Parcel Hero + EVRi = Lost laptop - *** Successful Claim ****

[alanwicker555]

Hi there, 

 

Firstly - thanks so much to the Admins of this forum who are so supportive to others. I've learned so much from reading about other's plights and feel strong solidarity with wronged parcel senders who have visited this site!

 

So - my story...

Reading through other posts I guess I'm yet another victim of EVRi who I sub-contracted with Parcel Hero to deliver a laptop I had sold on eBay.

EVRi were the only carrier offering Saturday delivery when I got my quotations - little did I know that the package would never get beyond 'We've got it' in the tracker.

 

The laptop was worth well in excess of £1,500. I noticed that the very expensive insurance offered by Parcel Hero does not cover computer monitors and also that EVRi do not cover laptops under their terms but the item was well packaged so I felt confident it could only be damaged by serious negligence... I never expected that the courier would simply 'lose' the item and then hide behind their terms and conditions... a hard lesson learned. 

 

I kept a timeline of my activity and actions which I attach.

 

I have also today issued a letter of claim which I include below - this was a light modification of one I found elsewhere on this site.

 

I very much welcome any feedback you may have while I await a response to my letter of claim from Parcel Hero. 

 

Appreciate it!

Martin 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BankFodder]

Please could you post up any documents in PDF format. I'm afraid that JPEG are difficult to deal with and causes problems for people especially those with small screens.
PDFs please. Single file multipage.

You say that you have already been reading around this forum and so you understand the stories and the steps involved in making a claim against Hermes. You also understand that you will inevitably end up having to go to court.

Please could you set out what has happened in a brief chronological timeline. Try and skip the narrative.

If you done a letter of claim then can you please put it up in type format – not a JPEG – or in PDF format.

I understand that you are claiming for a laptop computer which was sold for £1500.

Was this all properly declared?

Did you take out insurance?

Have you made your formal complaint against Hermes or P2G and have they declined your claim – and on what grounds.

As you originally contracted with P2G and because they are based in the UK – unlike Packlink who are based in Spain, you have the option of suing either one.

[alanwicker555]

Hey - thanks for the quick response. For some reason my pasted text appears as JPEG - have sorted that now. Timeline of events is below along with the Letter of Claim that I sent yesterday. I have previously sent a letter of complaint which was rebuffed as I mention above. 

 

I did enter the parcel value when I created the parcel label, I did not take the insurance as I noticed that the very expensive insurance offered by Parcel Hero does not cover computer monitors and also that Hermes do not cover laptops under their terms - I therefore packaged the parcel carefully to ensure it would be safe in transit and took it to the parcel shop. 

 

Timeline of Events:

