How do I get MY postage refunded for a lost item which I sold?

[evie.l_5]

I sold an Item. It was free postage on "anything but"-Simple Delivery, so that meant I paid the cost. Fine, been doing it a while and got my head around most of it.

The item has been lost by EVRI and tracking not updated since 13th May. I, proactively, contacted EVRI myself when I noticed tracking had stalled to find out what was going on. Many an email (from I'm pretty sure is just another BOT and just as useless the one on their chat) back and forth and no actual details, just a lot of it's on it's way.

So today comes, buyer has claimed with Ebay for item not received, Ebay see tracking is *bleep* up, refund the buyer what they paid, sent me an email to say "this happened, we sorted it for you, no harm no fowl, no need to do anything.".

Except there is!

I paid for postage, using "anything but"-Simple Delivery, yes, but out of my funds. So where is my refund for the postage for the failed delivery? The 'Help' pages are a joke and not a single word about such a scenario, meaning no one ever thought it could happen, meaning they've done what most people do when trying to explain something they know all about to someone who knows nothing yet it's assumed, albeit unconsciously, that they do know something.

So how do I claim my postage costs back? Ebay (ha!) or EVRI?

Oh, and I tried the little form for cancelling a postage label that's hidden under a billion copies of War and Peace so not even the Customer Service phone team know of it's existence. It doesn't apply to items lost in the post.

[dch2112011]

Evri would keep the negotiated fee for postage and ebay would keep the margin for losses which helps fund the enhanced seller protection in this case £100 for the seller

The seller has been paid the full amount of the sale in exactly the same way as EVRI would do if the seller bought from EVRI direct and made a valid claim -

What you are missing is that the delivery was 'free'  therefore the amount paid to the seller was £100 including delivery which was the sale value not £100 plus £2.94 delivery cost - so the maximum covered by both EVRI insurance if sold to the seller direct or by ebay under the enhanced protection is £100 not £102.94 which is what the seller mistakenly believes they are entitled to 

 Why because the seller will receive compensation to the value of the item as if delivered which is quite simply £97.06 - they cannot receive their consequential losses ie packaging, label costs, heating, lighting use of car, ink printer etc

To quote Evri 

we’ll compensate you up to the item value you have given us.

you’ll need to fill in details, including what’s in the parcel, proof of value and the level of parcel cover. If you’re a marketplace seller, you’ll also need proof of sale to show the recipient has paid for the item.
When we receive your claim form, our team will look into your case. If your item is not under our prohibited or non-compensation list, you have the right level of cover, and your parcel has been found to be lost or damaged, we’ll compensate you up to the item value you have given us. Compensation can take up to 28 days to be paid.

[evie.l_5]

They haven’t.

There is a hole in the new Simple Delivery System which means if the seller chooses to offer free P&P and, as eBay say when you check this option when listing, the seller pays the postage cost there is no longer a process in place for the seller to claim a refund on that transaction if the item is lost.

[evie.l_5]

EBay are working on a fix. Thanks.

[dch2112011]

Apologies under Evri's insurance  the compensation will be for the item value only which is likely to be less than the sale price  this is a no loss no gain policy unlike ebay protection which compensates the sale value which is better 

[evie.l_5]

“we’ll compensate you up to the item value you have given us.



you’ll need to fill in details, including what’s in the parcel, proof of value and the level of parcel cover. If you’re a marketplace seller, you’ll also need proof of sale to show the recipient has paid for the item.
When we receive your claim form, our team will look into your case. If your item is not under our prohibited or non-compensation list, you have the right level of cover, and your parcel has been found to be lost or damaged, we’ll compensate you up to the item value you have given us. Compensation can take up to 28 days to be paid.”



This is where you are missing the entire point and I finally see where you are getting your point.

Compensation for the value of the item lost comes under the level of parcel cover (insurance cover). Evri for example give up to £20 free cover and you can opt to pay a small fee on top of the delivery charge if your item is valued higher than that. That is what the refund for the value of the sale (£100) to the buyer has been in eBay’s buyer protection policy.

The purchase of the actually delivery service (£2.94) is a separate thing and this is where the hole is in eBay’s Simple Delivery Service. If the buyer had chosen next day delivery option instead of the free standard delivery they would have been charged the sale price of £100 plus the next day delivery costs £3.67 totalling £103.67 plus buyer protection. And if the parcel had got lost the buyer would have been refunded the whole £103.67 because they received neither of the goods and services they paid for: the item and the delivery.

It just so happens that when a seller offers free P&P to a buyer the two itemised goods and services are split and paid by the respective party. Buyer paid for the item and seller paid for the postage. Both are entitled to a refund of the part they paid for.

The buyer isn’t left out of pocket, they just have to look for another item to buy. The seller is unable to get their item back as it’s lost and is therefore compensated for the value the item sold for and can claim a refund for the delivery charge. This puts the seller and the buyer back into the same financial positions they were in before.

