Royal Mail lost my £4,000 watch but it won’t refund me

I immediately made my claim to Royal Mail for loss of the contents of my package. Since then I have contacted the company about 28 times to try to get this resolved, but the service I have received is dreadful: every time I promptly supply the information it asks for, but then get complete silence.

It has been three months since I raised my claim but Royal Mail has not settled it. At one point it even closed my case without consulting me. Only after a lengthy discussion over the phone did it reopen it.

It’s now October and I have had no explanation of why my claim has not been settled, only excuses and requests for further information. Each time I call Royal Mail I am waiting on hold for at least 30 minutes, but no one seems to be able to give me any answers about why my claim is taking so long.

This is not a small amount of money so it has been incredibly stressful. I feel I am being fobbed off and that Royal Mail is avoiding paying my claim due to its value.
David, address supplied

• I sold my £4,000 diamond earrings through Hewi. Where’s my money?

Katherine Denham writes

With Royal Mail dragging its heels, you had been forced to dip into your savings to support your son, making this delay even more frustrating.

Royal Mail’s special delivery service only covers items up to £750 if they get lost or damaged on the way to their destination, so it was a good idea to take out extra cover.

When there’s an issue with a delivery, it’s wise to contact the courier as soon as possible — the quicker you flag it, the sooner it can investigate and the more likely it will be to get to the bottom of what’s happened (although sadly in your case Royal Mail has now confirmed that the watch is lost). It’s also a good idea to take photos of the inside and outside of the parcel before you send it, with the label clearly displayed, and keep a copy of the proof of postage.

You had done all the right things and eBay had helpfully sent you photos as evidence of how the package arrived. When I spoke to eBay it said the parcel was opened on the day it arrived, but had nothing in it. It said the issue must have occurred before the parcel reached its office. Even though the box was empty, eBay sent it back to you, which it said was standard procedure.

This all seemed to suggest that the parcel had been tampered with at some point during its journey to eBay, which was very worrying and raises questions over the security of parcels that are in Royal Mail’s care. Royal Mail told me that this was a rare situation and that it delivers more than a billion parcels every year without incident.

Yet I could see no reason why it still had not paid you, especially when it usually settles claims within 30 days. It’s normal for companies to ask for evidence before paying a claim, but each time you provided the information it asked for, you said there was yet another thing it needed.

Royal Mail explained that some of the photos you had supplied weren’t sufficient, which is why it had asked for more. It also wanted evidence that you had refunded your buyer and proof of how much you originally paid for the watch. Plus, it told me that it has been dealing with a high volume of queries, which slowed things down further.

I still didn’t think a three-month delay was acceptable and thankfully within a few days of my involvement it settled your claim, giving you the full £2,500. It has also refunded the £20.35 you paid for postage.

Royal Mail said: “We have reached a settlement with the customer for the agreed compensation amount. We sincerely apologise for their experience, which is not representative of our usual high standards of service.”

You said: “Without your intervention, I doubt I would have achieved this outcome, so I really appreciate your help.”

You were still left with a £1,611 shortfall, which you said you could ill afford. Many delivery companies have a maximum £2,500 protection limit but there are also firms that specialise in parcel insurance, which could be worth considering next time you send a high-value item. Make sure you read the terms, though, because these insurance policies often have restrictions on the type of items that are covered and they might only cover you in certain situations, such as sending items directly to the buyer.

British Gas is chasing my late father for £150

After my father died last year I told his energy supplier, British Gas, and gave my contact details. When his house was sold in March I provided the final meter readings. British Gas told me there was a £754.84 debt on his account, which I paid. I was told there was no more owed.

But a month later it sent a final bill for £150.19. This was really frustrating because by this point my father’s estate had been settled.

I complained to British Gas from my own email address, but it continued to send emails to my father, despite me telling the company that his email address was no longer in use. I only know this because the company sent letters that said emails to my father kept bouncing back.

The people I’ve spoken to at British Gas seem to have a lack of respect and empathy; one of the agents called me by my father’s name and wished me a happy Tuesday, which seemed highly inappropriate considering I had made it clear that I was talking about my late father’s account.

I then went to the ombudsman, which upheld my complaint and told British Gas to credit his account with £150.19 to bring the balance to zero, but it still hasn’t done this. Since then it has sent another two letters which, yet again, say it has emailed my father. These letters arrived just before the anniversary of his death, which was the final straw that broke me. I really just want to close the account and not have to spend any more precious time sorting this out.

Is there anything you can do to get British Gas to wake up to the distress it is causing?
Sara, London

Katherine Denham writes

The way British Gas has treated you after the loss of your father is inexcusable and I was appalled that you were still in battle with the company after so many months.

Many companies have specialist teams to give extra support to bereaved family members and should ensure requests like yours are dealt with quickly, yet it didn’t sound like British Gas had supported you at all. Instead it seemed to cause you a lot of unnecessary stress.

It turned out that when you had called British Gas to settle your father’s account, the adviser had incorrectly said everything was paid, when actually there was £150.19 outstanding on the electricity account. That was the first of several mistakes made by British Gas and, rather than quickly fixing its mess, it let the issue fester, prompting you to escalate your complaint to the ombudsman.

• British Gas left my 94-year-old neighbour in tears

Once the ombudsman’s decision has been accepted by the customer, companies have 28 days to implement the remedies and when you contacted me, British Gas was still within that limit.

Thankfully with my involvement it quickly credited your father’s account with £150.19. I didn’t think that went far enough and the company has now offered you £250 compensation, which you accepted.

British Gas said: “We’re sorry for the customer service experienced by Sara and for not putting this right sooner. We’ve updated the account details and have offered a goodwill gesture.”

• £1,949,829 — the amount Your Money Matters has saved readers so far this year

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