Only special delivery covers bullion ( great tagline we all love to use )... unless there's an actual problem.

[Essendie]

I've had Royal Mail deliveries of PMs left behind a neighbours bin a few doors down from me.
The photo was not a help because everybody's bins look the same.
Apparently I signed for them.

Also had deliveries (not PMs, but expensive supposed to be signed for items) left in my cardboard bin in the past couple of years.

Royal Mail are useless nowadays.

That said, DPD apparently 'lost' an expensive camera twice last month & neither has ever been seen again.
They didn't lose the low value packages that came from the same place on the same day dispatched at the same time.
It's never the cheap stuff that doesn't make it.

Hermes/Evri are even worse, so I don't know where you go for trustworthy deliveries nowadays.

[theman73]

26 minutes ago, Essendie said:

I've had Royal Mail deliveries of PMs left behind a neighbours bin a few doors down from me.
The photo was not a help because everybody's bins look the same.
Apparently I signed for them.

Also had deliveries (not PMs, but expensive supposed to be signed for items) left in my cardboard bin in the past couple of years.

Royal Mail are useless nowadays.

That said, DPD apparently 'lost' an expensive camera twice last month & neither has ever been seen again.
They didn't lose the low value packages that came from the same place on the same day dispatched at the same time.
It's never the cheap stuff that doesn't make it.

Hermes/Evri are even worse, so I don't know where you go for trustworthy deliveries nowadays.

 

On the top of this even sending is a headache even if I do my postage at home

Royal Mail offices open today from 8-10am on 2 locations near me

Near Post Office at least 20 people on the quee only 1 till open

Next Post Office don't accept 24h Tracked because they need to be posted with Royal Mail, so, no proof of postage and I need to make a tabel which they will stamp because I have to many letters to send... I was the only customer, but they don't have time for me...

Spending 1 hour driving just to post some letters, priceless.

Edited November 7, 2022 by theman73
gibberish english

[Bixley]

I must stick up for the Royal Mail judging from my experience. I bought a gold coin from a forum member which after about two weeks had still not turned up although it had been posted Special Delivery. I had been in communication with the seller and he then made a claim which was accepted. After another couple of days the package turned up undamaged. I told the seller and he most generously said he had received the compensation and would therefore send me half the amount.

[James32]

1 minute ago, Bixley said:

I must stick up for the Royal Mail judging from my experience. I bought a gold coin from a forum member which after about two weeks had still not turned up although it had been posted Special Delivery. I had been in communication with the seller and he then made a claim which was accepted. After another couple of days the package turned up undamaged. I told the seller and he most generously said he had received the compensation and would therefore send me half the amount.

What?? So you got the coin and 50% discount 🤣 please tell me I'm reading this wrong.

[Orpster]

3 minutes ago, Bixley said:

I must stick up for the Royal Mail judging from my experience. I bought a gold coin from a forum member which after about two weeks had still not turned up although it had been posted Special Delivery. I had been in communication with the seller and he then made a claim which was accepted. After another couple of days the package turned up undamaged. I told the seller and he most generously said he had received the compensation and would therefore send me half the amount.

What should have happened it the seller should have informed RM the parcel had been delivered and returned the claim money.  It is scenario's like this that make RM tighten their claims process and were I you I would not be putting this on an open forum

[James32]

3 minutes ago, Orpster said:

What should have happened it the seller should have informed RM the parcel had been delivered and returned the claim money.  It is scenario's like this that make RM tighten their claims process and were I you I would not be putting this on an open forum

Exactly my thoughts, but I sincerely hope we are both reading it wrong.

[BackyardBullion]

34 minutes ago, Bixley said:

I must stick up for the Royal Mail judging from my experience. I bought a gold coin from a forum member which after about two weeks had still not turned up although it had been posted Special Delivery. I had been in communication with the seller and he then made a claim which was accepted. After another couple of days the package turned up undamaged. I told the seller and he most generously said he had received the compensation and would therefore send me half the amount.