Does my point make sense now? I hope it does.

[dch2112011]

No not missing the point - the idea is not to put you back to the position you would have been prior to purchasing the label ie prior to shipment - the idea is to put you in the position as if the order had been delivered  which would be after the postage has been paid and used !

Other wise ebay would have to pay you £100 plus £2.94  - you would therefore gain an extra £2.94 for not delivering the item !

They will only pay you £100 out of which you paid £2.94 - this brings you to the exact position you would be in if the delivery is completed 

Think of it as ebay buying the lost item from you for £100 delivered - this is pretty much what the protection does - you neither gain nor lose 

They will not change it - nor should they - no matter what they told you on the phone or on messaging !

[evie.l_5]

“the idea is to put you in the position as if the order had been delivered”

This is where you are mistaken.
Compensation for the value of the goods is one thing.
The courier delivery service is another.
Compensation for the item comes under the “insurance”.
Failure to deliver the item is not providing the service of actually delivering the item and THAT isn’t covered under the insurance but IS covered under consumer statutory rights.

You keep thinking these two transactions are one and the same when they aren’t.
The sale of the item is an agreement between me and the buyer.
The purchase of the delivery service is an agreement between me and Evri (facilitated by eBay in this instance).

If you paid a florist to deliver flowers to a friend at a cost of £40 + £5.99 delivery and they didn’t deliver them would you just get £40 as a refund for the flowers or would you get £45.99 for the flowers and delivery charge because neither was provided?

[dch2112011]

You are mistaken 

The contract with the buyer is to deliver the order to their address

The delivery contract is between you the seller and ebay delivery - it is ebay who subcontract to Evri  - You have absolutely no relationship with Evri  - ask them !

Ebay offer you seller protection which forms part of your agreement with them - in reality this is ebay delivery 'insurance' refunding  your £100  compensation to the buyer on your behalf due to item loss or damage during transit.

For amusement  here is the way your example works 

'if you paid a florist to deliver flowers to a friend at a cost of £40 + £5.99 delivery and they didn’t deliver them would you just get £40 as a refund for the flowers or would you get £45.99 for the flowers and delivery charge because neither was provided?'

You would get £45.99 refund  - The florist could claim either the flower cost plus the carriage or £45.99 being the total sale price from the carrier depending on the compensation agreed when entering contract 

BUT  if you paid £40 with free delivery you would only get £40 - the florist would only be able to claim either the flower cost or the sale price of £40  from the carrier which is the florists total financial loss  

When the florist claims from the carrier with free delivery - the florist sells the flowers  for £40 including the carriage - so the carrier will refund £40 which includes the flowers and the carriage

Your claim that you sold your item excluding delivery for £100 and paid £2.94 as a seperate transaction, this is not even credible !

The £100 included  delivery -  free delivery  ie no additional delivery charge to the buyer  so in your case as a seller not as a buyer  the item sold for £100 including the delivery cost  which is strangely the exact amount of compensation paid to you by ebay delivery !

So having received the delivery cost and the item value  from ebay delivery as compensation - what makes  you think you are entitled to an additional refund of £2.94 ?

Is it a cunning plan  to increase your net sale proceeds to £100  -  I don't think ebay will fall for that trick - it's lacks credibility - but have a go you never know someone might believe you !

[cosmodd]

This is the link mate

https://www.ebay.co.uk/claims/simple-delivery/refund/seller

[edwardian-dreams]

Blimey I’d forgotten  about this thread

i still can’t get my head around it 

the claim form you’ve linked for unused labels doesn’t deal with lost parcels though 

so….still confused 

And still maintain if someone’s paid for a service that wasn’t delivered they have a right to the money back 

and the link I didn’t have a link to for a call back is

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

you never know the OP might get some joy even now 

[evie.l_5]

Basically eBay couldn’t give a rats behind about the legal obligations they have to uphold the Statutory Rights of UK citizens. And because payment was taken from an eBay seller account’s funds, there is no process in place to dispute the transaction as you normally would if it had been paid for with a bank card or even PayPal.

I have since removed all offers of free postage so that I am not put in this situation again, and I have noticed a vast drop in sales and traffic since doing this.

When Simple Delivery works it works just fine, I actually like it, but it has some big flaws (logistical and legal) and I feel eBay believes it’s so untouchable now that it can do as it please.

And yes, before anyone tells me to leave if I don’t like it or just shut up 😉, I am looking into alternative selling platforms and outlets.

[edwardian-dreams]

You were charged by eBay for a service you didn’t get 

eBay has to pay for it

Id ring the call back line 

have it out with them

if you do it  early in morning you get Ireland helpdesk who are more helpful good  luck 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

[xyz307xyz]

I thought you said they were working on a fix. What happened with that?

[evie.l_5]

Exactly what I would like to know myself.

Seems they’ve decided it’s not worth their time.