Multiple Royal Mail packages not arriving to Canada?

[obsequies89]

Since March I have had 3 (THREE!) orders in a row from the UK go mia. All different sellers, all different items. I frequently order fabrics and other items from the UK because I find the shipping to be amazingly fast and not horrifically expensive. There hasn't been any issues before this, but now three in a row haven't arrived, and I'm getting quite concerned.

Orders from March 12th, and March 19th never arrived and both sellers have already responded. Both were professional, one refunded me right away (even though I was happy at that point if they would have resent), the other said they had resent me another order. The March 19th item was resent around the same time I contacted the seller about it, and this was April 26th. While I know that one MIGHT still arrive, even it seems quite late now...but I'm holding out a sad hope -.-

The latest order was a month to this day, April 16th. Nothing. I still have to contact this seller about it, but...at this point I feel like sellers are going to start getting suspicious of me and I feel very hesitant to order anything at all from out of the country at this rate. I absolutely HATE having to contact sellers about lost items because it just makes me feel bad/guilty even though I did nothing wrong.

Is there something going on with Royal Mail? Has anyone else had issues recently?

Before this I had an order from Feb. 24th that arrived business as usual. So what the heck?

Also, nothing has changed as far as my address or anything, though I still reconfirmed all my information was correct. I've had orders from Canada arrive just fine, so I know my address hasn't somehow gotten mixed up on my account. Frustrated.

[femmefan1946]

The seller who refunded you did the right thing.

When the parcel does arrive, you can return the refund using Paypal's Send Money service. Include the eBay transaction number for her records and of course a polite note.

If you cannot leave feedback, you can add a Response to any feedback either you or she left earlier, indefinitely. 'Arrived 25/12/2017" for example.

the other said they had resent me another order.

Since you don't say it has arrived, and since this is a common scam, although usually with cheap items from Asia, it is time to open an Item Not Received(INR)  Dispute and get a refund.

NEVER accept an offer of a replacement. It usually will not arrive either since neither it nor the original was ever sent.

April 16th. Nothing. I still have to contact this seller about it, but...

Contact her. If she does not give you either a refund or a tracking number promptly, open the INR Dispute.

it just makes me feel bad/guilty even though I did nothing wrong.

 You didn't.

and there is a reasonable chance that two of your sellers are scamming you.

Protect your...self.

This is a boilerplate that I put together because I was typing it out three or four times a day. Which sounds like a lot until you realize that eBay handles over 140 MILLION transactions every day.

Most people are honest.

Not all of this will apply directly to you.

You have 30 days after that 'last estimated date for arrival' to open a Dispute with eBay's Resolution Centre, which is at the bottom of this page.
The first suggestion is to Contact the Seller. Don’t get into a conversation.
Just ask “When was this sent? What service was used? What is the tracking number?”
Don’t get into a conversation. You want either a prompt refund OR a tracking number that shows the purchase is in Canada.
Do NOT accept a replacement. It won’t arrive.
Do NOT close the Dispute until you have the product or the refund.
If you have already attempted to Contact the Seller,  skip that step, ask eBay to step in and Escalate to a Claim.
If the seller cannot prove Delivery (not shipping, delivery) you will be refunded.
 
If the 30 days have passed, go to your Paypal account.
You have 180 days from payment for this Dispute.
Find the transaction and copy the number.
The PP Resolution Centre is at the top of your PP account page under Tools
Same process basically, skip the Contact Seller and escalate to a Claim.
If the seller cannot prove Delivery (not shipping, delivery) you will be refunded.
 
In future, read the feedback.
Don't buy from sellers with less than 98% positive (99% for Asian sellers)
Read the negative feedback , including seller responses, for patterns like slow or no delivery, poor communication, low quality, counterfeits.
 

[obsequies89]

Thanks for the reply.

The thing is, the seller who resent the item is one who I HAVE ordered from before, and received the order quickly, as stated, and the seller was very nice. They have good feedback and I've been reading the feedback to see if others have had this issue, and so far they seem legit. However, I DID ask for a refund on this one as it's been so long I have since purchased the same items elsewhere since I needed them sooner.

The most recent seller I am contacting right at this moment.

It's just concerning that this has happened three times in a row, all from the same country, all different sellers, and even a seller I have purchased from previously without issue.

[Anonymous]

Any items I ordered from UK usually arrived faster than Canada Post send to USA!

[femmefan1946]

That's been my experience too.

I usually allow 20 days for delivery from anywhere in Norh America but only about 10 for delivery from Europe. And for China, it may not be fair with the current 'fentanyl/UPU" situation, but 30 days is the limit of my patience.

[obsequies89]

That's usually the case for me, which is why I order from there when possible. It's just very unusual for 3 in a row not to make it here. That's why I'm wondering if this is an isolated thing (ie just me...-.-) or if others have been having issues as well.

I was just refunded from the seller who said they resent the order, and it still didn't arrive. I feel bad for asking, because I did get a good order from them before and they are always quick to reply, very helpful.

I'm just very frustrated right now -.-

[obsequies89]

China stuff is the worst. I pretty much expect it not to get here for a couple months, if at all -.-

[vintagenorth]

If it happens again, I would contact your local postmaster and have a talk with them about the problem. Not at a Shoppers type post office but at a real Canada Post location. Theft does occasionally happen, unfortunately. I believe there is a CP ombudsman as well that you can contact if you get no help initially. Good luck!

[obsequies89]

I'm actually in a very small town so I know the post ladies quite well, and it is an official Canada Post not any kind of Shoppers/outlet. I know it's not an issue at the actual post office here, but who knows what can happen all along the way. You just never know what works might have sticky fingers.


UPDATE:
March 12th: Still no sign of it 😞
March 19th: The re-send from the seller FINALLY arrived! I'm actually relieved that at least SOMETHING got here. They had recently refunded me, and I have since repaid for it.
3rd Order: Seller says they shipped it the next day, and they claim they are re-sending with a required signature.

[evatavare1]

Hi there, I know I'm replying a month late, but have you had any update on your packages? I ordered a couple things from a company that ships using Royal Mail (not from this site actually, I found the thread on google) and it's going on almost 3 weeks and they still haven't shown up yet. I've ordered from them many times before and this has never been an issue. The second package was actually ordered a few days after the first, and the fact that both appear to be missing or severely delayed is making me think there's some larger issue here than simple theft or misplacement, but I really don't know for sure.