If you're asking about the general point of buyers not being at home to receive items and not taking any action to book redelivery etc. then yes, it happens because some buyers don't seem to make the link in their head between buying an item and physical receipt of it, and the involvement of their hands at both points.
Was the Royal Mail item "refused" (in RM terms: recipient was at home but refused to accept item), or was it attempted delivery twice then held at delivery office then returned to you as "not called for"?
What Royal Mail service did you use? If you used Signed For, Tracked or Special Delivery the delivery attempt should have been visible on the tracking. In which case if the buyer opened an Item Not Received claim you could have added the tracking number to the case to prove attempted delivery. You should then have won the case without having to issue a refund - as a seller you are responsible for delivery being attempted but it's not your job for buyer to be at home. (In such scenarios it is still best to try to work with the buyer to get the item to them e.g. by telling them what the tracking says and helping them book redelivery for a day they're sure to be at home).
Perhaps you sent the item with stamps / plain parcel, in which case you get zero or minimal tracking.
