Last July I purchased a £250 vintage guitar on eBay for a forthcoming concert tour. When it failed to arrive I contacted the seller and he sent me the tracking information which read, "delivered to neighbour, 3 August". Odd, as I'd been in all day.
I phoned the delivery firm, Yodel, to establish which neighbour as no card had been left, and was told it was signed for by "Sean" at number 20. There's no Sean at number 20 and number 20 hadn't taken in a package. I then discovered a courier card wedged in the door of my utility cupboard underneath the stairs to our front door. It said the parcel had been left in the bin. The rubbish had been collected several days earlier.
I opened a case with eBay against the seller, but was refused a refund as the seller had provided tracking information. EBay advised me to contact Yodel for a refund. Yodel admitted that no signature had been obtained for the delivery after all, but told me I should contact the seller regarding reimbursement.
So, not only has Yodel delivered something to a rubbish bin but it has then fabricated tracking information which has enabled the seller to get out of reimbursing me. EBay just went with the seller, pretty much ignoring the evidence I provided. CC, London
It is no surprise that a recent survey by Moneysavingexpert ranks Yodel bottom of delivery firms, with 58% of polled customers unhappy with its service.
Customers, of course, have no control over which firms traders choose to deliver their purchases and, since it's the trader who has the contract with the delivery firm, not the buyer, the latter is powerless to seek redress directly from a courier if they foul up.
EBay was wrong to rely on such evidently inadequate tracking information and wrong to direct you to Yodel, when the seller should have refunded you and claimed compensation from the courier company. EBay seems to have a tenuous grasp of contract law, and still absolves itself of all responsibility for failing to help you. However, the press office, when I contacted it, immediately wrested a refund off Yodel.
Yodel says it takes disciplinary action when misconduct is discovered and that the driver in question has left the company. Although its contract is with the seller, it has decided to refund you the cost of the guitar directly because of the "inconvenience" you've suffered and has also delved into its coffers for a dramatic £20 goodwill gesture!
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number. Please note that only a small number of letters can be selected for publication and Anna cannot respond to individual correspondents.
