The Post Office gave my parcel to someone else and won't refund

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I say 'my', but this is actually something I'm looking into for a family member... She bought something on eBay, paid for it, and it was then delivered. She was at work, so the postman left one of those cards. My aunt went to her local post office about 2 weeks after that (it was near Xmas and she was busy) and when she tried to collect it she was told that someone else (a man, whose name she didn't recognise) collected it.

The manager told her to contact Royal Mail head office, but all they did is say she should claim the money back off the eBay seller, but because they auction ended more than 45 days ago I don't think that's an option -- and besides, it's not really their fault that the PO gave it away.

Is there anything she can do here? My hunch is that it's an 'inside job': some dishonest PO employee saw that it hadn't been collected and thought they would help themselves to it by fabricating a record of someone already having collected it.

TL;DR PO gave my aunt's parcel to some random guy and won't reimburse. What can we do?
 
I just checked and it's been 171 days since the auction, so just in time. But I can't find anything on Paypal's site (or elsewhere) which says you get 180 days to make the claim.
 
For someone to collect any signed for parcel from the post office, they would have needed the card that was posted through your mums letterbox and an acceptable form of ID.
Your mum was in possession of the card, so how could anyone else have possibly have been given the package ? To me, this has all the hallmarks of theft within the post office.
In all the years i have been collecting parcels that have to be signed for, i have always been refused unless i produced that card. You need to go and ask the post office in question why they handed a parcel over without the production of the card ? I'm guessing they won't be able to give you an answer because they know full well it has been stolen by one of there own employees.
 
For someone to collect any signed for parcel from the post office, they would have needed the card that was posted through your mums letterbox and an acceptable form of ID.
Your mum was in possession of the card, so how could anyone else have possibly have been given the package ? To me, this has all the hallmarks of theft within the post office.
In all the years i have been collecting parcels that have to be signed for, i have always been refused unless i produced that card. You need to go and ask the post office in question why they handed a parcel over without the production of the card ? I'm guessing they won't be able to give you an answer because they know full well it has been stolen by one of there own employees.

You don't need the card, just tell them an address and postcode hand them ID that doesn't even need that address on and off they go.
 
For someone to collect any signed for parcel from the post office, they would have needed the card that was posted through your mums letterbox and an acceptable form of ID.
Your mum was in possession of the card, so how could anyone else have possibly have been given the package ? To me, this has all the hallmarks of theft within the post office.
In all the years i have been collecting parcels that have to be signed for, i have always been refused unless i produced that card. You need to go and ask the post office in question why they handed a parcel over without the production of the card ? I'm guessing they won't be able to give you an answer because they know full well it has been stolen by one of there own employees.

Yep. My aunt still has the card the postman left. They had to have either given some random bloke the wrong parcel (i.e., he came in with his own card to collect his own parcel, but got given the wrong one) -- but in that case the bloke would have surely went back and returned it so he could get his own one -- or someone from the PO nicked it.
 
I've told my aunt to request a refund through Paypal. Is that all she'll need to do?

The seller has not been helpful so far (when my aunt told the seller about it they apparently washed their hands of it and said, 'this is between you and the PO'), so I doubt they'll authorise the refund. Would it then be up to Paypal to do something?
 
The sorting office at my parents and mine up here will both hand it over without the card done it numerous times at both.

Yeah walked in with the card and 2 forms of ID just incase and they didn't even want to look at the card and barely even glanced at my driving license and handed the parcel right over.
 
Sounds like neglegence on the sorting office to me

No card, no parcel. They accidently gave your parcel to someone else

Take this up at their hq, and lodge a complaint if you cant get it done through normal cases
 
The sorting office at my parents and mine up here will both hand it over without the card done it numerous times at both.

In that case, your sorting office is breaking the law. PO have very strict rules for the collection of all signed for parcels, nearly all of which are enshrined in law. Some of which are also covered under the official secrets act.
 
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