A draft Letter Before Action, if anyone else requires. Hermes Parcelnet Ltd Capitol House 1 Capitol Close, Morley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS27 0WH Dear Martijn De Lange, Due to the fact you have failed to honour your compensation and are now ignoring my inquiries to your customer service department, I am therefore forced to write this correspondence and take matters further. As it has not been possible to resolve this matter amicably, and it is apparent that court action may be necessary, I write in compliance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct. You have acknowledged fault in failing to deliver my parcel confirming the parcel as being lost in your network. You have confirmed the refund amount and have even stated you have transfer funds, confirming when funds should be received. However have repeatedly lied and provided excuses when raising to you the fact the funds have not been received. From you I am claiming £££, the sum of XXXXX. I have calculated this sum from the cost of the item sent through your network. The level of compensation selected and postage paid. I also use your email dated the Feb, whereby you agree to compensation of this amount. I will be provided your email correspondence in court. In accordance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct I would request that you provide me with copies of the following documents: All email correspondence for parcel id. All documentation in relation to parcel id I can confirm that I would be agreeable to mediation and would consider any other system of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in order to avoid the need for this matter to be resolved by the courts. I would invite you to put forward any proposals in this regard. In closing, I would draw your attention to paragraphs 15 and 16 of the Practice Direction which gives the courts the power to impose sanctions on the parties if they fail to comply with the direction including failing to respond to this letter before claim. I look forward to hearing from you within the next 28 days. Should I not receive a response to my letter within this time frame, then I anticipate that court action will be commenced with no further reference to you. Yours faithfully, I shall upload this week. I wanted to see how Hermes responded first. Ofcom's reply. Classification: CONFIDENTIAL Ofcom Reference: XXXXXXXX 25 February 2022 Dear Mr XXXXXXXXX Thank you for your letter sent to Ofcom dated 21 February 2022. I understand from your correspondence that you raised a complaint with Hermes, as four parcels sent via their network have been lost. You state the company confirmed compensation has been paid; however, you have not received this. I appreciate your concern and I hope the information provided is helpful in assisting you. Although it is Ofcom’s role to regulate the postal industry, our remit does not extend to couriers as there is competition in this area. It was, however, useful to be made aware of your experience and we will use the information as part of overall role in identifying areas of consumer concern. If you remain unhappy, you can contact Citizens Advice consumer service for guidance on how to take your concerns further. Citizens Advice consumer service supplies free, confidential and impartial advice on a range of consumer issues. You can contact the Citizens Advice consumer service by telephone on: 0345 4040506 or via its website at: www.adviceguide.org.uk. We also recently published the following, which you may find helpful: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2021/stronger-protections-for-parcel-customers I am sorry that we cannot assist you on this occasion but thank you for contacting us. I hope the information above has been useful. Yours sincerely Rachael Hulme Consumer Contact Team ofcom.pdf

Update from Ofcom. You can respond to this email providing further details about what has happened with Hermes. As you mention sending parcels through the Hermes network, it appears you are the sender and if this is the case, you should pursue the matter with Hermes directly and/or Citizens Advice for further guidance if you have failed to resolve the matter. Citizens Advice supplies free, confidential and impartial advice on a range of consumer issues and can be contacted by telephone on: 0345 404 0506 or via their website at: www.adviceguide.org.uk. If this relates to a large business account, you may wish to consider seeking legal guidance. Ofcom advise reporting all issues with Hermes to them, via the following email. [email protected] Furthermore, I have sent a notice before action letter to Hermes. Their lack of accountability is disgusting, despite using them everyday for my orders.

I am a regular customer of Hermes having used their service for the past 10 years to send orders from my online store. Other than the regular issues faced on a daily/weekly basis, lost and damaged parcels, Hermes have always acted in a professional manner, accepting responsibility where it is indeed their fault. Until now... 4 parcels (of which were Christmas presents) were sent over the Christmas period. The highest rate of compensation was selected. These parcels have been lost in their network. I submitted the relevant claim forms and waited for further instructions. In time, Hermes accepted the responsibility and requested my bank details in order to pay the compensation due. It is here where the problems arise. The first email received on the 24th January by Hermes after a month of submitting the claim requested the reason why the parcel was sent. I stated it was a Christmas present. The second email received the next day on the 25th January requested my bank details. I obliged straight away. The email of the 25th January stated the following. After 12 days and no refund, I emailed Hermes again to be met with a reply on the same day, 10th February stating the following. I can see your claim was paid out on 27/01/2022, please contact your bank if you still haven’t received it. I contacted my bank, Monzo on the 11th February - who stated no payment had been received from Hermes. (Of which I already knew). They advised asking for the the ARN (Acquirer Reference Number) for the refund so as a search could be carried out. This was requested. A reply on the 14th February from Hermes stated. Now I know this is not the case, as I have requested an ARN number from Hermes before and they have provided. Alarm bells started to ring. On the 17th, Hermes requested that I provide my bank statement between the dates in which the refund should have been received into my account. I thought this strange to request such personal details, but in order to be helpful. I obliged. A further email was received on the 19th February stating the following. I was utterly shocked by this email. How can such an email be sent to a customer? But further alarm bells are starting to ring once again. I am being taken for a ride? Is this Hermes attempt of causing me to give up, and to pay out? What would be the best next step? A letter before action, prior to a small claims court claim? This is the same for the other 3 parcels lost. It would appear Hermes are happy to dish out lie after lie. I thank you for your time. Keep safe.