Hi all,

It's not an echo. But having just looked around on the forum, this post will read like one.

I am also in the frustrating position of having to provide Parcel2Go with documentation to corroborate their inability to deliver a parcel.

The item was clearly labelled in more than one place. It needed to get from Devon to Berkshire. I valued it at £200 which an estimate for an amplifier chassis made in the 1980s. I was sending part of an amplifier back to the manufacturer for a service and upgrade. I've had it for nearly thirty years and it had a lot of sentimental value.

I did not buy extended insurance. At the time of purchase, I had no idea how frequently Parcel2Go and Hermes both found the risk of correctly delivering parcels too great to effectively manage. It's a very difficult item to value but I think that the value I quoted on the site was fair and I believed that delivering a parcel was not too risky to warrant more than doubling the cost of the service. From now on I'll hire a car and take things to recipients personally if this is the future of couriering. So one lesson learned.

I have a ticket with a sticky label on it which is the only evidence of collection. I used PayPal for the service transaction.

Anyway, I've read from another thread that I should compile an lba and send it off with these documents but there's obviously no easy method of doing this through there website. Who should I be communicating with and how? If I submit the documents they ask for, then I'll get £20. I would obviously like to pursue this as far as possible. I am pretty sure that the manufacturer of the item can provide evidence of the value. Should I be looking for the realistic value of the item?

If anyone is able to provide some advice, it would be extremely well received.

Thank you.

Okay well you've read enough on this forum to know that your story is pretty typical.

I'm not sure what you are intending to show us by the attachment that you have put up. It will be helpful if you would put up something more informative and also in PDF format rather than JPEG.

You say that you told Parcel2go that the value of the item they were carrying was £200.

They accepted it on that basis. To my mind there is no reason why you should have to pay extra to them simply to get them to carry out their contractual obligations.

If you are happy to take legal action then you should send them a letter of claim to their normal business address. Given 14 days and then on day 15 sue them.

In the intervening time register onto the County Court money claim website and start understanding how it works.

Post your draft claim here before you put it up onto money claim so that we can see it and comment.

Thanks for the response.

The picture was to show the format in which Parcel2Go are asking for evidence (a web form). They no doubt already have all of this seeing as they probably have better access to their own tracking facilities than I do.

Their business address on their website is:

Parcel2Go.com

The Cube

Coe Street

Bolton

BL3 6BU

so I will send a letter there when I've put the details together. I'll put a draft here as suggested. Rephrasing my subsequent question, it was more related to how I should respond to their online request for documents. Knowing that it is all a distraction, should I ignore the web form and rely on this letter? I imagine recorded delivery would be wise for this. I fear if I submit the documents online then they will treat that as my acceptance of their excellent customer service. I don't try to be sarcastic, so sorry about that.

Thanks again for all assistance.

Maybe I jumped in too quickly. I'm sure that the advice which I have given above will become relevant but maybe I should have asked you what documents they require and how long ago they lost the parcel and how long ago did you contact them and what was the response.

I am pasting this text from an email I received a few hours ago... (in italics)

We’ve got an update on your parcel enquiry

Dear

We’re writing to you in response to your recent enquiry regarding the following order: -----------.

We have conducted a full investigation with the courier to locate your parcel, unfortunately, in this instance, the search has proved unsuccessful.

We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused and as a result, we have now progressed your enquiry to a claim.

Regarding compensation

Our records show that you only took out protection on your parcel for part of the full value. That means that in the event that your claim is successful, you’ll get compensated for only the amount you were covered for.

What happens next?

To help us progress your claim as quickly as possible, you’ll need to upload supporting documents.

View your case to submit the required information.

Deadline to submit documents: 03/03/2019

View My Case

Ref: -----------

Kindest Regards,

The Parcel2Go Claims Team

The PayPal transaction for the service happened on 16th January 2016. Collected on the 17th Jan. Their tracking site said "delay but we'll get your parcel moving in 24 hours" or similar from 21st January. My last contact with them was on the 4th February. I had three or four webchats with their support service. The last one was on the 4th when I sent a detailed description of the box along with a picture accompany the "investigation" that they were undertaking to locate the lost item.

The documents asked for as are in the picture.

• Proof of Collection
  
• Proof of Non-delivery
  
• Proof of Value
  

I have a card with a sticker on it to show that someone from Hermes collected my parcel (some evidence of Collection, whether proof or not - well probably not). I have written to the manufacturers to confirm whether or not they have received the item. I can only think to use their response as proof of non-delivery. I have asked them to evaluate the item based on some photos that I took before packing it up and sending it into oblivion. Whatever they say though I doubt I could ask for more than £200 as that is what I guessed it to be when I filled out the order form.

