Hi, just to give an update - I reached out to Hermes to settle this for what they offered at the mediation process (£300 + postage costs). I sent Hermes a letter and got a reply via email that they are willing to still agree to settle for this amount and they have now transferred the money directly into my bank account. Apologies BankFodder, I know who would have liked this to go to court and see Hermes lose but I was just a bit fed up of waiting. I was told the court hearing date could have been a long while still due to backlog caused by the pandemic and I just wanted to close this matter and move on. The settlement amount is not too far off the actual item costs so rather than risk losing it all (probably more with the additional court fees) I am fine to settle at this amount.

Yes last entry is DQ filed on 06/10/2020.

Thanks I have checked in MCOL and no updates yet. I will chase them in couple of weeks if I don't hear anything.

Hi, have not heard anything back yet around court hearing date so just waiting now on that.

So I had my mediation with Hermes and it was not successful i.e. we couldn't come to an agreement to settle out of court. This was my mediation process: First call from the mediator was received at 1:03pm which was close enough to the start of my alotted time of 1pm-4:30pm. The mediator introduced themselves, confirmed the intention of the mediation and asked if I could provide a short summary of my claim and any points I would like to raise with Hermes. I mentioned the claim amount and raised the argument that Hermes inherit the liability under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act even though I booked through Packlink and that there is a systemic problem with Hermes and their business model. The mediator said they will take this to them and call back after discussing with Hermes. Call ended 1:09pm (lasted 6 minutes). Second call from the mediator was received at 1:15pm and they said that Hermes' stance is that my contract was with Packlink and not with them. Hermes mentioned they had investigated with Packlink and that I did not pay for insurance for my item but they were willing to offer me the standard claim amount of £25 plus £2.86 postage = £27.86. Of course I did not entertain that offer and I said that the whole point of having to pay extra to insure my item against their own negligence is absurd. Hermes also stated that this item was on Packlink's prohibited list. I replied that this so called list was not made clear to me when listing my item on ebay or purchasing the label through Packlink (which is ebay's affiliated choice for purchasing postage) and I would bring up the whole question of prohibited items for consideration by the judge if it goes to court. The mediator asked what I would be willing to settle at. I said I am not willing to budge from my claim amount of £357.84 which includes court costs. They reminded me that they don't see Hermes willing to accept that and that the whole point of mediation is to be willing to be flexible. I stood firm and said I am not budging from this amount and that I am being flexible by not taking Hermes to court and willing to settle now. The mediator said they will discuss with Hermes and call back. Call ended 1:27pm (lasted 12 minutes). The third call from the mediator was received at 1:32pm and they mentioned that Hermes were willing to offer £300 as a goodwill gesture plus the £2.86 postage costs = £302.86. They said £300 is the maximum they can offer to settle for this process. I stayed resolute and asserted I am not willing to go any lower than my claim amount. I said it's not so much about the money and reiterated that the routine denial of liability and having to pay extra for insurance is a systemic issue with Hermes and that I have evidence that many other customers face the same problem when using Hermes which I am willing to present to the presiding judge if this goes to court. Only if they were willing to pay me back the full claim amount then I would drop the case. The mediator did mention that taking this to court I may also lose which would mean losing further court fees (£55 I believe they mentioned as the fee) as well as time and effort in preparing for the case. I repeated that paying the extra costs and risking the money is not so much of an issue to me. I also added in there that a national newspaper are sniffing around at this story and if a judgement goes against them then I won't hesitate to share with them and across social media a copy of the transcript. The mediator asked if they were happy to share this detail to Hermes which I agreed. They said they will discuss with Hermes and call me back. Call ended 1:36pm (lasted 4 minutes). Received the fourth and final call from the mediator at 1:39pm and they said that Hermes were not willing to improve on the offer, reiterating they would argue to the judge that my contract is not with them and is with Hermes so this case cannot be settled through the mediation process and I would receive further details on the next steps. Call ended 1:40pm (last 1 minute). I am somewhat surprised that Hermes were willing to offer up to £300 plus postage costs given their arguments but would not settle by offering my full claim costs. In terms of the mediator's attitude, they did add a bit of pressure in trying to get me to be flexible i.e. settle for a lower amount. I suppose it is their job to get this settled out of court. They did also mention on a couple of occasions that it may be months before this case is looked at, with the covid situation it may not be in person and that I would have to go through the motions and prepare which would take time and effort on my behalf. However as noted above in this thread I wasn't willing to settle for a lower amount so let's see how it plays in court. Any advice on the next steps BankFodder?

Great idea, thank you I will certainly take a look in Facebook.

Great! This is very useful. I suspect that the mediator's aim is to try and get the case is settled out of court so would maybe try and influence you to take up the initial offer but I'll stand my ground and wont accept a penny less. Given the circumstances that I won't be given much time to defend myself I will work on having a short statement ready to make my point clear. My argument is under different circumstances of course but your case has been very helpful so thank you. I don't have any questions around the mediation process, that seems clear to me now. Just wondering have you now been paid by Hermes?

Thanks, just to confirm my telephone mediation date is set for 19th October. Appreciate my argument is slightly different to the other case but I would be interested in knowing about their experience with mediation and how whole process works from start to finish.

That is great news murrayant! I would also be interested in knowing the details of your interaction with Hermes through this mediation, I have a telephone mediation for my own case set for 19th October.

Thanks, I will consider the mediation route. Just to clarify one point though, Hermes' has always stated that they are not contractually obliged and that I should be dealing with Packlink. It was Packlink who originally made the stance that the perfume is a prohibited item and therefore I am not entitled to any sort of claim.

So on the 28th day Hermes have filed the defence below. They are disputing that I have a contract with them. Any thoughts? I am not sure what they mean I should be put to the strict proof to the value of the claim. It is what the customer paid for it (£319.99 item value + £2.85 postage costs + £35 court fee).

Sorry I was away so wasn't able to mention here but I have received an Acknowledgement of service and they have chosen to defend all of the claim. They have now have 28 days to file a response.

I have now submitted the claim!

ok thanks

On the claim particulars section of the money claim site, it states: You are required to give details of your claim in the box below. If you wish, you may also send detailed particulars direct to the defendant. Should I select the option to send detailed particulars? I wouldn't have much more detail apart from item value and postage amount which I am claiming for.