I would consider strongly getting this money repaid to Royal Mail unless you want to find yourself on the wrong side of a fraud prosecution. 

[Bixley]

1 hour ago, BackyardBullion said:

I would consider strongly getting this money repaid to Royal Mail unless you want to find yourself on the wrong side of a fraud prosecution. 

Unlikely. The Royal Mail knows what happened, they got a signature on the (delayed) delivery.

[theman73]

4 minutes ago, Bixley said:

Unlikely. The Royal Mail knows what happened, they got a signature on the (delayed) delivery.

Mean?

[James32]

1 minute ago, Bixley said:

Unlikely. The Royal Mail knows what happened, they got a signature on the (delayed) delivery.

It's just wrong!! I'm sorry but imagine you/your business was on the flip side of this?

Last comment I will make on it,as it's not my circus, but the purpose of this thread was to help those being messed around with royal mail.. not highlight wrongdoing from Tsf members.

It's morally wrong on so many levels.

[Lyrinn]

Bit of a nightmare for the forum. What do you do?

1. Do you send the original invoice to the buyer (risk is that it gets lost in the post with the PMs)?
2. Take a copy and send a physical copy to the buyer by post (then the buyer doesn't have the original, unless you send it afterwards as a letter)?
3. Scan the invoice and send that electronic copy to the buyer after receipt of good (still means it isn't the original)?
4. Decide to only sell to a dealer from now on?
5. Continue with the risk and hope that it doesn't come to this situation?
6. Open a sole trader company and use that to produce invoices with (tax man will love you)?

Sadly, all of my bullion was lost at sea or is made of chocolate wrapped in tin foil.

[Griffo]

21 minutes ago, Lyrinn said:

Bit of a nightmare for the forum. What do you do?

1. Do you send the original invoice to the buyer (risk is that it gets lost in the post with the PMs)?
2. Take a copy and send a physical copy to the buyer by post (then the buyer doesn't have the original, unless you send it afterwards as a letter)?
3. Scan the invoice and send that electronic copy to the buyer after receipt of good (still means it isn't the original)?
4. Decide to only sell to a dealer from now on?
5. Continue with the risk and hope that it doesn't come to this situation?
6. Open a sole trader company and use that to produce invoices with (tax man will love you)?

Sadly, all of my bullion was lost at sea or is made of chocolate wrapped in tin foil.

Only use Chards from now on, then no hassle and superb service 😉

[Tn21]

The right thing to do at the time was for the seller to return the funds back to the royal mail as the delivery had been completed. If this has occured within a recent time frame then the window of opportunity is still there, (say within 3 months) if however it has been more then 3 months I would leave it as it is. A moral lesson to be learnt. 

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by Tn21

[Earthmetal]

5 hours ago, Bixley said:

I must stick up for the Royal Mail judging from my experience. I bought a gold coin from a forum member which after about two weeks had still not turned up although it had been posted Special Delivery. I had been in communication with the seller and he then made a claim which was accepted. After another couple of days the package turned up undamaged. I told the seller and he most generously said he had received the compensation and would therefore send me half the amount.

Er... rather than sticking up for them that story just further damns them. A Second Class stamp should guarantee delivery! As it once did. Then they add Signed For, Tracked, Special... what's next, Extra Special? Super-Duper?

[Earthmetal]

4 hours ago, BackyardBullion said:

I would consider strongly getting this money repaid to Royal Mail unless you want to find yourself on the wrong side of a fraud prosecution. 

Surely no fraudulent activity has been conducted. The Royal Mail messed up, both parties went through Royal Mail process and were subject to Royal Mail procedure. The fact that at a later date the Royal Mail made amends to their mistake does not alter the fact of the original scenario, the non-delivery of the parcel by 1pm the following day.
Both parties would have been more than satisfied if the Royal Mail had merely provided the service that was paid for.
- The non-delivery of the parcel (breach of contract) was by the action of the Royal Mail,
- The provision of compensation (admission of fault & liability) was by the action of the Royal Mail,
- The subsequent delivery of the parcel regardless of the above was by the action of the Royal Mail.
Neither the buyer, or the seller, are at fault here and acted in good faith in a service paid for that was not provided.

