My grandson Max bought a iphone on eBay, right at the height of covid, the Royal Mail have issued a

[gillsmith]

My grandson, Max bought an iPhone on eBay he didn't receive the phone, it was right at the worst time with covid and postman couldn't get a sign for the phone. Royal Mail said to me they have compensated the seller, but the seller said they have not.  I have been on to a consumer helpline and we have sent the seller an email.  Consumer Rights Act of 2015.  The Seller has 30 days to deliver. If he fails, he is in breach of contract. So, I give you 14 days to pay back the money or sending me a new phone.  Seller says you have received the phone and I am going to blacklist the phone, we would love him to blacklist the phone, we do not have it. 

[fargvs]

Case should have been opened for 'Not received' within 30 days from expected delivery date and escalated to eBay on day 9 onwards ... Too late now !. > https://resolutioncentre.ebay.co.uk/

PayPal will now allow (within 180 days) and accept a case for 'Not received', escalate within 2 to 20 days and continue to completion ... Do not close for any reason or on any seller promises >
https://www.paypal.com/uk/smarthelp/article/what-if-i-didn't-receive-my-item-or-it's-not-as-advertis...
https://www.paypal.com/uk/smarthelp/home

[john1297576]

I am surprised if RM have compensated they would usually want evidence that the seller had refunded the buyer.

[rusticrye]

Hi Gill.

Royal Mail does not compensate a seller until the seller has provided proof of refund to the buyer via a formal claim. No carrier does. That is because the seller has suffered no loss until they've refunded, so there is nothing to be compensated for.  I'm surprised to read that Royal Mail apparently told you this, not only for that reason, but because Royal Mail say they are currently unable to accept phone calls due to Covid staff shortages.

Royal Mail have been delivering throughout the pandemic, including items which require signatures. The postie will have had to sign on delivery, though, as signatures cannot currently be obtained from recipients due to the pandemic - the signature that posties have been instructed to use is 'Covid19' or 'C19'. You can read this information for yourself on Royal Mail's website. (Note too that  buyers' signatures are not required, even under normal circumstances, for items valued at under a certain amount. The last time I checked, that figure was around £800. Anyone can sign for an item under that value.)

What does the tracking number say...?  If it says that the package was delivered, then Ebay and PayPal can't help Max. They can't force the seller to refund, naturally, because tracking shows delivery. Max will have to lodge a claim with Royal Mail himself. If RM  have misdelivered and can't retrieve the package, they, Royal Mail, will have to compensate him. Claim forms are available from any Post Office, or can be downloaded from royalmail.com.

If tracking does not show delivery, tell Max to read Ebay's 30-day Money Back Guarantee (on every listing and in various other places across the site) to learn how to open an Item Not Received case. If he's run out of time to do that (you haven't provided any dates so I don't know), then tell him to open a case in PayPal.  Unless the seller has tracking proving delivery, he will be refunded in full. The seller will then be able to lodge a claim with Royal Mail to recoup his or her loss.

Finally, these are the Community boards. You're talking to Max's fellow ebayers, not the seller or Ebay.

@gillsmith 

[red_magpie]

I give you 14 days to pay back the money

This is a forum for members to offer advice to other members. You're not writing to eBay, or to your seller.

When you buy something on eBay, the seller is the one who has the contract with Royal Mail. If an item is lost in the post they can claim whatever compensation the postal service provides. Whether or not they succeed in claiming compensation is irrelevant to the buyer.

As the buyer, you are entitled to a full refund under eBay's money back guarantee, unless the seller can provide eBay with postal tracking proof that it was delivered.

You haven't given any dates, but unfortunately it sounds as though you've probably already left it too late (30 days from the latest estimated delivery date) to open a case. If so, you can still file a dispute under Paypal's longer, 180 day buyer protection policy, see: https://www.paypal.com/uk/smarthelp/article/what-if-i-didn%27t-receive-my-item-or-it%27s-not-as-adve...