26th February 2021 - 10:20AM - Dropped off at the ParcelShop. Hermes label printer was used in-store to produce postage label. 
26th February 2021 - 11:55AM - Collected from the ParcelShop (by Hermes driver)
27th February 2021 - 10:20AM - eBay tracking states 'Claims code issued' This is updated every day or so with the same message. 
27th February - 5th March (Various times) - Called Hermes Customer Services and used chat facility multiple times. Unable to speak or connect to agent as parcel was sent via a broker (ParcelHero.com). ParcelHero stated that couldn't investigate as the parcel had not yet been missing for 7 days. 
5th March 2021 - 11:08AM - Emailed Martin De Lange (CEO Hermes UK) requesting assistance.
5th March 2021 - 12:00PM (approx.) - Visited parcel shop, met Hermes driver and was advised to visit depot for further guidance. 
5th March 2021 - 13:00PM (approx.) - Visited Hermes depot in Weybridge. Spoke to customer services representative who stated parcel was highly likely to be 'lost'. Ahmed was very helpful and really put us at ease that someone would look into the matter on his end. Ahmed mentioned that had opened an internal case to try and get the matter looked into. 
5th March 2021 - 13:14 - Opened a case with Resolver.co.uk and entered all known details at the time into the request. 
6th March 2021 - 15:49 - Received email from Hermes support (Sarah Turner) requesting address details of ParcelShop and parcel description which were provided back via email. 
8th March 2021 - 09:30AM - Received response from Hermes via Resolver.co.uk (Asim Hameed) apologising for the conduct of a Hermes 'Service Provider' and that additional action would be taken. Replied requesting further information about my parcel whereabouts and awaiting a response. 
8th March 2021 - 11:00AM - Visited Parcel Shop and met with the owner. Inspected and took recordings from CCTV system showing a Hermes driver collecting the parcels from the shop. My parcel is clearly visible in the recordings and can be seen being taken away by driver. 
9th March 2021 - Reported the laptop stolen with Surrey police. Crime number 45210024254. 
10th March 2021 - 09:48AM Received update from Danial via Resovler.co.uk stating that the parcel is now considered lost and providing a link to a Lost Claim Form. When clicking the link, the form does not work and I was unable to open a claim. When I asked for an appropriate link, I did not receive a response. 
10th March 2021 - 12:55PM Received call from PC Ian Heathy from Surrey Police EXT 37662 and discussed what had occurred and the timeline. The officer informed me that there was no reasonable way for Surrey Police to investigate the matter but agreed to email Hermes CEO (Martijn DeLange) requesting details of what internal investigations had concluded. 
12th March 2021 - 16:34PM Sent message via resolver.co.uk stating that I was unable to open a claim with Hermes due to a server error and requested an alternative means to create a claim. No response was received. 
16th March 2021 - 10:25AM Sent further message to Martijn DeLange stating that I was unable to open a claim due to a server error and provided a screenshot of the issue. No response was received. 
26th March 2021 - Issued a formal letter of complaint to Parcel Hero
7th April 2021 - Received response from Parcel Hero. Response cites that the parcel has been lost and they will not compensate me as I did not take out their 'enhanced cover' and provided me with a £15 credit.
29th April 2021 - Issued a letter of claim to Parcel Hero. 

 

 

Letter of Claim - Tracking number: xxxxxxxxx

 

Dear Sir, Madam, 

 

On 26/02/2021 I used your service to send a parcel under the above reference number.

 

The parcel did not arrive at the destination and after several exchanges with your customer service staff, I was told that the item was lost. I was also told that I would not be entitled to make any compensation claim because I had not purchased an additional compensation cover.

 

My position is that I have paid the delivery fee and it is not for me to insure against the negligence of Parcel Hero or your underlying carriers. It is for Parcel Hero to protect themselves against liability for their own negligence and not pass the buck onto their customers. I see this requirement as an unenforceable unfair term designed to exclude liability and to prevent me from taking a legal action. 

 

I am preparing to take you to court. If you force this to a court hearing – you can be certain that I shall be producing evidence from many different sources to show that you and your subcontractor Hermes, systematically lose parcels and decline liability on spurious grounds which are unfair and unenforceable.

 

The contents of my parcel were valued at £1,625.00  plus the delivery fee of £11.88.

 

If I do not have reimbursement in full within 14 days then I shall issue a claim in the County Court to recover this money from you plus interest and without any further notice.

 

Particulars of Claim
The claimant used the defendant's courier service to deliver an item, value – £1,625.00 to a UK address. Reference number xxxxxxxxxxxx. The defendant breached the contract by losing the item and refuses to compensate the claimant on the basis that the claimant did not take out the defendant's insurance policy. The defendant's requirement that a customer is responsible for insuring themselves against the defendants own negligence or the criminality of its employees and subcontractors is unfair within the meaning of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and therefore unenforceable. The claimant seeks £1,625.00 plus delivery fee £11.88, total: £1,636.88+ interest pursuant to section 69 County Courts act 1984

 

Yours sincerely, 
xxx

 

[BankFodder]

3 hours ago, BankFodder said:

Please could you set out what has happened in a brief chronological timeline. Try and skip the narrative.

 

 

[alanwicker555]

Have distilled to what I believe are the most salient items below. Thanks for your help. 

