Recorded delivery

[evilclive]

If you've read through this forum, you'll know that if a buyer complains that an item has not arrived, Paypal will automatically refund his money unless you can prove delivery (not just that it's been posted).

Good practice would seem to be always to insist on sending items by recorded delivery, and to increase the postage fee by 100p to cover your expenses.

An alternative is to refund the buyer, and claim back the money from Royal Mail. Provided you have proof of postage, they will compensate you for a lost or damaged package, up to 100 times the value of a first class stamp (currently 32 pounds).

You can ask for a certificate of posting in the post office, when you post the package. This certificate is free, and is good enough to prove that you've posted the item, if you ever need to claim for its loss from Royal Mail.

The only advantage of paying 68p extra for recorded delivery is that you get the recipient's signature at the end of it. The compensation limit is exactly the same. If your item is worth more than 32 pounds, you would need to use Special Delivery to have it insured for its full value (up to 500, 1000 or 2200 pounds.)

Royal Mail can take a few weeks to process your claim and send you back your money, but in my experience they do not try to wriggle out of their obligations, in the way that Paypal clearly do.