Hypothetical problem

[brianusa]

We are all familiar with the need to send away for parts for our trains.  My source is a respected UK dealer in tinplate parts and an order was placed nearly a month ago and paid via PayPal.  Up to now the parts have not arrived and even at this time of year, it only takes about a week or so for the post from the UK.  These  parts are very small and would fit in a padded envelope and as there is no customs on an item like this, its not being held up at this end.

 

I don't know if there is a way of finding out as there would be no tracing involved but contacting the seller might be fraught with a "he said, he said" situation; the only proof is a record of my payment and if its lost in the post, how do we know and who's to blame.  Are there ever satisfactory endings to this kind of problem?

 

Brian.

[Jeff Smith]

Years ago I bought a second hand out of print large format book from a book seller in the UK. The envelope arrived but one end was open and it was empty.... I contacted the seller and as they had no second copy they refunded my money. I ended up buying a more expensive example from another seller.

[brigo]

In this situation the first thing to do is contact the seller. Has he dispatched the item, if so when and by what means (airmail or slow boat). I don't know the rules governing international transactions, but here in the UK the seller has only completed the contract when the buyer has received the item. The seller can't blame the post, courier or whoever, that's up to the seller to sort out.

 

Brian

[timbowilts]

Brian, in your favor is the fact that you paid using Paypal.

 

I have used their dispute resolution system in the past, albeit not with an international transaction, and that worked

 

Tim T

[Andy Mac]

We are all familiar with the need to send away for parts for our trains.  My source is a respected UK dealer in tinplate parts and an order was placed nearly a month ago and paid via PayPal.  Up to now the parts have not arrived and even at this time of year, it only takes about a week or so for the post from the UK.  These  parts are very small and would fit in a padded envelope and as there is no customs on an item like this, its not being held up at this end.

 

I don't know if there is a way of finding out as there would be no tracing involved but contacting the seller might be fraught with a "he said, he said" situation; the only proof is a record of my payment and if its lost in the post, how do we know and who's to blame.  Are there ever satisfactory endings to this kind of problem?

 

Brian.

I’d maybe wait another week or two till the new year.... i’ve Ordered stuff before that’s in stock, and it gets dispatched at the same time and arrives weeks apart in Australia..

If you didn’t pay for a courier and we’re relying on Royal Mail, then it’ll take longer... or if you haven’t specified air mail, it’s quite possible it’s been sent surface mail. Now if it’s small and been sent surface mail, then if there is space on the air freight side, then sometimes it’ll be put into the airmail system. There are so many mail/parcels in the system at this time of year and the slow down is unavoidable.....i’ve Got three parcels all ordered 1st December still to arrive from the Uk, but i’m Not concerned...

[Guest teacupteacup]

I'd contact the seller and let them know that the items haven't arrived yet, but you'll wait until after the new year to see if the turn up.

 

Do so in a friendly manner and I'm sure they'll be willing to sort things out if they have gone missing.

[Spitfire2865]

Im not sure how you get UK mail to WA in a week but I cant get it to NY in less than 2...

Ive certainly had my fair share of mailing mishaps and delays.  Especially around the holidays.  I say give it until after the mad rush of Christmas is over and if it hasnt still shown up, contact the seller to inquire exactly when it was shipped. 

Ive been bitten by sellers even here in the states where they claim it was mailed, however when I chase them around and finally get it delivered, the postmark clearly states it had been shipped only after I threw a stink about it.  

[brianusa]

There's a happy ending to this tale.  The parts finally arrived, took a month, there was a note from USPS about how sorry they were for the delay but there was no problem otherwise.  The dealer in the meantime would replace the parts if necessary, not required in this case but a good response which could be echoed by those who don't care as much for overseas business.

So, Happy New Year!

Brian.

[Guest teacupteacup]

There's a happy ending to this tale.  The parts finally arrived, took a month, there was a note from USPS about how sorry they were for the delay but there was no problem otherwise.  The dealer in the meantime would replace the parts if necessary, not required in this case but a good response which could be echoed by those who don't care as much for overseas business.

So, Happy New Year!

Brian.

Thats a great outcome, both for you by receiving the parts, and your confidence in the seller should items go astray in future