Should I sue Royal Mail?

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
Posts
18,364
Location
Finchley, London
Sorry for such a lot of text.


I'm at my wits end with Royal Mail! Last month they failed to deliver 2 parcels from Fasttech in China (vaping gear) and 1 parcel from Penon Audio in Hong Kong (£50 earphones). So I've been about £200 out of pocket for nearly two months.

Their tracking pages never updated after saying they'd all been received at my local delivery office, and never said they'd tried to deliver or had been delivered. After many, many phone calls to them, several visits to the delivery office, and emails from their escalation team, they were all deemed as missing and that it was up to me to contact the sellers to put in a claim which I did.

Fasttech are waiting to hear back from china post who I guess will liaise with Royal Mail to get some sort of proof that I never received them before they can refund or replace. That's already taken a month and can take up to 60 days. I had received photos of the actual parcels they had sent me from Fasttech clearly showing the address labels.

Meanwhile, Penon Audio in Hong Kong sent me a form to fill in, a declaration of non receipt of e-express service items which I filled in and sent them so they could start a claim with hong kong post.

So to the present. Penon Audio, even before getting confirmation from the postal services, kindly resent the earphones last Thursday. Yesterday the Royal Mail tracking page said 'arrived at my local delivery office and due for delivery today'. Well of course, it didn't get delivered. Why am I not surprised!

I went to the delivery office today and he said he'd sent the parcel back because the address was incomplete! He said it might not have left the country yet and I could ask Royal Mail to stop it being returned. But they said they couldn't do that.

So I just emailed Penon Audio to tell them that apparently the address was incomplete and got a reply saying:

"Hi dear friend,

Here is the shipping label on the parcel, could you please check and show it to the post office to ask them why?"

best regards"

It's an official customs declaration address label with both our addresses clearly printed on it. I can't see how it would have become incomplete.

I got back on the phone to Royal Mail armed with this information and told them I'm not going to wait another 10 days for an answer and that they need to get this sorted now or I'll consider suing them in a small claims court. She said she'll get someone to call me within a couple of hours.

I just don't understand what is going on with my delivery office. Three different tracking pages and 4 parcels, between June 5th and now, none of which have been delivered for whatever reason. I'm furious and am very close to threatening Royal Mail to a small claims court. What do you think?

And if I ever get to hear from Fasttech that they're ready to refund or replace, I'll have to go for refund because I can't trust that I'd ever receive replacements.
 
new boy said:
We all know your not really going to bother taking Royal mail to court... This is just a venting frustration at the internet post.
Click to expand...

I probably won't. But I read an article where Royal Mail were threatened with a small claim and because they prefer not to have to go to court ended up settling an amount with the person. So I don't know, might be worth a go.
 
ttaskmaster said:
Stop ordering from Fasttech, you cheapskate... or rather, from SlowTech - 2 or 3 months to deliver something that you only save maybe 10-15% on, and which I'll likely be able to buy in the UK from a guaranteed genuine B&M shop about a month before yours actually arrives...
Click to expand...

Utter tosh. Took them a week this time for it arrive in the UK. Far more choice than B&Ms and when it says authentic gear, it's authentic. :)

pepp77 said:
What are you planning to sue Royal Mail for as surely not being the actual customer you have no contract infringement, are you going to go for pain and suffering?
Click to expand...

Yes you're right. I realise the sellers are the Royal Mail customers and I've already asked them to put in a claim. I'm just frustrated that Royal Mail had received but lost 3 packages and sent back a 4th and I started to get a feeling that I'll end up with nothing due to what appears to be their negligence. I'm concerned that Fasttech might never get satisfactory confirmation that I didn't receive the items, but I guess they will eventually.

touch said:
So what reason did Fasttech give for refusing a refund?
Click to expand...

Did I say they refused? I don't think I did? :confused:

I believe I said they're waiting to get confirmation from their postal service that I didn't receive them before they can refund or replace. I'm sure they ultimately will but I'm not filled with much confidence at the moment. So meanwhile, I'm out of pocket because I paid for goods at the end of May that I still haven't received.


Slam62 said:
Big question, how did you pay?
Click to expand...

Paypal.

Anyway, on a reasonably positive note, chap from escalation team just called. Was very helpful and sympathetic and said because of all the hassle I've had over the last several weeks and it being so unusual for so many items to go missing, and then to be told an address label was incomplete when there was a clearly printed label, he might take it higher up. He is also going to try and see if he can stop the earphones getting to Heathrow and being returned to Hong Kong. Probably unlikely. But he said he'd call me again on Thursday if not before to update me. It would be brilliant if he can do that, then I'd only need to be concerned about Fasttech.
 
Resident said:
I think it's been said but the stupidity of the post is still burning my eyes so I'll say it again
Your contract is with the suppliers NOT Royal Mail. Your supplier does not have a contract with Royal Mail either. Your supplier will have contracted the local mail carrier (ChinaPost). It is ChinaPost that then sub-contracted the latter stage of the parcel's journey.
Your supplier needs to speak with their mail carrier to liaise with RM and determine what's gone wrong. Your supplier should refund you and claim the costs back from said mail carrier.
Click to expand...
Yes, I know all that. I really just posted this thread to rant and I don't make rant threads on any regular basis unless something really ***** me off. When 3 packages that arrived on two tracking numbers a week apart from each other don't get delivered, you've been continually contacting RM to find out what's happened to them before they officially deem them MIA, then having to contact the sellers to make claims one of which you're not even sure they'll actually refund you, then chasing them up for updates, and you've been waiting weeks to get the items, and then to add insult to injury a fourth parcel arrives and is also not delivered, it's easy to eventually get angry and have irrational thoughts (like suing RM). Wouldn't you get annoyed in the same situation?

Resident said:
Your supplier should not send you photos of a label. That's not proof it was posted, all it proves is that they printed an address label.
Click to expand...

Wait, you just called me stupid. Let me explain. Penon Audio the Hong Kong supplier had emailed me a tracking number for a replacement item he'd sent last week. That tracking number corresponded with the item that RM had told me they'd returned. So of course it was posted and the supplier is not some dodgy shop that would show me a label they didn't stick on the package.

The point is that the label from the Hong Kong supplier shows full addresses of the seller and myself and RM are saying the address label was incomplete. And I know that Fasttech the China supplier are also efficient as I've used them before and they always send me photos of the packages with the address labels on straight after they ship them.

My main beef is that I know all 3 packages plus the replacement package were sent to me with correct addresses. Yet somehow, all 4 have not been delivered when they had all arrived at different times in the UK and had all ended up at the delivery office just a mile away from me. RM told me their tracking details are never wrong so there's no question that they actually arrived at my local delivery office. Yes, I get it, it's up to the suppliers to sort it out and that's what they're doing, although Fasttech are taking a very long time with no updates yet. But can you understand why I would be so angry at Royal Mail?


ttaskmaster said:
I've never known anything from FT arrive in under 2 months, rarely seen something without all the authentication removed, and only heard very bad tales about their refund policies... Choice? Only in how badly you might get shafted. Beyond that, it's mostly just same-same kit in slightly different colours.
Click to expand...

Well I don't know about their refund policy yet. It's being tested now as they've said they can't replace or refund until their postal service confirms my items were lost or returned to them. I've never waited longer than 3 weeks for FT deliveries. People I trust in the Vapers lounge thread and another UK vape forum that have bought from them have confirmed that if something is listed as authentic then it is authentic. They have far more choice than anywhere else.
 
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom