I am at a loss as a buyer because Hermes constantly loses parcels and I had to pay more for replacements

[73HappyDays]

Can anyone advise, please?

I understand that Hermes contract is with the seller.

But, to date (over a period of 4 years) this company has lost ALL my eBay parcels!

 

I recently purchased a rare and discontinued Tom Ford item and didn't know the seller would use Hermes.

And, as expected, Hermes 'lost' the parcel at its National hub.

Luckily I found a replacement from the US.

 

However, the original item was £20 but the replacement cost £120.

Do I have any chance of winning, if I sue Hermes for the loss of £100 caused by their constant negligence and poor service?

[BankFodder]

In principle you could recover the replacement value but I think it would be a stretch – especially at County Court level. I think these are the kinds of questions are more likely to be dealt with in a satisfactory way by High Court – and a claim for this value would not go to the High Court.

I think we have to say that you couldn't.

Anyway, you talk about having a loss of £100 which suggested me that you accepted Hermes bonbons of £20. Is that right?

He said that they have lost parcels over a period of four years. How many of them? What was the value? Did you accept compensation for them? If you haven't been compensated then you may be able to claim for those because the limitation for breaches of contract is six years

[73HappyDays]

Thanks a lot of the reply. I appreciate the support you provide on this platform. 

 

I have faced losses as a buyer since I moved to Wales four years ago. I did not seem to have the same issues previously where I previously lived in the Midlands. 

 

Over the past four years, Hermes has lost all 6 of my eBay parcels and delivered numerous other retail parcels to an incorrect address that is similar to mines, but has a different post code.  The total value of the lost items exceeds £1000.  I have never faced any issues with any other courier. 

 

Although I received my money from the seller, I am still at a loss as the market value of my items was a lot higher. I spent a lot of time and efforts online to find bargains. Due to Hermes negligence, I repurchased most of the items at 4 or 5 times the original price. I feel powerless, as buyers are usually not given the right to chose their couriers. It is frustrating to know that I will never be able to take advantage of a discount as long as I live at this address because the past experience tells me that Hermes will just take my item. 

 

Apologies for the confusion. The £20 was not compensation from Hermes, but the amount that I paid the eBay seller. The seller stated they will use Royal Mail, but used Hermes. Hermes 'lost' my item. I purchased a replacement for £120. And wondered if I could sue Hermes for the extra £100 that I had to pay because they have a pattern of loosing my items. 

[BankFodder]

Thank you for this. As already indicated, I think it would be a real stretch to recover compensation for the cost of the replacement item. It sounds to me as if you are dealing in quite a specialised market. If you wanted to try then we would help you and it would be interesting to see what happened.

I'm surprised that you don't have the right to choose your courier. If you are dealing on eBay then instead of paying immediately, it is an easy matter to send a message to the seller and ask them for an invoice but make it clear that you want the item sent by some other means. Of course they may refuse but at least you can try. The other thing to do is to contact a seller in advance and say that you are bidding for an item but if you win, then would it be okay for them to use some other means of having the item delivered to and that you will be prepared to pay the extra. The seller may then agree.

Of course I realise that it's all a workaround and of course it's disgusting that one can't rely on Hermes when you pay them their money to do the job properly.

If you have a seller who uses a different means to the one they describe in their auction – then of course they are breaching the contract. However, it would still be a stretch to reclaim the replacement value from them – unless in their auction they claimed that XXX was worth £200 and they were selling it for only £100. In that case I think you would have a very good chance of recovering the £200.

[73HappyDays]

Thanks a lot for the reply.

 

You are correct, I supposed the only way forward is to treble check that sellers who claims they will be using Royal Mail or another courier in their listing don't use Hermes before making the payment. And ask ones who state they will be using Hermes if would consider using another courier before bidding.

 

I hope one day buyers get better legal protection and are told (as a compulsion) who will fulfil the delivery for online transactions. Till then, it may not be fruitful to lose more time and money on Small Claims Court fees if they chances of winning are low.

 

[BankFodder]

I think there's probably right. Sorry