Royal Mail passing the buck after no fault of my own?

[Howser]

Can anyone give advice?

I sent a product (Hand crafted which took a lot of time to make) to Germany via Tracked postage.

Product was £59.99 To be careful I sent tracked postage at £13.70

The recipient contacted me to say tracking was saying conflicting things.

========================================================================================

The tracking info said:

1) Delivery was attempted, but no answer.

then it said a day later

2) Incorrectly addressed. Return to sender.

=========================================================================================

The recipient checked with me and the address I labeled was correct (and they were in and no one had tried to deliver) He also contacted the German postal service and they said it was too late as it was being sent back to the sender (Me).

Here's the problem:

I contacted Royal Mail to explain the situation and asked for my postage fee of £13.70 to be refunded as the mistake was not mine. (I have had to fully refund the buyer btw for product and postage)

They basically said tough. It was the German postal systems fault not there's. I replied explaining I had done nothing wrong but used their service and was let down.

Someone else higher up replied and basically said the same thing, which just seemed to passing the buck.

I have not yet received my parcel back.

So what happens if it doesn't arrive back after the 25 day period. Can I claim lost postage? or will they just try and pass the buck again and I loose nearly £75 for absolutely no fault of my own?

I really feel let down and angry that they can casually pass it off as basically 'Tough luck'

Have used Royal Mail most days for my products for last 10 years and never had this happen. I now feel apprehensive about using them now, as I may as well be rolling a dice every time I hand a parcel over at the post office.



Thank you for any advice or opinions

[yellowbelly]

My opinion - RM are correct - the non-delivery issue occurred in Germany not the UK and RM have
no control over the local German postal system.

As the item is returning from Germany, it'll have to come back through customs so it might take a while.

[Snaggletooth]

Firstly, you need to wait for the item to return and *make sure you keep all of the outer packaging as proof*. You also need to check exactly what Deutsche Post have marked on the outside of the parcel. And also, check that the address was written out correctly and that the address exists in suitable online databases. Only after that can you assess if you have a case to take it through all the levels of the complaints process.

[Howser]

My opinion - RM are correct - the non-delivery issue occurred in Germany not the UK and RM have
no control over the local German postal system.

As the item is returning from Germany, it'll have to come back through customs so it might take a while.

I disagree.

If I took my car to a garage for work and they sent it away for a part of the work to be completed (and it returned damaged), I would expect the company dealing with the initial job to sort it out, not have to go out of my way to chase people. If as you say this is the German posts problem, then why have Royall mail in all the replies not given me an address to contact them or try and help in any way?

I also don't like Royal mails snotty replies basically saying 'tough luck'. For the sake of £13.70 they may have lost a customer who has used their services daily for 12 years.

If this package never arrives back, can I claim lost postage, or will they try to worm their way out of that too?

[Howser]

Firstly, you need to wait for the item to return and *make sure you keep all of the outer packaging as proof*. You also need to check exactly what Deutsche Post have marked on the outside of the parcel. And also, check that the address was written out correctly and that the address exists in suitable online databases. Only after that can you assess if you have a case to take it through all the levels of the complaints process.

Thank you for info.

[SpacePhoenix]

What's the tracking number so we can see all the tracking events?

Once an item has been handed over from the originating postal service to the postal service that covers the destination, the originating service has no say or control over what happens

[yellowbelly]

My opinion - RM are correct - the non-delivery issue occurred in Germany not the UK and RM have
no control over the local German postal system.

As the item is returning from Germany, it'll have to come back through customs so it might take a while.

I disagree.

If I took my car to a garage for work and they sent it away for a part of the work to be completed (and it returned damaged), I would expect the company dealing with the initial job to sort it out, not have to go out of my way to chase people. If as you say this is the German posts problem, then why have Royall mail in all the replies not given me an address to contact them or try and help in any way?

I also don't like Royal mails snotty replies basically saying 'tough luck'. For the sake of £13.70 they may have lost a customer who has used their services daily for 12 years.

If this package never arrives back, can I claim lost postage, or will they try to worm their way out of that too?

If, following Snaggletooth's advice, you believe you've got a cast iron case re addressing compliance etc
then by all means attempt to reclaim your postage, however the quotes below are from RM's T&C's for
sending items overseas, furthermore I've just had a quick glance at UPS International Conditions
and under similar circumstances they could probably charge you for the return of the item:

15 Delivery Including Undeliverable and Re-Posted (Return To Sender)
Items
15.1 Subject to sections 5.6 and 5.15, for outgoing items returned to us by an
overseas postal operator as:
a. Undeliverable, we will attempt to return the item to you. We will not
charge any additional postage or fee for returning an undeliverable item
but you or your representative may have to pay any other fees (e.g.
surcharges or customs charges) that apply. If any applicable fee is not
paid, the item may be dealt with or disposed of at our discretion.

17.2 We will accept liability, may refund postage and/or service fees and may
pay compensation for the loss of, damage to, or part loss of an item
posted under this Scheme, unless that item:
a. is considered by us or by an overseas postal operator to be
undeliverable (as set out in section 15 above);

17.3 For clarity where an item falls into one of the categories listed in section
17.2 (a) to (n), then we will not accept liability, will not refund postage
and/or service fees or pay compensation for the loss of or damage to that
item.
17.4 In addition to section 17.3 we will only accept liability, may refund postage
and/or service fees and may pay compensation where the loss or damage is
due to any wrongful act done, or any neglect or default committed by a
member of staff or agent of Royal Mail while performing or purporting to
perform his functions as such in relation to the receipt, conveyance,
delivery or other dealing with the item.