Hi there CAG Community.

I recently bought a new (ex demo) cooker from a retailer in Birmingham at a fantastic price (£200 quid less than standard retail), the retailer does not deliver to Cardiff, so they said i would need to arrange my own collection & delivery.

I found Parcel Hero on the tinterweb & after inputting all the details (including a full product description) they came back with a price of £49 for a next day delivery. Unbeknownst to me at the time, cookers are on their prohibited list.

The following day they collected the shipment (via TNT) who then took it to their nearest hub (Llantrisant, nr Cardiff) to be readied for delivery to me.

I took a phone call the next morning from the retailer, who said that TNT had called them (why?) to say that the parcel had been damaged, I called TNT & they confirmed that they had smashed both the oven & top oven doors & the cooker would not be put out for delivery until they had been given instruction from Parcel Hero.

I called Parcel Hero to say that a broken cooker was no good to me so could I send it back to the retailer in Birmingham whilst they sorted the damage.

It was at this point that they said that cookers were on their prohibited list & as such they (nor TNT) were liable for any damage.....So as it stands, I have no cooker (its back with the retailer) & am £400 quid out of pocket.

I have photos of the cooker before shipping & after showing the damage along with copies of online chats & email correspondence I have had with Parcel Hero

I wanted to know,

1: Do I have a case for claiming a refund for the damage based on the fact that the item was clearly labelled as as a cooker, both with my initial on line enquiry & with stickers on the packaging

2: Should i just write off the £400 quid & put it down to my own stupidity (cheap is never good folks!)

3: What should i do with the remains of my cooker?

4: Anyone else had similar issues with Parcel Zero & what was the outcome?

Thank you in advance for taking a look at this.

Tred.

All I know is I've used couriers on many occasions and the 1st thing I look at is terms of carriage and prohibited list.

If its glass I use a courier that accepts glass

Cheers Sgtbush. This was my first experience of booking a parcel collection/delivery. If I had been a time served parcel pro, I suspect I would have looked at this first too........

Its called due diligence.

Buying anything including services require it. It stops problems later on.

Others will advise on a course of action, if their is one, but as I see it if its on there prohibited list or a list which states you take liability then you may be stuffed.

However others will advise on the fairness of such contracts.

Yeah, I get it, but their website is potentially misleading (to the uninitiated like me) & yes, I may have had my pants pulled down on this one, but if my story saves someone else from a similar fate then it hasn't been completely in vain...

Thread moved to the appropriate forum..please continue to post here to your thread.

Regards

Andy

Any contract can be varied so theoretically when you told them it was a cooker and they accepted the contract and your money they also accept the new conditions you have both agreed to ( they shift a cooker, you pay them to do so). For them now to point out that they dont accept such items is unfair UNLESS you used a form that has no input from their side before you paid so they couldn't reject this new revised contract.

The indication that there was offer and consideration is strengthened by the fact you input certain details and they had to come back to you with the price for you to then accept or decline make me think that a contract was formed.

As you paid them the retailer has nothing to do with this so not such a good move to have it returned to themas a prelude to getting them to pay up, how are you going to photograph the damage for example?

Hi ericsbrother:

Many thanks for your input.

After having another look on their parcel booking site, there is a 'I have read and agree to the Prohibited items and Compensation exclusions list' tick box, which must be ticked before continuing, but after the details of the shipment have been input....So I guess I am up that creek that i can't remember the name of, without a paddle.

Ref sending the item back to the retailer, they have been fantastic & I have nothing but good things to say about them, they even sent me pictures of the packaging before it was despatched & pictures showing the damage when it was returned.

I have also started a complaint thread with the OFT but not sure how far that will get me....

Cheers.

Tred.

no, that is the point of an individually negotiated contract. If they delayed quoting you a price it is because they were considering your counteroffer to their offer and then accepted it. They then cannot rely on the wording of the tick box, they should have said NO rather than giving you a price.

Your call, play along and do yourself down by this or at least write a stiff letter pointing out all of the points made about individual contracts and they might just see that it is cheaper to pay for the doors rather then risk losing a claim that could have a serious impact on their business model in the future and even get them in bother with Trading standards for false advertising