Royal Mail - Seller's Responsibilities?

Nomad

Just want to check that I'm not missing something...

If I buy stuff from a shop costing £150-200, and they send by Royal Mail, is the safe delivery of the goods still their responsibility, even if they use a service that doesn't insure for the full amount? For what it's worth, it would be a small parcel, probably weighing around 1kg, and the delivery cost is £2.95. They're also a reputable company. I would assume it's a signed-for delivery, and that they either have some deal with RM to get a good price, or absorb some of the cost to give a flat rate to the customer.

I think it's still their responsibility, but would like to check.

wackojacko

£2.95 definitely isn't signed for on a package weighing 1kg.

It would cost them at least £4.40 to have it tracked and signed. Though as you say they would likely have a business discount.

Ultimately, its their responsibility though

Flink_Poyd

If its recorded delivery then it only covers up to £50, no idea if its different for business deals/bulk but ultimately its their responsibility until you sign for it.

gavin_axecaster

Depending on the volume they send it is completely possible that they can send a 1kg signed parcel for £2.95 - you'd be amazed at the price breaks for high volume customers.
I'm pretty sure at that rate/price they will have no compensation cover  - Royal Mail don't offer compensation cover on most business services - the reduced prices is supposed to offset losses. Also remember that most carriers, and certainly Royal Mail, only pay out compensation on the cost price of an item for business customers, not the sale price. From a business perspective, this is fair. If it goes missing and it has to be replaced, the seller has to replace from stock at his cost price - ie he doesn't lose the profit from the sale, he loses (and wants compensating) for the cost price to replace it.

None of that has any relevance to who is responsible for safe delivery.  In the UK it is the seller's responsibility to ensure the product arrives with the customer, unless the buyer has made their own delivery arrangements.

spark240

They can send from RM ...via a 3rd party...say Interparcel, for £2.85 up to 2 Kg, insured up to about £5-£10

its then up to them to insure it for the full amount. 

Modulus_Amps

the seller may have separate business shipping insurance, honestly though you need to ask the seller how well protected the parcel is.

Royal mail lost parcel system is a farce, you get stamps back for lost goods, I filled out the long form once and never again. Items packed well and labelled well generally don't get lost, unless it is December.

At the end of the day it is the sellers responsibility to get it to you safely.

Wazmeister

Agree 100% its the sellers responsibility.

I always bang on about it - ONLY use Special Delivery

DefaultM

I get everything that I can't afford to lose signed for, and then the way that its sent depends on how much compensation I'd need if it went missing.

I say 'I would need' because if it's an eBay sale I assume the buyer is getting refunded automatically, so how that refund is covered is my problem. If I didn't get insurance then the answer would be out of my own pocket.

DefaultM

I do think the whole postal insurance thing takes the piss.
When they ask if you want insurance surely the implication is "...because we might lose or break this".

When I'm paying someone to take and deliver an item why should I have to worry about something happening to it in the first place?
It seems ridiculous that I have to pay extra money so that if they do break or lose it they'll actually replace it for you.

If someone asked me to take something to someone else and I broke it on the way I'd be mortified and want to replace it. So why when I'm paying someone to do the same do they want more money for that?

ICBM

It's bordering on fraud in most cases - in fact, some companies will happily sell you insurance even when they know that their terms and conditions specifically exclude the item you're sending, which *is* fraud in my opinion.

Even if the item is not excluded, there's very often a ceiling on the compensation which doesn't come close to the full value. And even if none of that applies, good luck making a successful claim for damage - they will almost always wriggle out of it by claiming poor packaging or some other excuse. You have more chance if it simply disappears...

mynamesnotbob

Yes its their problem. The postage they charge does not have to match the charge for the courier. They extra costs are for the admin associated with sending, or they make 50p on each send to essentially self insure loosing every 100th item

impmann

If its got anything to with the Royal Fail or Parcelcunts, you won't get a bean from them despite insurance... but yes, your contract of sale is with the seller and if you have paid for postage it is their responsibility to ensure it arrives safely with you.