 

Timeline of Events:

26th February 2021 - 10:20AM - Dropped off at the ParcelShop. 
26th February 2021 - 11:55AM - Collected from the ParcelShop (by Hermes driver)
27th February 2021 - 10:20AM - eBay tracking states 'Claims code issued' This is updated every day or so with the same message. 
27th February - 5th March (Various times) - Called Hermes Customer Services and used chat facility multiple times. Unable to speak or connect to agent as parcel was sent via a broker (ParcelHero.com). ParcelHero stated that couldn't investigate as the parcel had not yet been missing for 7 days. 
5th March 2021 - 12:00PM (approx.) - Visited parcel shop, met Hermes driver and was advised to visit depot for further guidance. 
5th March 2021 - 13:00PM (approx.) - Visited Hermes depot in Weybridge. 
5th March 2021 - 13:14 - Opened a case with Resolver.co.uk
6th March 2021 - 15:49 - Received email from Hermes support (Sarah Turner) requesting further details
8th March 2021 - 09:30AM - Received response from Hermes via Resolver.co.uk (Asim Hameed) apologising for the conduct of a Hermes 'Service Provider' and that additional action would be taken. Replied requesting further information about my parcel whereabouts and awaiting a response. 
8th March 2021 - 11:00AM - Visited Parcel Shop and met with the owner. Inspected CCTV system. My parcel is clearly visible in the recordings and can be seen being taken away by driver. 
9th March 2021 - Reported the laptop stolen with Surrey police. Crime number 45210024254. 
10th March 2021 - 09:48AM Received update from Danial via Resovler.co.uk stating that the parcel is now considered lost and providing a link to a Lost Claim Form. The form does not work and I was unable to open a claim. When I asked for an appropriate link, I did not receive a response.  
12th March 2021 - 16:34PM Sent message via resolver.co.uk stating that I was unable to open a claim with Hermes due to a server error and requested an alternative means to create a claim. No response was received. 
16th March 2021 - 10:25AM Sent further message to Martijn DeLange stating that I was unable to open a claim due to a server error and provided a screenshot of the issue. No response was received. 
26th March 2021 - Issued a formal letter of complaint to Parcel Hero
7th April 2021 - Received response from Parcel Hero. Response cites that the parcel has been lost and they will not compensate me as I did not take out their 'enhanced cover' and provided me with a £15 credit.
29th April 2021 - Issued a letter of claim to Parcel Hero. 

[BankFodder]

23 minutes ago, alanwicker555 said:

 

 

 

Letter of Claim - Tracking number: xxxxxxxxx

 

Dear Sir, Madam, 

 

On 26/02/2021 I used your service to send a parcel under the above reference number.

 

The parcel did not arrive at the destination and after several exchanges with your customer service staff, I was told that the item was lost. I was also told that I would not be entitled to make any compensation claim because I had not purchased an additional compensation cover.

 

I am preparing to take you to court. If you force this to a court hearing – you can be certain that I shall be producing evidence from many different sources to show that you and your subcontractor Hermes, systematically lose parcels and decline liability on spurious grounds which are unfair and unenforceable.

 

The contents of my parcel were valued at £1,625.00  plus the delivery fee of £11.88.

 

If I do not have reimbursement in full within 14 days then I shall issue a claim in the County Court to recover this money from you plus interest and without any further notice.

 

 

Yours sincerely, 
xxx

 

 

This is all you need in your particulars of claim.

Send it off now – and then register with moneyclaim online and start preparing your claim.

Post your proposed particulars of claim here for us to see before you click it off.

You clearly do understand the arguments in respect of their so-called insurance requirement.

As long as the contents of the parcel were properly declared and as long as the value was properly declared – then our view is that you are satisfied all the requirements.

As you know, it is really for the courier company to protect themselves against negligence or criminality of their own employees. Not for you.

Please make sure that you read all the steps involved in taking a small claim to the County Court so that you are confident about what you're doing. It's straightforward but it is worth making sure that you are in control.

Very likely your claim go to mediation – look at the mediation stories here. There are several excellent summaries of people's mediation experience which will be helpful to you.

