Non payment - Item stolen in post

[avfc1967]

Hi

I recently sold an Iphone 8 for £230 but never received any funds as Ebay placed a hold on the payment due to me not selling for a while. The byer received the parcel last week but unfortunately the package had been opened and the phone had been stollen in transit. I am pretty sure the buyer will get his money back but where do I stand with monies owed to me? I raised a case with Royal Mail and have received a compensation cheque for £26.80 which, in my opinion is a joke as i posted the item in good faith using Royal mail first class small parcel option.

Thanks

Steve

[rusticrye · Accepted solution]

Royal Mail's 1st and 2nd Class services are for items valued at up to £20.  It's your job to ensure that you buy the correct service, which in this case should have been Special Delivery Next Day Guaranteed. So that you know what you're doing in future, get yourself a Royal Mail price guide (from any Post Office, or download one from royalmail.com).

If you buy the wrong service, RM don't generally refund a single penny, so you're extremely lucky that you received anything at all. Plus, your claim should have been thrown out, as you haven't yet refunded the buyer and therefore not yet suffered any loss. In future, you must refund the buyer first, and then lodge your claim with the carrier. But do make sure you buy the correct service in future, and also check carriers' exclusion lists (not everything is covered).

You will have to refund the buyer in full, before Ebay force you to and slap a damaging defect on your account for not refunding voluntarily. Tell the buyer to open a Not As Described case, so that you can refund through it and at least get the selling fee credited back to your Ebay account. That action will release the buyer's payment from hold, and reverse it.

@avfc1967 

[avfc1967 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for your prompt response and yes I totally agree I should have used the correct postage for the item, expensive lesson learnt for the future.
I believe the buyer has opened a case so he should get his money back as i never received the money due to a hold being placed

[tobiasd4 · Accepted solution]

You still got paid, but paypal hold funds, they will release them to refund buyer.

[john1297576]

If you don't insure your car you can't claim, mail is the same.

Using a postal service intended for Mail up to £20 in value, you are lucky that RM have paid the £20 and presumably the postage. 

Royal Mail are a lot more transparent than Couriers, their booklet Our Prices shows the levels of compensation payable, if it had been a Courier you would probably have got nothing.

[red_magpie]

where do I stand with monies owed to me?

What monies owed to you?

As the seller, you're responsible for refunding the buyer if an item is lost or damaged in the post.

The compensation you can claim from Royal Mail depends upon the postal service you used.

For a £230 iphone you should have used Special Delivery, if you wanted postal insurance. If you just sent it by the ordinary 1st class post you don't get postal insurance for anything of that value

I'm afraid it's your responsibility to find out about postal insurance. You could and should have included the extra cost in the price.

[avfc1967]

As the seller, you're responsible for refunding the buyer if an item is lost or damaged in the post.
I have not received funds for the item

I'm afraid it's your responsibility to find out about postal insurance. You could and should have included the extra cost in the price.
Yes, you are correct thanks for pointing that out !!

[plpmr]

that's because you did not use the correct postage service.