Should i send this guy his money back?

[m3jappa]

Just before Christmas i sent a battery and tray and a strut brace to a guy in Ireland. It cost a fortune in postage costs.

He received the strut brace but after a while it became evident the battery has got lost, i have been corresponding with the post office who have been no help and either way it was insured for just £30 ( i didnt realise that at the time)

Anyway i said i would refund his money ( i am not a shop this was a second hand item off my car), however after thinking about it i have offered to pay £100 back of the £150 he sent, i have said that when you buy second hand off the net there is a risk involved for both the buyer and sender.
I,ll be gutted to send the lot back, techincally he could have received it but say he hasnt, i don't think thats the case but....

He has been very reasonable throughout the whole thing.

Should i send the whole lot back ? Bearing in mind i have sent out a £220 nearly new battery kit and its gone missing.

[Dick_Phallus]

I think refunding him all his money is the technically right thing to do, but I don't think it's outrageous if you only refunded him part either.

[Tycho]

I would be pissed as a customer if I paid for something and didn't get it. At the very least, you should have sent it recorded and insured for the proper amount.

Personally I think the buyer is entitled to his money back.

[TheEnd]

A car battery?
They were prohibited items last time i checked, they need to be in some original manufacturers packaging

[Jonny_]

Since he got the strut brace I think a partial refund is fair.

[payner2008]

TheEnd said:

A car battery?
They were prohibited items last time i checked, they need to be in some original manufacturers packaging

exactly, explosive and flammable items cannot be posted, I remember when i was working in a parts dept, i got in trouble for trying to post a touch-up stick to someone.

[m3jappa]

TheEnd said:

A car battery?
They were prohibited items last time i checked, they need to be in some original manufacturers packaging

Its a sealed battery and was never questioned.

It cost £40 to send the bloody thing, i should have used parcel2go but they wanted £26 so i asked my dad to take it down the post office and send it 2nd class, thinking it would be less, bless my dad he just sent it and paid over £40 so it ended up costing more with no tracking number.

tbh i think i,ll just send the whole lot, i cant be bothered to argue as he doesnt want to negotiate. Shame but i,ve learnt my lesson, i will never send out of the UK again without tracking numbers.

[m3jappa]

I,m pretty certain my dad said it was a sealed battery and they were ok, i do wonder though that when it went further down the line it got stopped.

They can be sent, i know as i received 3 in the post the other day from tayna batteries.

[solidsingh]

the mistake was not insuring it for the correct amount

i think you should refund the money

[stuthemong]

To be honest you should give the buyer the option of postage.

If they decide they don't want to pay extra for tracked/insured delivery, that is their risk, not yours.

As it stands if he paid you money for the goods delivered, then you have failed to do that so should refund whatever he 'didn't' get IMO, but keep money for the brace.

[mouk786]

stuthemong said:

To be honest you should give the buyer the option of postage.

If they decide they don't want to pay extra for tracked/insured delivery, that is their risk, not yours.

As it stands if he paid you money for the goods delivered, then you have failed to do that so should refund whatever he 'didn't' get IMO, but keep money for the brace.

I agree, if they want something posted that is quite expensive give them the choice

If you failed to send it properly then I would refund everythign he paid, minus the cost of anything he recieved.

[The Riddler]

payner2008 said:

TheEnd said:

A car battery?
They were prohibited items last time i checked, they need to be in some original manufacturers packaging

exactly, explosive and flammable items cannot be posted, I remember when i was working in a parts dept, i got in trouble for trying to post a touch-up stick to someone.

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?mediaI...

Used car batteries is on the list.

[bluetone]

Put yourself in his shoes for a moment (assuming he is being straight) pay the man what he's due for the battery. I wouldn't be surprised if it were stopped by the P.O. as being an unsafe consignment.

[CatherineJ]

Part refund. It should have been sent via Special Delivery.

[Alfanatic]

Yeah refund him for the battery but not the brace. If he insists on a 100% refund and you're not happy about it ask him to send the brace back, or just take it on the chin if you run out of bothered.

[AMCDan]

i once posted a right hand tank for a mini to belfast... all wrapped up in brown paper and it still stank of fuel.

Nobody said anything about it and it arrived at its destination 2 days later!

[NiceCupOfTea]

Alfanatic said:

if you run out of bothered.

[Tiggsy]

when you buy something you expect it to arrive....the postage is YOUR issue - i never ask if they want insurance, i add it myself everytime. You need to refund the lot.

[sjg]

stuthemong said:

To be honest you should give the buyer the option of postage.

If they decide they don't want to pay extra for tracked/insured delivery, that is their risk, not yours.

As it stands if he paid you money for the goods delivered, then you have failed to do that so should refund whatever he 'didn't' get IMO, but keep money for the brace.

It's always the seller's responsibility to ensure the item gets there, and if it's value exceeds the amount that RM offer as compensation then just don't offer that delivery method.

If it did go missing, the buyer has no way of getting that compensation from RM (or whoever else) as they weren't the one who paid for the service.

I'm having an interesting discussion at the moment over this with a proper web shop that seems to think that because a customer picks First Class over Recorded or Special Delivery they can throw their hands up and say "not my problem, you didn't want insurance" when the order fails to turn up 6 weeks on.

[Jasandjules]

I think you unfortunately owe him the refund for the battery.

Live and learn, always insure stuff when you send it Royal Mail (IME sending items via RM is like playing roulette)...