Dear Tardishire,
I have had a recent experience with GSP from the UK. The listing stated Royal Mail would be used but somehow the seller got opted-in and it wound up at Lichfield GSP. It was an antique Georgian decanter box. I received a message from Ebay that the item was restricted, and got no further with ebay or any other readily accessible dispute service. I then took it up with Pitney Bowes US.
PB claimed my item was contaminated and was prevented from moving forward due to a risk to the shipping program and that as a result it could not be transported forward. When I asked what it was supposedly contaminated with and in what concentrations, they told me they did not know as they had not tested it. Their conclusion that the item was contaminated was based on one of the photos in the listing that did not show any contamination (just some normal wear to the lid of an antique box). As a scientist I would also put forward that is impossible to identify contamination from a photo!.
My understanding is that they then "liquidated" my item, which presumably means they sold it. Selling it would indicate that PB/GSP were not that concerned about any contamination or transporting the item.
I believe what PB fails to recognize is that under the terms and conditions of the GSP (s7 in the US agreement and s8 in the UK one) title does not pass to ebay/PB/GSP. That means they are taking items and liquidating/selling without having title to them. Presumably, those who buy these items do not obtain good title either.
The only situation where title passes to ebay/PB/GSP is where the item is undeliverable. (s11 of the agreement). "Undeliverable" generally means that the address is wrong or for some other reason the item has been returned to sender. In fact, Pitney Bowes advertises the fact that its technology can solve the "undeliverable mail" problem by ensuring up to date addresses etc. That is, even Pitney Bowes uses the standard definition of "undeliverable" mail. In my case, the item was definitely not undeliverable as they had managed to deliver another similar box to me the same week, and they had my correct contact details.
The bottom line? Pitney Bowes/GSP appears to be taking people's purchases contrary to the stated terms and conditions and "liquidating" them. In my case, they have not been able to provide any legitimate reason for doing so. The item was not contaminated, nor was it damaged. They just took it without reasonable explanation. Ebay really has to do something about this. To quote from one of Pitney Bowes own documents:
Customer Experience: Customers who have a bad experience due to undelivered mail are likely to spread the word on social media. They are also much more likely to switch providers, even after a single incident, and in spite of efforts to make good.
That also applies when the shipper takes your item and "liquidates" it for no apparent reason. I certainly will never use GSP again, and do not intend to buy anything internationally on ebay ever again.
