably after 7 days it was either destoyed by Argos or returned to the seller who did not inform me the buyer.
I lost £45.
Ebay should check the buyer's item record which shows no tick for ready or collected when an item is "lost" at Argos. Instead they close the buyers's case because the delivery firm has delivered to Argos.
This is a flaw in the system and an opening for a seller scam.
