Seller ignores contact over lost package

[simopea-76]

I abandoned a 7 yrs plus Amazon account, much used, with sellers sending damaged products, or an item not as listed and only chatbots etc to seek help from.

Closing the account, a couple of years ago, joining eBay felt so much better, with goods arriving and generally going well.

In recent days, Aug 2025, yet another low value item (thankfully), saw email updates result in 'delivered today by Royal Mail', but only junk pizza leaflet 'mail' pushed through.

It does seem the never ending new foot postmen are not trained in matching the actual house number on a letter, with the exact same on the front of the property. Thus a letter for 58 say, belongs to 58, on the front door, not handed to no 93.

Now while there is annoyance some local, even close by resident, lacks the integrity to merely push my purchase through the correct letterbox in recent days, it was deflating to find the trader here IGNORED my three detailed 'contact seller' updates.

In essence, I reported the loss by Royal Mail and my action with an online RM complaint form directed to the local Delivery Office manager to be aware new employees scan a tracked item but hand it over to any old address 

* the above is a breach of contract with trader and Royal Mail. I gather UK law also has the 'Distance Selling Regulations' which requires the trader to refund the buyer for lost goods and seek refund from Royal Mail in this case.

By merely sticking head in sand and ignoring my three detailed reports, the trader or seller attitude led me to rethink whether to stay on Ebay or accept doing without things going forward.

* I note eBay terms and conditions require buyers of goods to take full responsibility for misdelivered orders. Such as walking around the estate knocking on doors, asking have you kept my stuff, or merely thrown it out?

How useful would that be?

* eBay terms do not appear to reflect UK consumer rights as stated and really needs it's legal team to review the policy.

Sellers who ignore repeatedly notice of lost goods instead of themselves raising a complaint with the courier are acting to suppress buyer rights.

In this case, the seller was eventually told to forget the matter since the value was low and because I declined to walk around knocking on doors in the street asking about my package, so breaching the requirements laid down by eBay conditions.

Royal Mail supplied inaccurate delivery email info and chose to ignore my online complaint form so those purchasing on eBay with Royal Mail involved need to be aware of the risks with that national post and parcel courier.

Wrongly delivered, or lost eBay goods will be deemed the buyer's responsibility by trader and by the carrier it does seem.

S

[jckl1957]

If you don't receive an item, you can choose to contact the seller, once is enough, but then should always open an 'item not received' case.

However, if the seller has tracking that confirms delivery to your address, then Ebay do not expect the seller to refund.

I always advise buyers to be pro-active - to check around their property, ask the neighbours, check with the postie etc.  You are the person there 'on the ground'; it's very difficult for a seller, in a different county or even country, to track down your parcel.

You state that the seller should refund the buyer and seek a refund from Royal Mail.  However, as you would expect, Royal Mail do not refund when they have marked an item as correctly delivered.

[red_magpie]

eBay terms do not appear to reflect UK consumer rights

Correct. More buyers should realise this.

eBay's terms are just eBay's terms. They do not even pretend to correspond with buyers' statutory consumer rights.

In some cases they are almost absurdly over-generous to buyers, for example allowing them to claim a full refund and return at the seller's expense if an item is even one day overdue for delivery - even though delivery times are only estimated. It's impossible to buy a delivery service at any price that offers this guarantee.

In other cases the absurdity is against the buyer, the most glaring example being that if delivery is even attempted, eBay treats it as beng successfully delivered - so no refund if the buyer never receives it. eBay's response to many common delivery issues - for example, their disregard of whether items were delivered to a safe place, and refusal to take buyers' word that "proof of delivery" photos are not their own home - has made delivery concerns probably the greatest risk of buying on eBay. 

eBay's rules are in addition to your statutory consumer rights, not in substitution for them. However in reality they are all we often have on eBay. The cost and uncertainty of going to law against unknown, distant sellers on eBay simply isn't worthwhile for most items bought here. 

[simopea-76]

Replying to the two mentor replies was not at all made easy, not able to find a means of accessing community chat on ebay's standard website. I sent a reply somehow twice, but the attempts were lost?

This reply is only allowed via an email asking me for a reaction to mentor replies!

From memory, I previously replied to thank the 'mentor' replies which were most informative .

I went on to add about being taken aback by ebay buyers having few rights with undelivered goods and UK consumer rights suspended on the ebay marketplace in reality, with my seller ignoring 3 contacts and no obvious ability to record on ebay that a seller ignores 'contact seller' options so might best be avoided by other buyers.

Overall, my 2 yr old and often used account would benefit from being closed down in coming weeks.

I also found out from a Royal Mail post worker recently that goods with just a 'track' number are not that safe. As with my recent lost buy, the foot postman could scan his handset 'delivered to you today at 1312' yet he carelessly hands it to any other resident who -  keeps it as a free gift.

I now realise buyers are enticed on ebay into a deal with 'free delivery' by traders, who merely use the cheap and useless UK Royal Mail 'Track' number system.

That keeps item costs down so they sell more?

I'm assured Royal Mail 'Tracked48' is the far safer bet with a 'Tk24' option for next day delivery I think.

Royal Mail local delivery office management ignore email contact about staff handing your goods to other residents, so both eBay traders and delivery business don't give a fig about  shoddy service, but that's the UK all over these days 

Overall, buyers take all the risk and loss dealing with ebay traders. Only buying low value items is the only safe bet which I have pretty much done all along thankfully.

The support advice system from mentors is one good aspect of the ebay trading model but won't stop me being keen to axe the account in coming weeks.

Trust in a system cannot be put back once it is destroyed. After 7yrs with Amazon: traders sending incorrect items/ damaged goods and only a chatbot for contact help, I walked away and have no regrets.

It's time to see ebay as a close relation.