Royal Mail lost my parcel - chances of refund?

[Big Chris]

I sent a pair of shoes back to an online retailer (they were too big) almost two weeks ago and have just been told by them that they never received them.

I sent them Parcel Force 1st Class (not recorded delivery) so what are my chances of getting the money back or the parcel found? I've just spent the last 20 mins trying to navigate my way through the mess that is the Royal Mail Customer Services telephone system and eventually got through to someone who said I have to wait 15 days from the day of posting, then complete a form and hand it in at my local Post Office. I take it that from here it'll either go into a huge pile of other forms and get lost/forgotten about perhaps to be dealt with in a month or two, or just get lost before making it into the pile and never be seen again.

The shoes cost me £60 and the postage £5.40, so what are my chances of seeing any of that back?

 

[Big Chris]

So in short - I'm screwed. Great.

I did get a receipt for the £5.40 but that proves nothing.

I know in hindsight I should've sent them recorded, but it would be nice if that didn't suggest that Royal Mail are likely to lose your parcel, so pay more to avoid this and don't bother with the cheaper options as it'll just mean that their staff will be wearing stuff you bought them.

 

[Big Chris]

snip

wow, you seem to hate them even more than I do at the moment! I've got the form for claiming a lost parcel and will go through the motions but am not gonna hold my breath.

Has really annoyed me though because someone somewhere clearly has a pair of shoes that I paid £60 for, and I'll have to fork out another £60 for some more.

 

[Big Chris]

That CRC?

It is actually yeah, spot the fellow biker!

I have a receipt from the Post Office from the day I sent the parcel, and have asked the shop to send me a proof of purchase/value for the item so hopefully if they can't find it somewhere in a depot then I'll at least get £30 back, although I'm still losing £35.

I've only got myself to blame for this really and will certainly be paying more in future to insure safe arrival of items.

*Let this be a warning to all of you - It's very annoying, not to mention expensive and could easily happen to anyone.*

 

[Big Chris]

How naive. Thousands of letters/packages go missing every day. If you're sending something of value then insure it...otherwise accept what happens if it goes missing.

Or, you could continue to read through the thread instead of just qouoting my second post.

I've not tried to blame this solely on anyone, of course I'm annoyed at RM for losing it but because thousands go missing per day does mean I shouldn't get annoyed due to the fact it was likely to happen?

I've accepted that I should've paid the extra for recorded delivery and have even tried to warn others against following in my footsteps.

Any other useful comments?