Buyer gave unclear postcode

[nikki2674]

Hi, I don't know what I should do with this - I sold an item for £0.99 and £2.20 postage. The buyers address was shown as

Fyfield Road (house number given but I've taken it out for privacy reasons)

Woodford Green

London

Ig8 7ju 

The post code looked all lower case to me so I took it to be LG8 7JU. At the post office the post code was unrecognised so the guy behind the counter used Royal Mail post code finder for the address and used E17 3RG. However they buyer has now told me it's the wrong one - should be IG8 7JU, the first letter was in upper case but not easy to tell when the rest is lower case.

It's very unlikely it will turn up in the right place 😞 I have proof of postage but no tracking.

Am I obliged to give a full refund? Can't find anything in ebays help pages.

[arkwebus]

The address itself is clear enough. The postman will know where "woodford green" is. It should get through all right. In teh old days a sensible postman would have simply amended at the wriong delivery office and sent it on but I think that now it goes through Belfast with further delay. 

What concerns me a bit - from the Post Office - is that if they used the wrong postcode [and it is totally wrong] the problem is really donw to them. 

You can - if it is really worth it of 99p - claim from RM

@nikki2674 

[papso22]

That will only work if the two postcodes are covered by the same sorting office, if they are not, then the one that covers E17 won't know what to do with it! The post codes are the first thing that post is sorted on.

[plum993]

As a seller you have the buyers address so can use the royal mail postcode finder online for free, to check "ANY" postcode/address prior to posting!

The item will be returned to you if you placed a return address on the back of the package in the event it was not delivered.

The buyer will require a full refund if they open a case and claim not received and you can not supply postal tracking to prove delivery

[tressygirl]

The buyer did not give  an unclear postcode,  it's that I and L  look exactly the same when Paypal  and eBay show the address and postcode, as they do use ,  annoyingly,  lower case letters.

I have often mistaken one for the other especially when it can be II  is that and I or an L  ?  So here's a tip , Google map it,  and the correct postcode will show,  I put in your postcode begining with an L,  and it came up with not found ,  whilst the one beginning with I came up with the Woodford address.

Has your buyer opened a case for item not received?  If incorrect tracking has been entered , and the item cannot be proven to be delivered,  then yes,  you will need to refund your buyer.

Hopefully if not delivered,  and you put your return address on the back,  it might well make its way back to you.

[redwick1]

I just copied and pasted the code onto goole and it came up as that road.

Put the address without the postcode and it came up as the one the buyer put on

If you are in any doubt about a post code then just go to the Royal Mail address and postcode finder.

Cant see why the person behind the counter put that post code on as it is easy enough to see the correct one

You should copy and post the postal address as it has to go to the address on paypal

Hopefully it will get there but if you sent it to the wrong address then you could end up having to refund

[nikki2674]

Thanks everyone.

Well, we decided to refund, thinking there was no chance it would turn up with the post codes being wildly different. A few hours later the buyer messaged me that it turned up after all! I should have had more faith in Royal Mail.

I had written a label by hand and converted what looked like all lower case to upper case - lower case is a real bugbear for me! - and had no reason to think it was wrong till it was checked in the post office, but will be checking all from now on.

[redwick1]

Have they repaid? I guess they did.

Yes Totally agree about the difficulty with lower and upper case
Same problem with the 16 digit codes on the receipts between O and a zero.
Good on Royal Mail. They are definately the best.

[nikki2674]

Not yet but fingers crissed

[redwick1]

They should have repaid straight away.
You have no way of forcing them to refund it.
Did they open a not received dispute or did you just refund through paypal?.
You should not refund until a buyer opens a dispute and then you refund through the dispute
If you refunded straight from paypal then you pay the fees and a defect on your account
Tell them you are pleased the item has arrived and they need to repay you.
If they dont the send them a money request through paypal.
They should not keep the item and the money.

[nikki2674]

They didn't open a case, I just jumped straight in with the refund. Treating it as a learning experience, thankfully it,s only a small amount.

Thanks for all your help and tips.

[redwick1]

When you have a few spare moments go to the Site Map at the bottom of the page and read up all about disputes and refunding. There is all the information you need.
It may only have been a small amount of money but the defect you get when you refund straight from paypal could seriously damage your account