today was my mediation date between the hours of 14:00 - 16:00 The mediator called me around 14:20 and introduced herself and asked if I had been expecting the call to which I replied yes and then had to confirm who I was myself and that I had read the mediation email that I had been sent. I was then asked by the mediator the claim amount to which I made her aware of the error I had made on my behalf of putting the interest figure amount into the total claim. Therefore meaning the form read as I if I was claiming only £1.44. She did then advise that she thought that was the case but could clearly see from the claim particulars my claim should read £200.00 with the interest being £1.44 and the £35.00 small claims fee. Before the call from the mediator and booking half a day off to be on hand between 14:00 - 16:00 I did a bit of prep work and just wrote out some bullet points as per below, these were read back to the mediator to give her a true understanding of the events that have led to my call this afternoon. 22nd November 2021 - Item sold via eBay and posted same day with EVRi Group (Now Evri) Full insurance paid for the item 29th November 2021 - Chased parcel and tracking appeared to be stuck \ Not updating 1st December 2021 - EVRi admitted they couldn't locate the parcel \ Lost claims form submitted 9th December 2021 - Chased EVRi for update \ None provided 23rd December 2021 - Decision made by EVRi to not pay out for item as 'Prohibited Item' \ Refunded postage costs \ Closed case \ No further responses to messages sent from this point from EVRi (Evri) 12th January 2022 - Letter of Claim sent to EVRi (Evri) HQ 26th January 2022 - No reply to Letter of Claim \ Open Small Claims via MCOL website 3rd February 2022 - Letter from Money Claim Online advising my claim had be filed 3rd March 2022 - EVRi (Evri) filed a defence April 2022 - Received a letter advising of Mediation service \ Filled out and returned 13th May 2022 - Received a email from SCMReferrals advising of today being my mediation date between 14:00 - 16:00 After making her aware of my points above, she touched on a few of them, the main one being of taking out insurance and the site allowing me to. To which I then went into detail and advised her that should you input 'Laptop, Diamond Ring' etc into the parcel contents box it automatically stops you from being able to take out insurance. However I sold an Aquarium Light and this was input and still allowed me to proceed with taking out the full insurance cover. After this she advised she would now go away and discuss this with EVRi (Evri). I wait a matter of minutes before she came back advising that EVRi (Evri) were willing to settle this today and pay me back my £200.00. For the amount of time this has gone on and the fact I clearly made an error on the MCOL form when submitting it and being on edge thinking the case would go nowhere and I'd just be paid out £36.44, I've agreed to accept this amount. I see it as a win - All be it I've had to spend £35.00 to get it to this point but I'm happy with the outcome. As for the whole Mediation process - It was very straight forward, extremely easy and I didn't feel at all under pressure by the mediator at any point, she was extremely polite and understanding. Yes it's a lengthy wait process and the whole telephone calls from mediator to myself, to EVRi (Evri) and back took all of 15-20 minutes, but I'd certainly do it all again should I need to.

Ok I'll stick with it and see what comes of it. Do I mention the mistake to the mediator first thing and point out that it should be £201.44 and not the £1.44 it shows. I still have a bad feeling this will come to nothing but an offer of £36.44.

Ok, but mention it first thing to the mediator and advise it hasn't also been picked up on in the defence. Are they not sort of picking up on that by stating ' The claimant stated on the 'order form' that the value of the parcel was £200. The claimant seeks to recover £1.44 plus court fees of £35.00. The total claimed is £36.44. Also on the mediation form (N180) it advises that IF you wish to accept mediation you are too put 'Yes' to A1 and fill-out the contact details in section 'B' , it mentions nothing about it being signed but I presume it does require signing on the last page. Then this is returned \ signed for to CCBC, 4th Floor St Katharine's House, 21-27 St Katharine's Street, Northampton, NN1 2LH

Am I within my rights to cancel this via MCOL and resubmit ? I mean this is going back now to November 22nd, obviously it will cost me another £35.00 to do so. But upon reading the defence particulars it does mention ' The claimant stated on the 'order form' that the value of the parcel was £200. The claimant seeks to recover £1.44 plus court fees of £35.00. The total claimed is £36.44. So surely Hermes on the day can just say ok we're settle it today in full and only required to pay £36.44. Is there any law stopping it from being resubmitted ? I mean surely the amendment charge of £108.00 is there for a reason.

You say this however upon reading the mediation cases most of which I read were Hermes related ... It seems a lot come across trying to knock you down and take the side of the courier, advising that you aren't entitled to the full amount and that you should settle for a lesser amount.

