iPad repair company - am I screwed?
Discussion
Bought an iPad repair service online from ebay as my child's screen was cracked. I sent it to them with suitable insurance as the 2018 iPad was still valuable enough to warrant the extra cost in shipping. They send back 'Royal Mail Signed For' with tracking. It doesnt arrive. Royal Mail confirm it's status is 'lost' as over 10 working days gone, and to tell the company so can claim and pay me.
Company tell me as I selected 'Royal Mail Signed For service' the compensation is limited to £50. I tell them it's valued at £200, plus their fee of £32, plus my shipping fee of £10 means I'm circa £200 out of pocket. Their response is I should have chosen an alternative shipping method from them. I didnt 'choose' this option per se, I accepted what was the already ticked return option on the page. I assumed (wrongly) this was just a slower service - not a risk. There was no text on their sale page warning of any such risk when using 'Signed For'.
I've asked ebay to step in, but they wont help me as I bought a 'service'. My feeling is when I purchase from ebay, especially from a business , I'd should be able to trust that I'm in safe hands. Looking at feedback on eBay, I'm not the only one.
Is there any kind of Ombudsman/anyone who might be able to step in here? I dont see I've done anything wrong, but am now an iPad down.
Company tell me as I selected 'Royal Mail Signed For service' the compensation is limited to £50. I tell them it's valued at £200, plus their fee of £32, plus my shipping fee of £10 means I'm circa £200 out of pocket. Their response is I should have chosen an alternative shipping method from them. I didnt 'choose' this option per se, I accepted what was the already ticked return option on the page. I assumed (wrongly) this was just a slower service - not a risk. There was no text on their sale page warning of any such risk when using 'Signed For'.
I've asked ebay to step in, but they wont help me as I bought a 'service'. My feeling is when I purchase from ebay, especially from a business , I'd should be able to trust that I'm in safe hands. Looking at feedback on eBay, I'm not the only one.
Is there any kind of Ombudsman/anyone who might be able to step in here? I dont see I've done anything wrong, but am now an iPad down.
If you paid by Paypal you could try going down that route, or chargeback if paid via credit card.
I don't see you getting any compensation past the £50 claim limit. I would suggest that the company doing the repair should eat the cost of the loss, as they were the ones shipping it and they should be the one to claim, but if eBay won't step in then I can't see them paying you out unfortunately.
Just an FYI if you're ever sending anything of value with Royal Mail, choose special delivery.
I don't see you getting any compensation past the £50 claim limit. I would suggest that the company doing the repair should eat the cost of the loss, as they were the ones shipping it and they should be the one to claim, but if eBay won't step in then I can't see them paying you out unfortunately.
Just an FYI if you're ever sending anything of value with Royal Mail, choose special delivery.
You could reasonably say the company did not use the correct service for the value of the item as Signed For has no enhanced compensation. It is really meant for items of no intrinsic value (documents and the like) just so the sender knows they have been delivered.
If they chose to use this inadequate service, they should have to foot the bill when the wheels come off.
If they chose to use this inadequate service, they should have to foot the bill when the wheels come off.
Silverage said:
If they chose to use this inadequate service, they should have to foot the bill when the wheels come off.
They didn't choose it; technically, the OP agreed to it. However, he is aware of different levels of cover, witness 'I sent it to them with suitable insurance as the 2018 iPad was still valuable enough to warrant the extra cost in shipping.' It seems that when it came to the return delivery options, he may have overlooked this fact, eg to save a few £.We've all sent stuff through the post with less cover than its value. This time unfortunately it didn't pay off.
I think the OP is dependent on goodwill to recover more than £50.
Simpo Two said:
They didn't choose it; technically, the OP agreed to it. However, he is aware of different levels of cover, witness 'I sent it to them with suitable insurance as the 2018 iPad was still valuable enough to warrant the extra cost in shipping.' It seems that when it came to the return delivery options, he may have overlooked this fact, eg to save a few £.
We've all sent stuff through the post with less cover than its value. This time unfortunately it didn't pay off.
I think the OP is dependent on goodwill to recover more than £50.
Technically yes perhaps, but IMO it should not have been available as a choice, as the cover was not appropriate. Sure, include in for items worth less, but any iPad must worth more than £50 - especially after a £40 fix. Maybe this limited cover is common knowledge - but I didnt know. I thought it was just a slower service. I've spent money on sending it, fixing it, and now losing it.We've all sent stuff through the post with less cover than its value. This time unfortunately it didn't pay off.
I think the OP is dependent on goodwill to recover more than £50.
