Simple Delivery - Item Marked Delivered But Stolen

[arthurpilbeam]

I'm a private seller.

I recently sold some headphones for over £400.

I had to use Simple Delivery to post out.

I used Royal Mail Simple Delivery.

RM attempted to deliver yesterday but no one was at home.

They attempted a second time today & again no one was at home.

The postman left the item outside the buyers front door (it is a flat). Postman took a photo & marked it as delivered.

When the buyer got home later, the package was missing (presumed stolen).

Buyer claims he has communicated with Royal Mail & they have accepted responsibility for the loss.

I've spoken to an eBay customer service rep. He explained the buyer should open an item not received case, eBay would refund his money & I can keep the money I've already received.

I've communicated this to the buyer. He has responded that he understands that I have to refund him & then contact eBay & Royal Mail to get my money refunded.

I've spoken to a second eBay rep who confirmed that the buyer should open an item not received case. However, the rep stated I should not respond to this & then on the fourth day either myself or the buyer can contact eBay & they will sort things out. When I expressed my doubts about this (from my point of view as a seller) she told me not to worry, as when eBay saw it was a Simple Delivery item I wouldn't be affected.

This is complicated for me as the seller, as eBay states they will sort out Simple Delivery problems up to the point the item is marked as delivered.

Any advice would be very welcome, before I communicate with my buyer again.

Thank you

[brainuk]

It's very easy. Tell your buyer to open a NOT RECEIVED case and you do not respond to it. After a few days, get eBay to step in and because it was simple delivery (yeah right), they will then just refund the buyer. You keep your money.
Simple

[roger_roger_over_and_nowt]

If tracking shows as received it gets more complicated for the buyer,they may still be able to do a chargeback but Ebay will probably side with the seller.

[sml192]

If the buyer opens an 'Item not received' case you will be protected under the terms of eBay's Money Back Guarantee Policy as there is tracking to prove delivery and the case will automatically close in your favour (the case is fully automatedat this stage).  

The buyer then needs to appeal the decision providing eBay with evidence that the item wasn't delivered securely (eg. written confirmation of Royal Mail's acceptance of responsibility). 

If that isn't successful the buyer can then try a chargeback with their payment provider.  Once again you will be protected by eBay as you have tracking proving delivery.

[c_of_e84]

Worrying, if it was delivered yesterday and the buyer contacted royal mail and they have already admitted liability, the process of a claim cant start until 16 working days after the item was sent.

[papso22 · Accepted solution]

If you used simple delivery and the buyer opens a case for item not received, the case should go straight to ebay and not involve you at all.

All you get is an email from ebay saying the buyer 'reached out' and they are dealing with it.

[claire_leonhart]

This is weird, RM never leave items outside, if there is nobody the first time, they try again 2 times, and in the meantime and everytime nobody answers, they bring the parcel to their deposit and you get contacted to book again another delivery free at your address when you prefer (you can choose day and hour) and they will deliver that day and time you booked. You can even got o take it yourself at their deposit. I know because it happened to me once, I can't remember if the rebooking was by choosing a slot from some available or type in the day and hour I prefered, but it was reasonable time, and once one of my buyer had this but he said the deposit was just very close and he went to take it himself, confirming this then. What the tracking number says? Maybe it is safe to go by ebay way and they can provide proof of RM accepting the loss, because it is strange to me, they don't do this. I don't know if they have other policies in other areas.

Because of SD you can't just ask money to postage service, because the contract is with Ebay I think, so they have to refund the buyer, that's why you can keep the money.

[arthurpilbeam]

First of all, my apologies for not replying to this thread earlier.

Secondly, thank you to everyone who replied.

The problem was compounded by the Royal Mail representative clearly having no idea of how Simple Delivery worked & telling my buyer to get in touch with me to sort it out.

What the first eBay rep I contacted & what Papso22 said in this thread on 19/12/2025 turned out to be correct.

Buyer opened an item not received case. eBay let me know, but told me they would deal with it as I'd used Simple Delivery. They put the case on hold while waiting to see the buyer's evidence. However, they didn't put a hold on the money I'd already received. Buyer had the Royal Mail photo showing the package outside his door & Royal Mail had admitted it was their fault. Buyer was refunded & we didn't fall out over it.

This is very useful to know going forward.

Thank you to everyone who endeavored to help.

[arthurpilbeam]

This is what the buyer expected to happen.

However, it didn't in this case & I saw the photo the postal delivery person took of the package left outside of the buyer's door.

Royal Mail admitted it was a mistake.