A UK-based photographer criticized Royal Mail's services after a lens he sold on eBay arrived "looking like an elephant had trodden on it.”
Jacob Hawkins, 24, was selling his Tamron SP 70-300mm to help him fund new gear and carefully packaged it using polystyrene and bubble wrap.
But a week later, the bad news arrived in the form of photos from his buyer showing the damaged equipment. He lodged a complaint with Royal Mail after having to reimburse the buyer with £200 of his own money. Hawkins claims it took them over a month to acknowledge his complaint.
My best guess is that one of their cars ran it over because if you look at the package you can see the rock indentations down one side where it's been on the floor.
It must have been on the floor because rocks have pressed into it. The whole thing is just smashed to smithereens.
After he finally got a response, he says the company at first refused to cover the costs. It wasn't until the involvement of UK press that they allegedly had a change of heart and offered to reimburse the photographer as a “gesture of goodwill.” Despite a statement issued by Royal Mail, Hawkins says he is still out of pocket two months later.
On the occasions in which Hawkins' equipment arrives safely, he takes some pictures which you can see on Instagram and Facebook.
Images used with permission.
[via Mail Online]
Not impressed. Try insurance.
Royal mail insurance is a joke. It is almost impossible to get any kind of compensations with their insurance. I've had several postage lost and they were all track and signed for and insured, but all I got from them was a Pack of First class stamps (£4 or £5) for £200 an item and there were many more which they just decline the claims even though they were all INSURED. SO Started to send items which priced over £100 with other services such as DHL etc....
I totally agree that you should insure your gear when you send it. But I do think there's a point where if the company totally neglects it and treats it like that....come on. If they lose it, that's another issue (in which case, always insure because they could easily have just "lost" this package before delivering it like that). But still. That's pretty darn neglectful. Putting it in a bag to deliver it was kind of the cherry on top for me. HA!
But also, insurance won't always pay out the full amount, either. That isn't as easy as it might seem/as you would hope. But still better than nothing.
Royal Mail website:
Basic compensation for actual loss:Up to £50 for the Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 9am™ service and £500 for the Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm™ service or the market value whichever is the lower and the fee repaid.
Evidence of posting is required. Claims must be submitted within 80 calendar days of posting. Consequential Loss for up to £10,000 is available to purchase at the time of posting at an additional cost.
Evidence of Consequential Loss purchase is required. Claims must be submitted within 14 days of posting.
All the damaged packaging and contents must be retained and presented to Royal Mail upon request.
So where is the box it was shipped in?
that will buff out for sure.
Hahaahahahahaaa... best snarky comment award! :)
It was insured - it was sent via royal mail's premium Special Delivery', which covers up to £500.
The point here is that they wouldn't pay out for this cover.
Wow! That makes their negligence even more agregious. Gees! And this is why we have the expression... "going postal."
Incidental damage, especially from insufficient packing is one thing, blatant and abusive destruction is another.
This isn't just an "oops, we dropped it" situation. The level of damage, to me, seems to have to be deliberate. A disgruntled postal worker, perhaps?
Insurance/protection-money aside... it seems to me the provider of services would take responsibility for maintaining their reputation for quality.
The sad commentary for me is... it seems working for the government, these days, is permission to avoid responsibility and accountability. Kind of like those who label themselves "anonymous." Derp!
Wow. Comments got heated.
Meh... it's just a Tamron :p
The is why I'm nervous about buying second hand online. : /