"Royal Mail and Insurance" Topic

I received an order from the UK today (I'm in the US), shipped on Feb 5, 2016. The package arrived empty and stamped as being received in the US as such. I noted that the shipper only charged me about half of the actual shipping cost for the original parcel. I have informed the shipper, but they have not had time to reply yet.

I am curious, if the shipper replaces the lost items (my experience is that they do things like that), will the shipper in the UK be able to recover the loss of the original shipping fee, and the lost goods? Are packages automatically insured for a basic amount, or is the loss a combination of mine and or the shipper's? I hate to think that if they replace the items, that they eat the cost.

Thanks,

irishserb

Insurance is automatic in UK and included in the Royal Mail prices.
We can also buy extra insurance for higher value items.

Paul

The contents of airmail parcels from the UK are insured for at least £20.00 GBP

Extra insurance can be bought increasing this to £50.00 GBP & £250.00 GBP costing £5.00 GBP and £2.50 GBP respectively.

The Royal Mail state they will not refund the cost of postage unless you have bought extra insurance. When I have claimed money back I have always been refunded the cost of postage because I point out the breach of contract and my need to send a replacement.

You are right, replacing items (or refunding) is the norm in the UK & Europe. This is because in the UK/EU the parcel legally belongs to the sender until it arrives at the delivery address and has been accepted by the customer.

I am dismayed when I see disclaimers from US retailers, and some UK eBay business sellers, along the lines of "once it's in the post it's nothing to do with me".

Hope this helps?

--
Martin Stephenson
Vexillia: Wargames Miniatures & Accessories
Shop | Rules | eBay | Twitter

Good points Martin
Sadly a fair few traders do not keep to the law (distance selling regulations in Europe but I expect the US has similar laws too?). They must show their postal address and they must take responsibility for the delivery of their parcel. There are about 10 of these traders on TMP, which lets down all the honest traders.
All the best

martin

That no longer flies with US eBay sellers, which is why so many charge exorbitant rates for international delivery (because that's what we're charge by the USPS), since Paypal and eBay require them to show proof of delivery to the customer, or be on the hook for the entire order AND the shipping costs, if the customer says they didn't receive the goods.

Not sure if that is the same with eBay UK, or not.

I think the minimum for a Priority Mail package now runs about $35 USD, or more, depending upon the weight.

We used to be able to insure 1st Class Mail for much lower rates, but the Postal Service took that option away, which has helped severely curtail international sales for many sellers.

Sadly a fair few traders do not keep to the law (distance selling regulations in Europe but I expect the US has similar laws too?). They must show their postal address and they must take responsibility for the delivery of their parcel.

I know of one well known UK manufacturer that only has a PO Box which doesn't count. They are also breaking the Companies Act because they are a limited company and should show their registered address and registration details too.

However, these rules are seldom enforced in the UK and until they are nothing will change.

--
Martin Stephenson
Vexillia: Wargames Miniatures & Accessories
Shop | Rules | eBay | Twitter

Thanks for the replies.

QRF is the seller, and they contacted me within 12 hours of my receipt of the package to let me know that they had already sent the replacement. Pretty amazing on their part.

If I understand the info above, even with the insurance, given the cost of the shipping, they will lose money on the order. That sucks.

It seems that in the last two years, that I've had a much higher frequency of problems with packages than in years prior. The stuff that I ship to Europe mostly seems to do okay. Italy has been a little tricky for whatever reason. Canada has had all kinds of problems, 25 percent of the packages get lost, and nearly half take 6-8 weeks, while the remainder take about two weeks. Amazingly, I had one package to Spain get in the recipients hands in 5 days.

Thanks again for the replies.

I've never had any problems receiving your stuff in the UK Brian

If I understand the info above, even with the insurance, given the cost of the shipping, they will lose money on the order. That sucks.

Cost of doing business, unfortunately.

Note that the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 was repealed in June 2014 by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

link