Just had a reply from them:
"We've been using this postage option for years now, very very rare we've had a parcel lost but unfortunately looks to be the case here. Will recommend to include the compensation details of the courier but we've never had to nor has it been an issue as it's always been common knowledge really. I would definitely initiate a claim with Royal Mail, understandable it doesn't cover its value but it's better than I suppose - let us know if you need anything from our side for this"
..not acknowledging my earlier message re potential use of the Money Claim online process suggested earlier on here (Thanks btw).
They guy does seem genuine, however I've just out here and feel it's not right. I really hate this kind of stuff.. he's probably a small business with a small turnover.. but (IMO) this is his bad...
trashbat said:
It will possibly come back to you at some point. My wife had this with a return she sent, went missing for months, Royal Mail paid out the £50. Eventually it did get delivered to the addressee.
The repairer reckoned:"if you claim and you are paid out, when your item does arrive at your local sorting office to post - it will just be incinerated"
Not true then??
Might be worth a very brief chat with a solicitor.
Obviously if you order a TV from John Lewis and it never arrives, John Lewis can't say "well the delivery service you chose only compensates £50." They might well be able to only claim £50 but it's their problem, not yours.
I have no idea how this all applies to private sales, but I would think that it's surely similar? You have contracted a company to fix your device and then return it to you.
Obviously if you order a TV from John Lewis and it never arrives, John Lewis can't say "well the delivery service you chose only compensates £50." They might well be able to only claim £50 but it's their problem, not yours.
I have no idea how this all applies to private sales, but I would think that it's surely similar? You have contracted a company to fix your device and then return it to you.
EdT said:
The repairer reckoned:
"if you claim and you are paid out, when your item does arrive at your local sorting office to post - it will just be incinerated"
Not true then??
Definitely not universal. It never showed up as delivered on tracking but the recipient let us know they'd eventually got it. It was two months late. It was a bespoke item of clothing."if you claim and you are paid out, when your item does arrive at your local sorting office to post - it will just be incinerated"
Not true then??
Simpo Two said:
They didn't choose it; technically, the OP agreed to it. However, he is aware of different levels of cover, witness 'I sent it to them with suitable insurance as the 2018 iPad was still valuable enough to warrant the extra cost in shipping.' It seems that when it came to the return delivery options, he may have overlooked this fact, eg to save a few £.
You 'technically' agree to any delivery service when you order online.It makes absolutely no difference regarding your rights.
Paddymcc said:
Could it have been selected by Royal Mail for further x-rays or investigation?
I know they were stopping batteries being posted in the mail, so they were redirected to another depot and then opened and junked.
The iPad will x-ray and look like a large battery.
No it won't, and packages within the UK are not X-rayedI know they were stopping batteries being posted in the mail, so they were redirected to another depot and then opened and junked.
The iPad will x-ray and look like a large battery.
EdT said:
Technically yes perhaps, but IMO it should not have been available as a choice, as the cover was not appropriate.
But you said earlier:'
EdT said:
Their response is I should have chosen an alternative shipping method from them. I didnt 'choose' this option per se, I accepted what was the already ticked return option on the page.
That suggests there was another option to choose, and if one was ticked, there must have been others to tick - or there'd have been no need to have a tick in anything...Good luck in your quest
Simpo Two said:
That suggests there was another option to choose, and if one was ticked, there must have been others to tick - or there'd have been no need to have a tick in anything...
Good luck in your quest
Yup there was 1 other option, which IMO should have been the ONLY delivery service offered (Spec delivery). The page defaulted to the other one, so I just sent with it..Good luck in your quest
randlemarcus said:
Item lost in their possession, their issue.
Argue a bit more, if no good, letter before action, and MoneyClaim online.
This one?Argue a bit more, if no good, letter before action, and MoneyClaim online.
https://www.moneyclaims.service.gov.uk/
EdT said:
Yup there was 1 other option, which IMO should have been the ONLY delivery service offered (Spec delivery). The page defaulted to the other one, so I just sent with it..
You didn't send it. They sent it, so they say, although maybe they packed it badly and it fell out, who knows. If it was me, even after ticking "signed for", I'd be doing the "letter before action" and moneyclaim route against them definitely. And forget any moral qualms you have about them maybe being a small business, I'm sure they do ok out of it.
Had a falling out with a smallish online shop over this, I picked the cheapest shipping option as I wasn't in a hurry but it never turned up. Asked them to refund or replace after 6 weeks and got a stroppy "well, you chose the option with no insurance, nothing we can do" response. Er, no. At least I could chargeback on my credit card for that one.
In this case as they sent it, they need to claim the compensation, not you - and unless they made clear upfront that it would be sent back on a £50 max compensation service I'd go the small claims route. They had your item and failed to get it back to you.
In this case as they sent it, they need to claim the compensation, not you - and unless they made clear upfront that it would be sent back on a £50 max compensation service I'd go the small claims route. They had your item and failed to get it back to you.
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