If I send the above through the form shown in the picture online using the web account that I had to create to follow this fiasco, won't Parcel2Go claim that I am happy with this and pay me £20? Won't that go against any further legal action that I choose to take? They have given me until March 3rd as quoted above.

I don't mind how long this takes and thank you again for at least listening.

Hi

While not wanting to jump in as you have excellent company in Bankfodder, I would like to add my thoughts and questions.

Firstly it seems that P2G do not want their terms and conditions tested in court ans as you have previously seen, they settle out of court. That is my opinion and may at one time be proved wrong when P2G carry on all the way into court. You paid a fee for the collection and delivery of a product. The value is neither here nor there. They failed to complete the delivery.

Have you managed to get proof of value? You already have proof of collection and proof of non delivery.

Did you advise them of the value before collection? Personally I don't think it matters much. Have you researched getting a replacement and the cost? I would do that as I don't think you can claim £200 for a product that has a lesser value when purchased elsewhere.

To protect yourself although I don't think it would matter, reject the offer of £20. Once you have submitted a Letter Before Action and given them the required 14 days to respond and they have not responded or still dispute your claim, file a claim on day 15. It is always better to have an account set up with MCOL beforehand as it gives you the ability to read more about any claim.

Hi silverfox1961 and thank you for the comments. I don't mind how many people chime in.

Yes the value is proving to be a sticking point. I thought that I might have had the original hand written receipt but it is very possible that I discarded it thinking that I would never need it. It was bought second hand a long time ago. I have seen similar models on eBay. One is currently auctioned at £170 but its condition looks a bit ropey. I am awaiting a response from the intended recipients (a small family business) to:

a) confirm that they have not received the item; and

b) provide an estimate of the shipped contents (as I am now genuinely interested in buying replacements following this incident). Naturally I'll be asking how they intend to ship if they do indeed respond.

I think that they are hesitant to respond. The website instructions that they provide regarding shipping the components to them for servicing and upgrading include pointing customers to Parcel2Go and I think they might not want to get further involved in a dispute which at present doesn't involve them. I did enter £200 as the estimated value on the order form though. I genuinely believe that my father paid more than that for it but this is hardly proof. Added to this is the uncertainty that the shipped components only constituted the chassis and electronics and not the speaker or the cabinet.

I will give the manufacturers a few days and then try again to get the above information. They don't have a phone number and the only contact I have for them is an info@ email address. What a superbly futile situation I find myself in.

It's not the money though but the fact that the item has been with me a long time. I (like many others on this forum at least it seems) want to stop letting disreputable businesses get away with what they're doing. They have no shame and they're more than happy to tell you how sorry they are to hear how badly they've treated you as a customer but you've lost all hope of seeing your property again. Had I known I would have paid more but the recipients practically recommended the process and there are lucky people who will claim that they have had no problems. The idea of undercutting competitors implies that you can compete. There is plenty of evidence on this site to demonstrate that that's not the case. It maddens me to see people merrily make money from causing disruption for others.

Anyway I've got to try not to ramble to much. I am holding back from any further action right now (although I thank you for your support) until I can conclusively verify proof of non delivery and value. That requires some persuasion. I don't want to upload anything to the Parcel2Go Claim form as pictured in the OP. That was one of my first questions. I need to build a more robust case. If I can do that, I will be back here to ask how best to inform them that my claim will be via another route.

Thank you all.

I should provide an update as the supportive people on this site deserve it. Five days ago I found the consignment in a new box, sitting on the doorstep outside my front door.

What has happened here, is that the parcel was delivered but that fact was never recorded in Hermes' tracking system. So the tracking site simply said that there is a delay which would be dealt with in 24 hours. It probably still says that now. Because the recipient was such a small company, it took them weeks to get to unpacking my parcel. Once they did however they carried out the work and shipped it back (via Hermes again).

So there are lots of lessons to be learned, perhaps the most important one for me is to try and relax! I am infinitely relieved that I have not had to say goodbye to a prized possession. So much stress could have been avoided though. I would not recommend brokers to anyone, as they make life so much more difficult should any adverse issues arise.

So if the original package had been flagged as delivered, there wouldn't have been as much of an issue. If it would have been possible to arrange the return delivery such that I could have been there to receive it without it having to sit on the doorstep all afternoon then I might even have no issue with Hermes. However as it is, I will probably look at alternative couriers and order direct in the future.

One positive from all of the above is that I would have been prepared to take this further, having read the responses to my initial outcry here. On other sites there seem to be people who live to admonish those who have fallen victim to a courier's mismanagement. No one is perfect, but the customer service experience with Parcel2Go / Hermes isn't even close to satisfactory.

Once again, thank you for your support.

Thanks very much indeed for the update. I think that you were extraordinarily lucky – under the circumstances.

Dealing with Hermes is risky. Dealing with parcel2go is risky. Dealing with both at the same time …!