Let me do point out, that based on the value of what you are claiming here, there is a possibility that they may decide to stick their heels on the mediation and to force it to a court hearing. After that, it is extremely likely that they will put their hands up just before the court hearing because in fact they will be testing your resolve.

However, if it does go to a court hearing then it would be if an opportunity for their insurance requirement to be tested against the unfair terms provisions in the consumer rights act 2015. That would be very interesting to us and of course we would expect a judge to declare that the insurance requirement is unfair.

That would be very serious blow for the courier industry.

Please keep us updated. You may well get some kind of response from P2G but stick to your timeline. You would have given them 14 days – wait until day 15 and then click off the claim.

[alanwicker555]

Thanks so much for your help so far BankFodder. 

 

Here are my particulars of claim in preparation for submitting a claim in a weeks time or so. Appreciate any guidance you may have. 

 

Particulars of Claim

Quote

The claimant used the defendant's courier service to deliver an item, value – £1,625.00 to a UK address. Reference number xxxxxxxxxxxx. Defendant breached the contract by losing the item and refuses to compensate the claimant on the basis that the claimant did not take out the defendant's insurance policy. The defendant's requirement that a customer is responsible for insuring themselves against the defendants own negligence or the criminality of its employees and subcontractors is unfair within the meaning of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and therefore unenforceable. The claimant invites the court to exercise its power under the consumer rights act to examine the fairness or unfairness of the defendants contractual terms. The claimant seeks £1,625.00 plus delivery fee £11.88, total: £1,636.88+ interest pursuant to section 69 County Courts act 1984

Martin 

[BankFodder]

I made an amendment in red – and if that all fits in then I think the invitation to the court to examine the entire contract for fairness and unenforceability may up the ante a little. It would certainly be quite exciting if it actually got to court

[alanwicker555]

Love it, thanks. It fits within the limit of the submission and I'm ready to press the button on the 14th May. 

 

Thanks for all your help so far. 

[alanwicker555]

Hi Bankfodder - I received a response from ParcelHero today. 

 

As per their response to my initial complaint, they are taking the line that 'you were prompted during the booking process that you would not be covered for loss or damage and offered the option to upgrade, however you chose not to upgrade to our enhanced cover and continued with your booking...' They make this point in their letter despite Hermes expressly listing laptops as an item which is not covered under their compensation policy. They have offered (and also paid) a £15 credit into my ParcelHero account as well as refunding my initial postage. 

 

They also note that they provided their limits of liability in the order summary page and which customers are required to accept in order to proceed with the booking. 

 

I'm ready to push the button on the small claim however I very much welcome and appreciate any further guidance you may have. 

 

Thanks,

Martin 

[BankFodder]

Thanks.

I'm not going back through the thread at the moment – but as long as the laptop was correctly declared and the values correctly declared – then you know what we have to say about insurance requirements et cetera.

As soon as your letter of claim deadline expires then click off the claim.

One thing that occurs to me – and you might like to find out – is that having declared that it was a laptop of that particular value, would it then allow you to go on to get insurance?

That would be quite amusing to find that it was apparently on their prohibited items list – and yet they would still sell you insurance. If you found that out, we could store it away and use it.

[alanwicker555]

Hi Bankfodder, 

 

Yes - they do allow you to purchase insurance even when you identify an item in the contents description field which is on their exclusion list. The text on the page links to the compensation list for items not covered but does not compare the data entered by the user with the exclusion list - the user is expected to do this manually. I have taken a couple of screenshots.

 

Additionally, unlike all other couriers available on ParcelHero, they do not offer a basic level of cover for loss or damage when Hermes is selected by the user - other couriers have a minimum of £50 cover included in the fee. Surely this obviously shows they have less confidence with this supplier than with others - perhaps they should make this clearer on their website also with some kind of 'probability of loss' metric!  

 

Will start the court action tomorrow. 

[alanwicker555]

Brief update on this - PARCELHERO filed an acknowledgment of service on 28/05/2021. Will update once they have filed their defence. 