And how did those work out ? I mean if I was to get a fair mediator on the day then likely the chances are the full amount would be sought. However although they are independent and this whole process being new to me I'm not sure. I honestly feel sick to the stomach now knowing I got this far and now it's on a knife edge! Had Hermes not been so bitter in the first place and accepted the loss of my parcel instead of trying to worm out of it then I wouldn't have ever needed to go down this route in the first place!

My worry is that IF I do go ahead with that now the mediator will likely see I'm only claiming £1.44 despite the particulars of claim stating otherwise and like you say the defence not mentioning it. So if I was to say 'I'm not willing to budge and wish for the full amount to be paid' This will be agreed and I'll get just the £36.44 OR do I cancel this one off - Restart the process from scratch and pay £35 for the correct claim to be submitted. I agree it's an error on my behalf! But I honestly would have thought that someone may have brought it to my attention at MCOL's end when they were clearly processing it all etc.

Parc.pdf So I only noticed this or was made aware of the error when I called up to ask about the missing defence on page 5 .... Apparently because Hermes did this online that is why it's missing, apparently it only gives you so many lines \ characters for a defence input and so they'll have be stopped from typing it out in full. I cannot for the life of my understand how on earth I've made the error on the the claim though, the women advised me I'm literally claiming £1.44 and the £35.00 fee. Although my particulars do state the £200 ... I'm guessing IF i now accept mediation the mediator will just look to get me back the £1.44 and £35.00 fee the £200 for the actual item would not be something I can pursue due to my error. They also advised any amendments to this now would cost me £108.00! obviously that's over half of the item value so I can't justify paying that. I did ask can I not cancel this one off and resubmit but now I'm thinking is there a deadline in which these cases need to be submitted AND can I legally cancel it off and resubmit when it's already at a defence stage ...... I honestly feel gutted rite now and feel like Hermes have now won already due to a very stupid error on my part

Looks like Hermes have won this one! Upon ringing MCOL they advised my claim is only showing as me claiming £1.44 .... I've logged it and it shows just £36.44 - £35 being the fee and £1.44 for the compensation !! So unlikely now I can do anything as she's advised to amend it will cost £108! God knows what's happened when I submitted as I would have put £200 somewhere within the MCOL claim and it just seems to have replaced that with JUST the compensation amount! I literally feel sick now being told that and knowing Hermes have got away with this one! Doc1.pdf

Rung the court and they advised they can't advise .... Told me try MCOL got transferred but 5pm cut off so unlikely going to get my call answered in time. I guess this will just be another nail in the coffin of what is already a ropey defence if I'm honest! I think if it went to court and a judge saw a half arsed \ incomplete defence he'd surely grin!

Chloe Higgs is she Hermes side ?

That's the same as on my paper Defence and Counterclaim copy ... It stops at 'The Claimant opted to increase the level of compensation for the Parcel and therefore, pursuant to the terms' Surely that in itself is either an error by MCOL or a failure on the defence ?

Here is the defence, I have until 21st March to fill out the forms I received in the post which I think I'll go down the mediation route. That being said and reading the mediation form and agreeing to be flexible ... I'm willing to be flexible in the fact I'm not taking Hermes to court and happy to settle for the money I am owed as well as the court fee and any compensation. Doc_20220307_092013 (1).pdf

So I logged in today to Money Claim see if any updates since 11th Feb. I am now presented with the following: Claim Overview Please read this page carefully. From here you can decide what action you wish to take next. Claim History Hermes Group filed an acknowledgment of service on 02/02/2022 at 12:05:38 A bar was put in place for Hermes Group on 02/03/2022 Hermes Group filed a defence on 02/03/2022 at 16:05:15

Update on proceedings with my case. Whilst I was away last week. I've received a letter advising that an acknowledgement of service to my claim has been filed today. The defendant now has a total of 28 days from the date of service of the claim to file a response. On the page attached 'Acknowledgement of service' It states ' I intend to defend all of this claim ' Signed Emily \ Trainee Solicitor 02\02\2022 I presume I don't need to do anything else at this point ? Just wait on Emily's poor excuses for defence

MCOL was submitted Thursday morning early hours. I've now received a 'Notice of Issue' advising that the court have issued the claim which was sent first class post on 28th January and will be deemed to be served on the 2nd February. The defendant has until the 16th February 2022 to reply.

Is it worth adding the claim particulars to the Hermes support ticket ? I mean up until now they've ignored pretty much everything else I've added so it seems a waste of time regardless ...

