Banksy was damaged in the post and Royal Mail won't pay up

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/ju ... sfeed=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



I am a teacher and as part of a couple with small children, we rarely have much money. In April this year we were in a happy situation when we discovered that a Banksy print we bought 10 years ago for £80 was actually an original and was now worth quite a lot. So, being in financial difficulties, we decided to sell. We put the item on eBay and it sold for £2,450.

As you can imagine we were delighted, an amazing windfall and an amazing piece of luck for us. We packaged the item securely and appropriately and dispatched it via Royal Mail recorded special delivery. We asked advice at the post office and were assured the packaging was suitable, and in addition we insured the item with Royal Mail up to the value of £2,500 at a cost of £25 for damage in transit.

The item arrived at the buyer's business address and was signed for by the receptionist, who didn't notice it was damaged. The buyer took it to his local picture framers who opened the package and threw away the outer wrapping. Upon opening it up, the framers noticed that the glass on the front of the picture was smashed and the print itself was scratched beyond repair. The buyer photographed the damage and the packaging that remained. He obviously demanded a refund, which we provided. A friend collected the painting, and we claimed on Royal Mail's insurance. Two months on and Royal Mail won't accept liability.

Royal Mail states the item wasn't packaged correctly, and also refused the claim as not all the packaging has been sent to them, despite our telling them that the outer packaging had been discarded – not by us.

My wife has been reduced to tears on at least two occasions by rude and insensitive representatives at the Royal Mail claims department and was regularly put on hold for up to 20 minutes at a time.

We were told that from receiving the claim, Royal Mail would take 30 days to arrive at a decision, yet each time my wife phoned they refused to talk to her, or instead said they were missing a particular piece of paperwork.

It appeared to us that they would wait until the last possible moment, they wouldn't contact us and that they would refuse the claim anyway – which in the end they did. We feel very hard done by and believe Royal Mail has failed in their duty of care to deliver this item safely and securely. TB, Stroud, Gloucestershire

Firstly, well done for buying a Banksy print for £80, albeit 10 years ago – proof, indeed, that fine art can be a great investment. Given that you had taken the print to the post office, where you had sought and followed the staff's advice, we felt that you had a pretty cast-iron case.

It is hardly your fault if the person who received the item had thrown away some of the packaging. We took your case to Royal Mail HQ and happily it has now had a rethink.

It says the package was mistakenly accepted into its system as it exceeded the size limits that it has for special delivery items. However, because it says you were wrongly advised of this by the local post office it will now meet your claim in full. It has apologised and will also send a cheque to cover the cost of the postage.

You are, understandably, delighted with the outcome. Maybe a restorer can do something to improve the damaged print's condition?

We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@guardian.co.uk or write to Bachelor & Brignall, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number.

[doorstepped]

its a banksy and you put it on EBAY!!!

seriously why?

should have put it through a proper auction house and then you would not have had any of the problems you had :)

[5plusbonusball]

Even couriers don't insure glass sheets in the post, surely just send the rolled up print in the post not the glass. Could have cut someone.

[briantwigley]

I agree with the auction suggestion, but I ebay is simple.