lost item/herefordshire royal mail problems please help

[radgey gadgey]

Hi , i am new to the forum and really hope someone can shed light on this for me.

I have worked for the royal mail in the past and its the reason i am going to post this to get opinions from experience etc.

Last week, a person from Herefordshire posted out a pair of glasses to me i bought off his ebay site, but unfortunately he claims when he contacted
royal mail regarding the items he posted off to certain customers who complained they hadnt arrived on time (including me) that the advisor told him
there had been a problem with the items in transit suggesting they had been lost/misplaced to wrong office etc etc

He issued me me with a full refund but said that the item still might turn up so let him know if it does, or if it goes back to him he'll let me know, i find it
too good to be true he refunded me if he thinks it still may turn up. He give me a tracking number and on the royal mail site i get the message "COME BACK LATER - Information on your item is not yet available. If the International Signed For® item was posted today please note that the majority of items are tracked during the night. Please try again tomorrow." - So it must be a genuine tracking code he give me, or the system wouldn't recognise it.

i know this is a long winded message but i am just wondering if anyone has ever had a similar experience like this, for example gave up on ever seeing the item but it has eventually ended up turning
up quite a while later against all odds ... i am just quite gutted thats all because it was a rare item i paid a lot of money for, and i wont see another one anywhere again. i'm just wondering if its ever happened that an item took ages in transit causing people to assume they're lost then show up out of the blue?? im still hoping one day the item will turn up but i know i'm deluding myself and im upset it got lost.

any help much appreciated if anyone can share their experience. thanks

[SpacePhoenix]

What town or country was it meant to be going to and what town/area was it sent from?

[radgey gadgey]

it was sent from herefordshire and meant to arrive in middlesbrough

[fishtank]

it was sent from herefordshire and meant to arrive in middlesbrough

Why would it be a International Signed For® item?

[radgey gadgey]

just adds to the mystery i guess ... that is the message it gives me when it comes up off the tracking number the seller on ebay sent me. he appears to have almost 100% good feedback on
all other goods he sells but on this occasion he has lost all these items of which one of mine was a part of.

[mazza111]

What 2 letters do the tracking codes end in? GB is obviously ours, so reckon there may be some kind of mix up

[radgey gadgey]

yes the code begins in RJ followed by eight digits and ends in GB so it must be a proper code

[fishtank]

yes the code begins in RJ followed by eight digits and ends in GB so it must be a proper code

It's not that unusual for a recorded packet to take a week or even longer.
Like you said though...it is unusual for the sender to refund so rapidly,especially as in your own words it was a lot of money...and he is now trusting you.
Something isn't quite right.

[radgey gadgey]

yeah it's really odd, basically both things one being that he trusts they may still arrive with me and give me the money back, then the other that it is a genuine tracking number it
appears. he did claim after he sent them he'd been experiencing problems with the royal mail recently. i thought if i found out on here if anyone had experienced unexplainable delays
in their postage it might've give me that glimmer of hope they'll turn up one day but i know that's more than wishful thinking. i also emailed royal mail last night and they said their customer
service team is now investigating it too so let's see what happens.

still would be glad to hear from anyone else who's had similar problems

[mazza111]

It is a GB number then, not international :/ I wonder if that's something RM states with all recorded items, will check later tonight, have an RD I sent today. If this was an auction site do you think he's claiming it's been sent and then not sending it because it went for less than he wanted?

Remember depending on the weight too, it could have been sent 2nd class recorded. Found this can take 3-5 days, although the few things i've posted using 2nd class Recorded have been delivered the next day 99% of the time

[NewPostieUK]

i find it too good to be true he refunded me if he thinks it still may turn up.

I sell on eBay and I do that. There's not a lot of choice really, eBay usually go in favour of the buyer if an item doesn't turn up. It's the sellers responsibility to refund, the only question is after how long? Royal Mail say an item isn't lost until after 15 working days.

Also, sellers have been known to give tracking codes for completely different items.

I bought a book that 'went missing', and was given a tracking code which showed the item to be 'in the system'. However, the seller claimed to have been able to get another book, and sent that one. Funny how when I blew up the picture from the listing, the creases etc were exactly the same as on my 'other' book. I reckon he just forgot about it, claimed to have sent it, then sent it tow weeks later. Point is that code could be for anything.

[radgey gadgey]

i have just got this email from the royal mail

"Dear Bruce,

Thank you for your email dated 9th June 2011 regarding item number RJ********GB. (obviously ive hidden the numbers for security reasons etc)

I'm sorry however the reference number you have supplied gives us no information. RJ reference numbers are for our service International Signed For. International Signed For is used for sending mail overseas. It would appear that you have been given the wrong reference number. I suggest you confirm the reference number with the sender and then get back to us. Once you have the correct reference number we will be more than happy to check it for you and advise on It's progress."

it appears that we're getting nowhere still, and he hasn't replied yet i messaged him back asking if he can double check the tracking number. such a frustrating situation really. can't help but think he's hiding something, but he sold a whole load of
these items the night i bought it and i am one of only three who left feedback complaining the item went missing still, there was a hell of a lot more of them sold than three and no one else has left anything about them on his feedback still.
i guess all im going to be able to do is just hope they may miraculously turn up one day ha ha but at least he's issued refund. god knows.

[mazza111]

Interesting to know that RJ is international going out of the country :) He's definitely given you the wrong tracking number then. Guessing he's refunded knowing that the paypal rules