Logged in to MCOL this morning. Claim has now been submitted!

Thanks BankFodder! Hopefully some success comes from all this and I will certainly be making a donation for the advice and steps you have helped with.

The claimant used the defendant's courier service to deliver an Aquarium LED Unit, value £200.00 to a UK Address. Reference number XXXX, Claim number XXXX. The defendant has breached the contract by losing the item and then despite having purchased the defendant's insurance cover, failing to reimburse the claimant. Additional insurance cover was taken out on the item which was paid in full to the value of £5.70. The claimant seeks £200.00 in full, plus interest pursuant to Section 69 off the County Courts Act 1984.

Hermes went about refunding those when rejecting my claim. They didn't ask me, they just advised it would be refunded when the claim was rejected and it did show in my bank not long after. Staff Account Farhan Hussain via E-mail23/12/2021 08.44 AM Hi DANIEL, Thank you for submitting the required information for your claim. I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused by this situation so I would also like to thank you for your patience while we reviewed your claim. I understand how frustrating it can be for both you and your recipient when a parcel isn’t delivered as expected. When issues arise, we will always seek to remedy the situation and we are happy to pay up to the level of cover selected by our customers, for included items. Unfortunately, we are unable to proceed with your claim, since the items contained in your parcel are non-compensated items that cannot be claimed for. You can see our full list of non-compensated and prohibited items here. As a self-serve company, we do everything possible to encourage customers to check our lists of non-compensated and prohibited items and we try to make this easy and transparent so that customers understand from the outset what we can and can’t carry. Items made of or containing lighting are on the non-compensated list because they are more fragile than others and therefore are more susceptible to damage. Our Carry Guide states that lighting items can be sent through the Hermes network however, in the event of the parcel sustaining damage or getting lost, compensation will not be awarded. However, as this parcel was damaged whilst in our care, I have processed a full postage refund for the amount of £11.00 back to your original payment method. Please allow up to 5 working days for this to be received. If you have any queries regarding another parcel in the future, please contact your Hermes Customer Service Team and we’ll be happy to help. Kind regards, Customer Service Advisor Hermes Send Claims Department

To be honest, getting back what I am owed and paid insurance for would be something! I understand what you are saying but with the claim date being tomorrow and having nothing back as of yet. I think I may amend my Claim Particulars back to the original (see below) and proceed with ticking the money claim off first thing in the morning. The claimant used the defendant's courier service to deliver an Aquarium LED Unit, value £200.00 to a UK Address. Reference number XXXXXXXXXXXXX, Claim number XXXXXXXXXXX. The defendant has breached the contract by losing the item and then failing to reimburse the claimant to the full value of the item due to stating 'Unfortunately, we are unable to proceed with your claim, since the items contained in your parcel are non-compensated items that cannot be claimed for.' The defendant also referred to the item being damaged. Additional insurance cover was taken out on the item which was paid in full to the value of £5.70. The claimant seeks £200.00 in full, plus interest pursuant to Section 69 off the County Courts Act 1984.

I've reworded my Claim Particulars as I don't see the need to state the tracking number\claim number or the quote they gave me as to why they are refusing to pay out ... All of this will be brought forward if needed at a later date. The claimant used the defendant's courier service to deliver an Aquarium LED Unit, value £200.00 to a UK Address. The defendant has breached the contract by losing the item and then failing to reimburse the claimant to the full value of the insured item. The defendant then referred to the item being damaged and so I will be claiming an additional £50 under Torts (Wrongful Interference with Goods) Act 1977. Additional insurance cover was taken out on the item which was paid in full to the value of £5.70. The claimant seeks £200.00 in full, plus interest pursuant to Section 69 off the County Courts Act 1984.

So how would I go about that ? I mean do I just add £100 under the claim amount, along with the daily interest of £1.44 so it would be claim amount of £101.44 ? Would I need to explain it in my Claim Particulars? Also if I was to claim say a further £100 ... That would take the total over £300 ... Meaning the MoneyClaim payment would be £50 instead of £35 if I'm looking at it correctly.

No further ... I've been updating the Hermes support ticket since they rejected to pay me out on the 23rd December. I've put everything in there! Copy of both letters (Letter of claim \ Letter of Damages) \ Royal Mail tracking numbers \ Screenshots of the tracking to show it's been signed for at Hermes Head Office .... Had NOTHING back in terms of communication. So I have done my money claim ready to submit this Thursday 27th January as this will be the 15th day since the Letter Of Claim was signed for. Claim Particulars - Are above if you wanted check that over ?