Rules re: Special Delivery Signature

[alfablue]

I was sent an expensive Gore-Tex jacket by Special Delivery, unfortunately the e-tailer sent it to my old address, a building of 4 flats with a shared front door.

Track and Trace shows the item as delivered however there is not proof of signature available (it is now 5 days since delivery). I have 2 questions:

1) I can't find the rules on SPecial Delivery signatures, can anyone sign for it? (I am annoyed a resident signed when they would know I don't live there).
2) If there is no proof of signature, is it possible there was none, and would a claim be successful on that basis?

(by the way, I haven't lived there for over a year, and it is too far away to call round.The etailer says they have to get the jacket back first. They dispute that I gave them the correct address, I did, and can prove it, but I am reluctant to get too heavy handed in the first instance).

I would be very grateful for your advice.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I was sent an expensive Gore-Tex jacket by Special Delivery, unfortunately the e-tailer sent it to my old address, a building of 4 flats with a shared front door.

Track and Trace shows the item as delivered however there is not proof of signature available (it is now 5 days since delivery). I have 2 questions:

1) I can't find the rules on SPecial Delivery signatures, can anyone sign for it? (I am annoyed a resident signed when they would know I don't live there).

Anyone at the address as displayed on the Special Delivery can sign for it. Officially (at the moment anyway) it should not be passed on to neighbours etc.

2) If there is no proof of signature, is it possible there was none, and would a claim be successful on that basis?

Possible but only if there was an actually delivery failure caused by a Royal Mail employee or no signature was obtained on delivery. However, it is usually the sender, not the receiver that claims.

There is a further scenario that may have occurred. It may be that when the postie attempted delivery it was refused by the occupant. If it was a walking postie rather than a van driver it may have been scanned by the office as delivered, this should not have happened. In this case the item may will be on its way back to the sender but the normal time limits do not apply for items being returned.

(by the way, I haven't lived there for over a year, and it is too far away to call round.The etailer says they have to get the jacket back first. They dispute that I gave them the correct address, I did, and can prove it, but I am reluctant to get too heavy handed in the first instance).
I would be very grateful for your advice.

I would go in heavy handed if you can prove they made the mistake as IIRC under the Distance Selling regulations http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000 ... tents/made" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; they are responsible for ensuring you get the item, even if they are an ebay seller operating from a bedsit the rules still apply. If you made the mistake then it would be best to come to a reasonable solution between you.

[alfablue]

Many thanks for the info TrueBlue.

If the other scenario is as you suggest, how would we know if it is on the way back? Is there a way to tell?

On the final point, my problem is that it is a warranty replacement of a jacket several years old, and also they upgraded me to one costing £50 more so I am not covered by distance selling regs (I don't think) or Sale of Goods Act (I don't think). Ultimately though,they did mess up

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Many thanks for the info TrueBlue.

If the other scenario is as you suggest, how would we know if it is on the way back? Is there a way to tell?

Hopefully at some point it will be scanned somewhere and the status will change. In fact if you are on Twitter you could tweet Royal Mail - they have an audit tracking system that can se the whole history rather than just the last scan - they may have more information.

On the final point, my problem is that it is a warranty replacement of a jacket several years old, and also they upgraded me to one costing £50 more so I am not covered by distance selling regs (I don't think) or Sale of Goods Act (I don't think). Ultimately though,they did mess up

I am not a lawyer but you may still be covered from the original item.