I sent 2 identical parcels with UPS on parcel2go.com.

Each parcel contained 2 car alloy wheels.

Packaging used was strong cardboard box, with extra cardboard, thick paper scrunches and foam separating and surrounding the wheels inside - I’ve sent Wheels all over the world with this exact packaging in these exact strong boxes.

The wheels arrived with 2 massively buckled. To do this damage while driving you’d have to hit a kerb head on at a pretty great speed... or drop the parcels from a substantial height, straight onto the rim edge.

The boxes were split where they’d been dropped.

The damage is SEVERE structural damage, that could only have been sustained by a great impact, ie a very high drop.

Raised a claim, parcel2go come back 2 weeks later saying the packaging was insufficient as there was no internal bubble wrap.

I explained that internal packaging is irrelevant as the impact was so severe that no amount of bubble wrap would have prevented that damage due to the couriers negligence.

I have told them there WAS internal packing too but regardless such severe structural damage to such a strong item could only have come from negligence.

They have made some ridiculous suggestions such as the damage occurred from the normal bumps of transit, then later said that the courier did not cause the damage.

They simply don’t answer my questions and just repeat themselves with statements lacking in any common sense or understanding of the physical forces it takes to smash a strong aluminium wheel - NOT normal scuffs and bumps of transit.

No doubt the courier has been negligent here, they should not drop parcels this hard. Talking to parcel2go.com is going nowhere, their argument is wrong and defies physics.

What should I do next? Proving negligence is easy - the resultant damage could simply not have been caused without it. The force required to bend the rim to such an extent is quite easily quantifiable, many kiloNewtons... not to be expected in careful transit/handling.

Totally unacceptable!

Very grateful for any advice. And beware, consumers!

the you need to put this to them formally in writing and tell them what you expect them to do, namely compensate you for your loss as the damage was not caused by normal activity but by negligence on their part and so outside the scope of their contractual constraints. Tell the the cost you wish to recover and let them know that you will use civil procedure to recover your losses that resulted from their tort

If you can calculate the force required to damage the rim ( approx as packaging was involved so assume that force applied was greater) then tell them this as well. If the forces required to bend the rim are very great compared to a freefall drop then that shows that the parcel has been thrown with condsiderable force and such actions can only be deliberate even if the damage wasnt. So damage caused by the driver braking hard is still their responsibility as his driving style is clearly to blame unless they can show he had to brake hard becaue of someone else's actions and that menas you need to see the dashcam evidence to support this explanation.

Hey ericsbro thanks for the reply.

Update: parcel2go.com has just accepted the claim “as goodwill”, which is a step forward, but they are only offering the basic cover as I didn’t pay for extra insurance.

Now, a couple of things:

1. Can I reasonably ask for more based on the undoubted negligence of the courier? I was happy with basic cover as the wheels are very strong and well packed, so the only possible damage if the courier acts with care as they are supposed to would be minor cosmetic damage which the basic cover would likely cover.

2. I believe parcel2go.com may be profiting from this situation as I think UPS offer £50 per parcel as standard, so if parcel2go were to only give you £20 and keep £30... clearly not fair, but can they do that?!

what is the value of the damage? Who did you agree a contract with? If with parcel2 go it matters not what they get from UPS as long as you get your money from them. Now your argument is about a common law tort rather than a contractual issue so again what their terms say arent really relevant. As they have accepted they have a case to answer (regardless of the goodwill bit) the you need to be clear what is acceptable to you to discontinue your recovery of your losses. If they offer £30 for a £100 wheel I wouldnt be accepting that even if they say that UPS wont give them more. They decided on who they gave the job to, not you.

Hi I think the cost of repair is going to be around £250, the value of the wheels is well over £1000 and the used sale price was £700.

Contract is with parcel2go.com.

They have thus far offered £20 compensation plus refund of the original parcels price. So nowhere near the damage value.

I’ve looked at the civil procedure so thinking a clear letter before action now. Can I do it by email or MUST it be all by letter post?

Cheers ericsbro and I welcome anyone else to chime in!

good luck