Can I get Royal Mail to pay for a gift I sent to my sister in Scotland that never arrived? DEAN DUNHAM answers

I sent a gift to my sister in Scotland, but it never arrived. It was not sent by registered mail, but I do have the receipt from the post office. Can I get my money and the cost of the gift back?

SJ, Bournemouth.

Dean Dunham replies: The answer to this question should basically be: yes, you can indeed get your money back.

That’s because the Consumer Rights Act says that when you buy a service – in this case the delivery of a package – it must be provided with ‘reasonable care and skill’, and this was clearly breached when the package was lost.

The remedy you are entitled to under the law is to be put back in the position you would have been in if the breach had not occurred, which means you will receive a refund of the shipping costs and the value of the gift.

However, this does not mean you have to go to court, as fortunately there are other remedies when it comes to complaints about Royal Mail.

Initially you will need to make a claim through Royal Mail’s compensation process, details of which can be found here: royalmail.com/help/lost-items-parcels-letters.

The amount of compensation Royal Mail may offer depends on the shipping service you used as follows; second class, up to £20; first class, up to £20; signed for, up to £20; special delivery guaranteed before 1pm, up to £750; special delivery guaranteed before 9am, up to £50.

Please ensure you submit your claim within 14 days of shipment and provide proof of shipment and the value of the item.

If you are not satisfied with the response, you can escalate your complaint to Royal Mail’s Postal Review Panel, which you can contact by emailing postalreview@royalmail.com or writing to FREEPOST, Postal Review Panel.

If your complaint still cannot be resolved, you can ask the Independent Postal Redressal System (often called POSTRS) to investigate your case.

Finally, a piece of advice: if you post something with a value higher than the compensation amounts mentioned above, it is always advisable to purchase additional cover from the post office. You can get up to €2,500 cover for valuables and if the

loss of the item will cause further financial loss (i.e. if you purchase a replacement item when the cost has increased). You may be able to claim consequential damage cover of up to £10,000.

Did the ‘cheeky’ shop assistant have a point?

I bought four shirts, two jackets and two ties for my husband in a High Street department store and had to return them because he didn’t like them.

The assistant who took the returns rudely said to me, “Next time can you ask your husband to come to the store for a fitting as this is taking us so much time to sort this out.” What are my rights?

L.R., Chester.

Dean Dunham replies: When you buy goods ‘in-store’, the Consumer Rights Act applies

law governing in-store purchases does not automatically entitle you to return the goods if you change your mind or for any other reason.

The only legal right you have to return any goods purchased from the store is if they are defective, do not meet the retailer’s description or are not fit for their intended purpose.

On the other hand, if you buy online, or at a location other than the trader’s usual place of business (such as a pop-up shop or an exhibition), the Consumer Contracts Regulation (the applicable law relating to online and distance selling) does give you the right to simply change your mind and ask for a full refund, as long as you exercise the right within 14 days of taking possession of the goods.

So when you buy from a store, your right to return non-defective goods depends on the retailer’s returns policy.

If the policy states that you can return items for any reason, this is part of the contract between you and therefore something the retailer must respect.

So here the assistant’s comment was both unhelpful and unfounded, because I assume the store’s return policy did allow you to return non-defective goods.