[BackyardBullion]

1 minute ago, Earthmetal said:

Surely no fraudulent activity has been conducted. The Royal Mail messed up, both parties went through Royal Mail process and were subject to Royal Mail procedure. The fact that at a later date the Royal Mail made amends to their mistake does not alter the fact of the original scenario, the non-delivery of the parcel by 1pm the following day.
Both parties would have been more than satisfied if the Royal Mail had merely provided the service that was paid for.
- The non-delivery of the parcel (breach of contract) was by the action of the Royal Mail,
- The provision of compensation (admission of fault & liability) was by the action of the Royal Mail,
- The subsequent delivery of the parcel regardless of the above was by the action of the Royal Mail.
Neither the buyer, or the seller, are at fault here and acted in good faith in a service paid for that was not provided.

It's in the claim conditions when you submit the claim. Failure to repay the claim cash if the item is delivered can be prosecuted if you knowingly keep the cash after a subsequent delivery. It's called insurance fraud.

 

[Earthmetal]

2 minutes ago, BackyardBullion said:

It's in the claim conditions when you submit the claim. Failure to repay the claim cash if the item is delivered can be prosecuted if you knowingly keep the cash after a subsequent delivery. It's called insurance fraud.

 

Hmm. That's not what I call it. The (so-called) Royal Mail are a pale imitation of their former glorious self and get-out clauses to cover up their shoddy penny-pinching to line the pockets of the owner do nothing to further endear them to me.

[BackyardBullion]

1 minute ago, Earthmetal said:

Hmm. That's not what I call it. The (so-called) Royal Mail are a pale imitation of their former glorious self and get-out clauses to cover up their shoddy penny-pinching to line the pockets of the owner do nothing to further endear them to me.

We will have to agree to disagree. I would be paying this back with some haste were it me in this situation.

[Tn21]

@EarthmetalI kind of get what you are saying but i would have to agree with BYB if that was me I too would be paying that back.

Royal mail will reimburse the actual cost of special delivery, but as the item has been delivered it does make sense to contact the royal mail and seek out avenues in which the funds can be returned. 

If however the royal mail turn around and say don't worry about it keep it, then that's a different story.

 

It is a good service on the whole, I do appreciate how items can be delivered nationwide and next day in the case of Special delivery. 

 

[Zeuk]

Life’s a lot simpler if you always do the right thing, key to a good nights sleep imho 😴💤

[James32]

UPDATE...

After the seller fired a fair few emails in all directions,to the generous advice/responses on here, things have taken a very positive turn. 

Royal mail have magically located the parcel, opened it just now and confirmed its just a coin ( unless they 3D printed a new 1/2 oz gold special reverse Britannia ) I guess the being destroyed line was codswallop. Coin will be returned to seller ASAP thankfully. 

A massive thank you to everyone who Offered help and email addresses etc. Perseverance pays off!

A special mention to the member who reached out by private message and generously donated time and effort 😊 

@arphethean @richatthecroft @AndrewSL76 @BackyardBullion @pricha @DuncanWylieWilson and everyone that commented, a big thank you.

[Zeuk]

Glad to see it had a happy ending fwiw I did a bit of research and there are companies that will provide seperate insurance for RM postage, so if anyone is thinking of sticking a 1kg gold bar in the post ... they're out there 😆

[ArgentSmith]

When you sell a 1kg Silver coin on eBay and send it SD 🥴

[arphethean]

1 minute ago, ArgentSmith said:

When you sell a 1kg Silver coin on eBay and send it SD 🥴

Didn't BYB get this notification with one of his silver for hallmarking parcels and they hadn't actually disposed of it? 

[ArgentSmith]

1 minute ago, arphethean said:

Didn't BYB get this notification with one of his silver for hallmarking parcels and they hadn't actually disposed of it? 

Its a notification I've had after sending a Kilo of Silver by SD yesterday. It seems like this could be more common than maybe we thought.