LR recommend you send by Registered Post whereas you sent by Signed For, which is different. Nevertheless, as I said earlier, your best weapon is the threat of bad publicity. No company should be able to get away with this, because it will happen again to someone else if they do. Write to LR first, since you have a receipt signed by someone apparently at LR, we know not who, so they seem to have received the item back. Use the address kindly given above and I agree, a list of dates, times, copies of receipts and anything else relevant. What you need to do is to shut down all avenues they have for arguing that they haven't received it. As far as you and RM are concerned, the item is back with LR, no matter who signed for it, and that is the basis of your complaint. What I generally do in a letter of complaint is write all the facts first, in order as they happened, then a list of concerns and questions, and lastly the promise (not a threat) of publicising your concerns, whether you choose to go public or not. This has worked for me in the past and I've even had a letter of apology from the Chief Executive of a Health Service, which they know could lead to legal action on my part, but they couldn't argue with facts.
The publicity is working already. I'm pretty shocked and disappointed with LR. They should refund you and take it up themselves with RM if the signature isn't valid.
I think you can return items via Signed For or Special Delivery so I told the PO counter person what I had as he always asks the content and value. He should have suggested something better if it wasn't enough to cover a loss. In addition, I feel that the value should be covered no matter what the item is. If RM won't cover jewellery under SF then the PO should say so at the counter. That way the sender would know to do another method.
I wasn't even aware that there is a variation of SF ... I thought tracking was tracking but apparently not? My receipt has the number, and in RM's letter to me declining the claim, it refers to the package as being a 'trackable mail item'. After looking once more at my letter and documentation before sending off to RM Customer Care Centre, I noticed that the address keyed into the receipt says 4 along with the Postcode. But LR's address is 4.7-8 Chandelier Building, 8 Scrubs Lane, etc. I wonder if that could make a difference as to where it could be delivered? I put the full address (copied and pasted) onto a printed label so as to lessen any misreadings due to possible "bad" handwriting on my part. You know, don't want a 5 to look like a 6 or 8. I'm not familiar with London buildings so don't know if that would a make a wrong delivery easy. Hubby says to rewrite the letter to RM and include this point.
I've been looking at the LR website and under Shipping and Returns it says: and this is beside the point.
Uk Delivery
Our standard UK delivery is free over £50 or £3.98 for Royal Mail Recorded Delivery and takes 3-5 working days.
Does this mean that if you purchase £50 or more in one order that you get 'free shipping'? Maybe I am not understanding this correctly because on this order in question I purchased more than £50 worth of merchandise (even with the two that I wanted to return) and was still charged P&P. If I should have received Free P&P on this order, I am really letting the vendor get away with it. Usually I am good at calling out this sort of thing, I chase after P&P under DSR with QVC (but I must say I don't like confrontation, it makes me uncomfortable. That's why I asked for advice here.) -- why offer Free P&P for orders over £50, if you still charge them for it. So I must have misunderstood this offer.
LR wrote via email that this is not the name of anyone who works for LR or in the building management at their distribution centre. In addition, LR say that RM were not able to give any more info about the address the package was delivered to.
For LR the amount I am out is the cost of one of their bracelets or less expensive necklaces. What if there is something going on at RM delivery or even at LR and this happens to others? It could simply be a one off, it could have been delivered to the wrong address and the person simply accepted delivery rather than saying it's not mine, you're at the wrong address and refuses delivery. I included a return label with my name on it, so it could make its way back to me, if there was a problem. So far no such luck.
Thank you for your advice. I am taking all on board. I thought I'd first go back to RM, see what their response is regarding my appeal and then let LR know what RM says. If RM were to reimburse my loss, I will still contact LR and let them know how I feel.
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