Sold item but buyer says didnt get it

[ILNY]

Hi

i sold a laptop, for �600 on a for sale forum website. I offered paypal as payment (i find this easier). I was emailed by a person, saying they dont have paypal but would it be okay for bank tranfer. So i agreed to this, and gave my details.

Next day, i went to post office and sent the laptop off to them.

Bout a week later, i got an email from them, asking where it was - i told them i had sent it with royal mail and it should be with them soon. (both of us in UK) , so for the past couple fo weeks, they have been saying they didnt get it, and are now threatening me with police and saying they will contact my bank and such.

Now, i wish i had av sent it with special delivery but they siad to send it normal. I offereed recorded but they told me to send it basic, so i did.

I think i have the recepit somewhere but im no sure if i do.

Any ideas on what i should do? should i be worried that ive lost my laptop and i will be forced to send the money back?

any advice would be good.

[JackDanielsU]

Have you received their CLEARED funds??

Sending a �600 object without sending it recorded / special post is frankly stupid. Regardless what the "buyer" says it would have covered you, and given you some form of paperwork to show in the case of a "no-show"


Also if in the case of ebay, did this buyer have good feedback etc?


The next step you both should be doing is contacting the website you placed the item on

[ILNY]

I emailed the admin, and they siad they are not getting involved in disputes. I dont use ebay, and didnt list it on there. I know, i was stupid to send it normal like they asked but i just didnt think there would be any problems with it and now they are saying they didnt get it.

The funds cleared in to my account no problem, which is why i sent it the next day

[Chickadee]

Unfortunately if you claim through royal mail (and you will need proof of value and posting) they will only give you �36.00 maximum.

I agree with JackDanielsU that something of that value should have been sent by special delivery.

I think that in this instance as you have no proof of delivery you will have to refund the money.

Sorry but I don't see what other option you have.

[ILNY]

Im sure i have a post office receipt somewhere, but im not too sure exactly where. Would that back me up that i sent it?

How do i know though, that the person got it and say they did'nt? Its what i think has happened, as i know that when i posted it, i asked the guy if it would reach them the next day and he siad, that it should. He did say to guarantee it, that i should send it SD but i said that they had only paid for Standered delivery.

[bednobs]

I think it sounds like you've been ripped off good and proper. I find it highly suspicious that the buyer insisted that ordinary postage wud be ok for a �600 quid item. All hes got to do is say he never recieved it, threaten to take you to court, and hes got a refund AND a laptop. meanwhile you have no laptop and no 600 quid, and yu are in the wrong everytime because you have no proof of postange OR delivery, and can only get a small amount of compensation. Sorry, but you've let yourself be conned and there is nothing you can do abut it

[keithlbw]

It looks to me like they planned to try and scam you. How easy is it to say they haven't received it and ask for their money back.
They told you to send it by normal mail , so the onus is on them .
Did they tell you how to send it by email , if so make sure you don't delete it.
Let them contact the police ( I bet they don't ) .
Your bank will chase them and have nothing to do with them.
Did you keep any proof of postage , eg a receipt of payment etc.
Above all don't give them a refund and next time send anything by secure post with proof of postage no matter what the buyer says.

[terambulan]

You did as the purchaser asked (keep email evidence) and sent ordinary post. If they didn't receive goods it was their risk not yours. Is there a witness in the PO who can verify you posted goods.....get them to sign a statement.

Be ready for Court action but you should be okay because of above.

[bednobs]

TBH proof of postage is not even ging to help you much - after all if he is insisting that he never received it then the logica conclusion is that rm "lost" it. as mentioned before, the only compensation you will get is very little. look on the bright side - rm dosent consider anything lost till 28 days so there is still time for it to arrive

[Chickadee]

There are two possibilities here:-

It has genuinely got lost in the post or

They have received it but because you have no way to prove this they are saying they didn't.

Unfortunately proof of posting is not proof of delivery.

As I said before you will not get all of the money back from the royal mail. Personally I would not have sold the item without saying it would be sent special delivery - no other option.

Without wishing to be horrid I think you've learnt the hard way.

[bednobs]

personally i dont agree with the two answers saying you will get away with it in court: you wont! It will be seen as theft

[ILNY]

keithlbw - i phoned up the police, and they said that that it isnt a criminal matter and its a civil matter.

Next time i ever sell something, i will be sending it via special delivery ONLY, and will take no for an answer.

Chickadee - I dont think that it has been lost in the post. I think that they did get it. They were quite quick at emailing me. I posted it on Aug 18 and they emailed me on Aug 22.

Also, they have a yahoo address if that matters.

[bednobs]

lol i have a yahoo address but i am honest, guv! It dosent mean anything

[Chickadee]

I don't see what having a yahoo address has to do with it but still!!

Again you could see it two ways:

They haven't received the item and after 5 days are querying the arrival or

They've received it, know you haven't a leg to stand on and are pulling a fast one.

We are all saying that this is a con (and to be honest it does appear to be) but it could simply be lost. However, I believe the onus is on you.

If you had purchased the item and not received it, even you had said how to send it, wouldn't you expect your money back?

[ILNY]

Would i have had the protection with Recorded Del? What about SD? I understand what you are saying though Chickadee, but i would not have paid with bank tranfer, i'd av went via paypal, but still, if i didnt receive the item, then yeah, id be annoyed and want to know where it was but i'd av got them to send it with SD and insisted it was sent that way more for the inruance incase of damage.

[bednobs]

i think the best you can salvage from this is a learning experience

[pink-kittens]

recorded delivery offers no more insurance than standard post give or take a pound or two

Are you a business seller?

[Ethel]

Recorded delivery is not insurance - you get no more compensation than with ordinary post. All is means is somebody should sign to say they have received it.

I have sent goods many times by first class post that have taken linger than 10 days to arrive so it could genuinely be lost in the post.

If this buyer wanted to scam you, he would have paid by PayPal. He would be guaranteed to get his money back if he tells PayPal he didn't receive the goods and you can't prove he received them (not just posted them).

[jack daniels]

As far as I know Chickadee says you'll only get �36.00 maximum but they won't even give you that because what you sent was worth more in the first place - which you knowingly did & so you don't get anything.

Agree with most answers - they've played you.
recept is not enough.