By Rocco Clayfield, Founder & Director, GoldPaid Ltd · Published 6 August 2026
First, work out which problem you have
The five things that go wrong have five different routes, and taking the wrong one wastes time you may not have. Find your row first.
| What has happened | First move |
|---|---|
| The parcel has not arrived | Check the tracking, tell the buyer the same day, and ask them to open an enquiry from their end. Note the posting date, because the claim clock runs from it. |
| The parcel arrived damaged or part-empty | Keep the packaging and everything in it, photograph it before touching anything, and report it to both the buyer and the carrier immediately. |
| The offer disputes what you sent | Send your pre-posting photographs and the description you gave when the label was requested. Ask for the buyer’s arrival log and item photographs. |
| Declined items have not been returned | A dated written demand with a deadline, then Trading Standards. The items are still legally yours. |
| You accepted and have not been paid | A dated written demand with a deadline, then a county court money claim for the sum owed. |
Royal Mail claims: the three things that decide whether you are paid
Postal compensation is not automatic and it is not the same thing as the cover level you paid for. Three facts decide the outcome, and all three are stated in Royal Mail’s retail compensation policy for loss (royalmail.com, checked 6 August 2026).
- The deadline. The policy states that “Claims for loss must be made within 80 calendar days of the date of posting, or no claim will be entertained.” That is a hard cut-off measured from posting, not from when you noticed. Diarise it on the day you post.
- Evidence of posting. For anything above a refund of the postage, Royal Mail requires evidence of posting such as the Certificate of Posting handed to you at the counter. This is why a parcel must go over a staffed counter rather than into a postbox, and why the receipt matters more than the label.
- Evidence of the actual loss. Royal Mail requires evidence of the actual loss, such as original receipts, bank statements or invoices, and compensation is based on that actual loss up to the amount of compensation purchased by the sender, or the market value, whichever is smaller.
Cover on a GoldPaid label is Royal Mail Special Delivery, with cover available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. If your items are likely to be worth more than that, say so before posting so the lot can be split across labels. The mechanics are on postage and insurance, and the step-by-step for a missing parcel is in what happens if Royal Mail loses your gold parcel.
Why the Consumer Rights Act does not protect you here
This surprises most people and it is worth knowing before you need it. Section 3(1) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says: “This Chapter applies to a contract for a trader to supply goods to a consumer.” When you sell your gold to a buyer, you are the supplier and the trader is the customer. The Act’s familiar remedies, satisfactory quality, short-term right to reject, repair or replacement, are written for the other direction and do not help you as a seller. The same is true of the cancellation and cooling-off rights people associate with buying online.
That is not the same as having no protection. It means the protection comes from three other places, which is a distinction worth being precise about when you write to a buyer.
What does protect you: unfair practices, bailment and contract
- Unfair commercial practices. Part 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, in force since 6 April 2025, replaced the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The CMA’s guidance (CMA207, Unfair commercial practices, gov.uk) defines a commercial practice as an act or omission by a trader relating to the promotion or supply of, among other things, “a consumer’s product to the trader or another person”. A gold buyer’s conduct towards you is squarely inside the regime, and misleading actions and misleading omissions, including omitting material information such as charges, are prohibited. Trading Standards enforces this.
- Bailment. A buyer holding your items before you have accepted an offer holds them as a bailee. They remain your property. A buyer who refuses to return goods that are still yours may be liable for conversion under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. Saying this plainly in a written demand tends to focus minds.
- Ordinary contract law. If you accepted a written offer and were not paid, that is a straightforward debt. It does not require consumer law at all.
This is general information rather than legal advice. If the sum involved is significant, or the facts are contested, take advice on your own circumstances.
The escalation ladder, in order
- Write to the buyer. Dated, factual, one page. State what happened, what you want (the items returned, or the sum paid), and a deadline, fourteen days is customary. Send it by email and keep a copy. Escalating without a written demand on file weakens everything that follows.
- Report the trader to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice. In England you contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133, or 0808 223 1144 for a Welsh-speaking adviser, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Citizens Advice advises you and passes your report to Trading Standards, who decide whether to investigate. In Scotland the equivalent service is Advice Direct Scotland at consumeradvice.scot. In Northern Ireland it is Consumerline on 0300 123 6262.
- Report suspected fraud. If you believe items or money have been taken dishonestly rather than as a commercial dispute, report it to Action Fraud (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or to Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland. A commercial dispute and a fraud are different things and reporting the wrong one slows both down.
- Make a county court money claim. For money owed, gov.uk’s “Make a court claim for money” service covers claims against a person or business, online or by post. There is a court fee, which is recoverable if you win. Check the current fees and thresholds on gov.uk before starting.
- Check the company’s status. If a buyer has stopped responding, search the Companies House register. A company being struck off or entering insolvency changes what is worth pursuing and how quickly you need to act.
The five records that make any of this work
- Dated photographs of every item, taken before packing. See how to photograph jewellery for a remote valuation.
- The description you gave when the label was requested. It is the buyer’s own record of what they expected to receive.
- The Certificate of Posting from the counter. Without it, postal compensation above the postage refund is very difficult to obtain.
- The written offer, showing purity, weight, rate and date.
- The full message thread, undeleted, including anything said about fees, returns and timescales.
All five are free, take a few minutes, and are the difference between a claim that is decided on evidence and one that is decided on whose account sounds more plausible. Assemble them before you post, not afterwards.
How GoldPaid handles it
If something has not gone as it should, say so early. Call or message 07763 741067, or use the complaints procedure, which sets out how a complaint is acknowledged, investigated and answered in writing. For a parcel that has not arrived, GoldPaid tracks from its end and helps assemble the Royal Mail claim using your Certificate of Posting and the description given at label request. Nothing here removes your right to escalate to Trading Standards or to the courts, and it is not meant to.
Common questions
How long do I have to claim for a lost Royal Mail parcel?
Royal Mail’s retail compensation policy for loss states that claims for loss must be made within 80 calendar days of the date of posting, or no claim will be entertained. Note the posting date on the day you post, because the clock runs from then rather than from when you noticed.
Does buying £2,500 of cover mean I get £2,500 if the parcel is lost?
No. Compensation is based on evidence of the actual loss, up to the amount of compensation purchased or the market value, whichever is smaller. Cover sets a ceiling; the evidence you can produce sets the figure. Photographs, the label description and any written indicative valuation are what fill that gap.
Does the Consumer Rights Act protect me when I sell gold?
Not directly. Section 3(1) applies the relevant chapter to contracts for a trader to supply goods to a consumer, and when you sell your gold that is the other direction. Your protection comes from the unfair commercial practices regime, from the law of bailment over goods that are still yours, and from ordinary contract law.
How do I report a gold buyer to Trading Standards?
In England you contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133, or 0808 223 1144 for a Welsh-speaking adviser. Citizens Advice passes your report to Trading Standards, who decide whether to investigate. In Scotland use Advice Direct Scotland at consumeradvice.scot; in Northern Ireland, Consumerline on 0300 123 6262.
Can I take a gold buyer to the small claims court?
For money owed, yes. Gov.uk’s make a court claim for money service handles claims against a person or business and can be started online. There is a court fee, recoverable if you win. Send a dated written demand with a deadline first, because the court will expect to see that you tried to resolve it.
What if the buyer says my items were worth less than I claimed?
That is a valuation dispute rather than a loss. Ask for the itemised working: the purity found, the weight recorded and the rate used for each piece, plus their arrival photographs. Compare it against your own pre-posting photographs. If the working is not produced, that itself is the answer.