Parcel2Go/Hermes stolen parcel - Small claims started

[danbeatles78]

Hi

 

Used Parcel2Go/Hermes to deliver two parcels to the same residential address, this was the result of a sale through eBay for £1100

 

i have used this combo a few times to deliver and never had an issue until now

 

Both parcels were sent without insurance - I had previously took out insurance on a parcel that was damaged which the courier company managed to wriggle their way out of paying compensation so from that moment I decided taking insurance was pointless.

 

anyway back to the reason I’m posting here

 

both parcels were collected by Hermes and logged in their tracking system and I insisted and paid for a signature from the recipient once delivered 

 

now one parcel was left by a side gate and no signature was obtained

 

The second more expensive part according to Hermes tracking system was returned to their hub depot for attempted delivery the next day

 

now according to my buyer on eBay no attempt was made to deliver the 2nd parcel , the buyer then went to the local Hermes depot and spoke to the manager who advised the parcel was not there and they then said the parcel appeared to have been stolen by the local courier who they sub letted the job to and he wasn’t contactable - the same person also confirmed this to me over the phone and she said her security team had been made aware but my best option was to go back to Parcel2Go.

 

I went back to Parcel2Go  who said they would look into and speak to Hermes to try and get this resolved.

 

couple of days later I received an email from Parcel2Go confirming my parcel had been found and they would deliver the next working

 

Problem over or so I thought, I was then advised by my eBay buyer that no delivery had been attempted and I got back on to P2GO who said they were having trouble delivering to the address - to me it seemed like they were stalling for time

 

i then received an email saying the item was now lost and they offered me £20 in compensation which I declined three times and then I decided to file a claim online through the court on the 3rd June and I just checked online at it says Parcel2Go have filed acknowledgement of service and intend to contest the claim.

 

just looking for some guidance , I have read through similar cases on here and the good work that goes on here in terms of helpful advice that’s offered.

 

i myself cannot believe this kind of practice is allowed to carry on and companies like P2GO & Hermes think they can get away this

 

 

 

 

[BankFodder]

Did you declare the correct value when you booked it in?

 

Please can you post up your POC in scanned PDF format.

[danbeatles78]

for some reason it has £700 as the declared value , I definitely remember putting in £1100 Which is what my eBay sale was for and of course I have proof of the sale on EBay 

 

sorry can you confirm what POC is ? I’m new to this

[BankFodder]

Click the POC link

[danbeatles78]

Doc_20190609_075438.pdf

[BankFodder]

Thank you. It's rather verbose and doesn't really state the basis of your action. A pity you didn't come here first.

However, I doubt very much whether you are going to succeed on the actual value of your item. I think you have a high chance of success on the declared value but unfortunately by claiming for an amount which you didn't declare, you may have undermined the credibility of even the recoverable portion of your claim.
Here is an explanation

 

[danbeatles78]

Yeah I don’t know why the declared value was £700 with Parcel2Go when I sold it for £1100 , perhaps a mistake on my part when booking it 

 

I declared it at £1100 as I had proof of sale on eBay , and with what happened since I sent it surely these companies must be accountable - the fact they confirmed in writing they had recovered my item 

 

I suppose I’m now unable to amend my claim to £700? 

 

With Parcel2Go now putting together their case do you think I should see this through? Will this end up costing me more? It’s really is a sorry situation 

 

 

 

 

[BankFodder]

No I think you should continue but be aware that Parcel2Go will leverage this against you and you should be prepared to step back from it.

If you look through other posts about this kind of problem, by being obliged to buy insurance you are effectively paying out of your pocket to ensure them against their failure/breach of contract. It's absurd that this has become the dominating culture. It's exactly like buying an extended warranty.

I'm afraid that you come in for some criticism here because you were aware of the problem with the declaration and yet you decided to go for a higher figure.

Parcel2Go agreed to ship your consignment knowing that it was worth £700. For whatever reason they have breach their contract obligation towards you and they will effectively be saying that because you didn't extra to insure against their negligence/breach, that you should sacrifice the declared value of your property. It's nonsense.

Parcel2Go will come back to the standard 30 page defence. They will push you into paying the hearing fee and then they may put their hands up before the hearing. Normally speaking we are dealing with much smaller sums than £700 and so far they have always caved in. £700 might be a little more interesting to them. Also, because you have tried to claim £1100 they may consider that they have a higher chance of success on the entire claim. This may embolden them and decide to take their chances in court – and so in respect of this you have done yourself no favours. If they were on an obvious loser then they will be more likely to put their hands up. The correct solution for them is to offer you £700 plus your court costs and the correct response from you would be to accept this.

On the other hand, you may have given yourself a slight advantage as as it gets closer to the hearing you could consider telling them that you will back down on your full claim and except £700. On the other hand they may consider that you've blinked the and they may agree to pay you £700 but without your court costs because they will say that the claim for £1100 was unjustifiable and you should not have brought it in the first place.
I think you need to wait until you receive the defence. Most of it be in a standard format that they will probably make reference to the fact that there is a discrepancy between the amount you claimed and your declared value. Come back here let us know and we will help you to leverage that.

Also, I see that you have had interesting telephone calls with them where they have made admissions as to what may have happened to your parcel. I suppose that you have no evidence that these calls ever took place. Please read our customer services guide and implement the advice there and start recording your calls in all future dealings.
 

[danbeatles78]

Sure , in terms of the phone calls I got the name of the branch manager at Hermes but it all happened rather quickly as I was frantic trying to track it down

 

yes agreed I haven’t done myself any favours in terms of the declared value but I was adamant I put in £1100 as it makes no sense to me why it would be £700

 

thank you for your help so far it’s certainly an eye opener and once you go through something like this it’s hard to know where you stand or who to turn to so I appreciate your input.

 

 

[BankFodder]

Let us know when they respond.

[HELPPARCEL2GO]

On 09/06/2019 at 08:57, danbeatles78 said:

Sure , in terms of the phone calls I got the name of the branch manager at Hermes but it all happened rather quickly as I was frantic trying to track it down

 

yes agreed I haven’t done myself any favours in terms of the declared value but I was adamant I put in £1100 as it makes no sense to me why it would be £700

 

thank you for your help so far it’s certainly an eye opener and once you go through something like this it’s hard to know where you stand or who to turn to so I appreciate your input.

 

 

any update on this please? keen to see what the outcome was and whether or not parcel2go backed down and paid you your money.

Regards

[BankFodder]

Yes, I think we would all appreciate an update. It's very frustrating when we go to the trouble of helping people and then they never come back and tell us what happened. It's unhelpful to us and it is unhelpful to people who find themselves in a similar situation

[danbeatles78]

Apologies all it dragged on a little but I settled via court mediation

 

parcel2go kept refuting my claim and offered me £20

 

I went down the route of mediation 

 

although I felt I had a strong case I settled on £300 

 

Although I had no insurance I at least had ‘signed for service’ which wasn’t secured by Hermes 

 

also so I didn’t really want to go to court and face the prospect of losing the case and losing more money 

 

overall a massive lesson learned and I will never use Parcel2Go or Hermes again

 

[BankFodder]

Thanks for the update.

In resp in respect of never using them again, I think that's the wrong approach. You have now shown them that you mean business. Don't waste the effort on the lesson that you have taught them. Carry on using them but don't stand for any nonsense in future – and also use the lessons to watch your own back as well.