[alanwicker555]

Hi there BankFodder and team - PARCELHERO filed their defence last Friday: below is what has been written: 

 

* Claimant entered into an agreement to send a shipment via a
carrier of his choice.
* That carrier was Hermes.

* For all Hermes bookings we do not offer any free cover in the event of loss or damage, so unless any is purchased, in the event of either loss or damage, a claim cannot be processed.
* During the booking process the claimant, despite presented with the option to purchase cover, selected the option that states he will 'accept the risk' of sending his item without cover.

* Unfortunately the claimants item was lost by their chosen carrier Hermes, so the claim was respectfully denied by Parcelhero.com Ltd as per our contractual agreement.

 

Here is the latest in the claim history - 

A bar was put in place for PARCELHERO.COM LIMITED on 11/06/2021

PARCELHERO.COM LIMITED filed a defence on 11/06/2021 at 14:05:11

DQ sent to PARCELHERO.COM LIMITED on 14/06/2021

 

I gather from the MCOL user guide that I will now be sent a questionnaire to be completed and returned and that mediation is a likely next steps. As ever, I would be grateful for any observations or focus areas of advice you could offer. 

Many thanks in advance,

Martin 
 

[BankFodder]

Okay. Same old story.

I've written lots of commentaries on the arguments to use in respect of the various defences. Please make sure you understand what we are saying in terms of the fairness of unfairness of the requirement that it is you who insures against the negligence of the company or the criminality of their employees. It is the company which should be taking out insurance not their own customers.

Imagine going into a restaurant and you get food poisoning and then the restaurant says that they don't have third party insurance. It is the customers job.

Make sure you are thoroughly familiar with all the various principles and also the mediation journey. Lots of good summaries here about the mediation experience.

Let us know when you get the DQ. And small claims track. Agree to mediation – because they probably will have indicated that they want it.

Keep us updated

[alanwicker555]

Hi Bankfodder - brief update, the claim was transferred to Kingston-upon-Thames on MoneyClaim but haven't heard anything else since the 8th July. Not sure this is normal procedure and I should wait or whether I should chase them. Very much appreciate any thoughts or insights. 

 

Thanks!

[AndyOrch]

Times vary by court and workload....you will receive a Notice of Allocation shortly (N157) which sets out the next stages and will include the courts directions as to what you must prepare next.

 

Andy

[alanwicker555]

Hi all - quick update on my case and a question which I'd really appreciate some guidance on: 

 

Finally received and N24 from Kingston County Court today confirming allocation to small claims track and inviting me to accept mediation which I have already confirmed via email this afternoon. Looks like they have quite the backlog at the moment!

 

The letter also ask that I prepare/send statements of any evidence that I might wish to rely upon in court by the 5th November. Would anyone recommend that I pull together any materials in case mediation doesn't move forward promptly? I've seen other cases of people pulling evidence of Hermes poor handing of parcels etc - would you suggest I do the same? 

 

Thanks as usual for your support!

 

[AndyOrch]

For a mediation appointment I dont really see any point...mediation isn't a trial...you either agree to compromise should they make an offer or you refuse and move to a hearing.

[alanwicker555]

Hey all, 

 

So far ParcelHero hasn't agreed to go for mediation - and so this could well be moving towards a court hearing. I had a deadline to present any supporting evidence to the court of today with regard to any evidence I would rely on in court, if it goes that far. As I don't have any documentation I haven't submitted anything but was wondering if it's worth submitting some photos of Hermes negligence as submitted in other cases? Very much welcome your thoughts. 

Martin 

[BankFodder]

No I don't think that's helpful. You aren't suing Hermes and the action is in contract anyway.

 

[alanwicker555]

Ok thanks. I won’t submit anything in addition and will wait to see what happens next. 

[alanwicker555]

ParcelHero have forwarded me their witness statements - so it looks like we’re heading for a hearing! I have not submitted any materials to the court in addition to my original claim. Any advice or recommendations would be very much appreciated. 

[AndyOrch]

So you have not complied with the courts directions to both parties contained within your N157 Notice of Allocation ?

[alanwicker555]

The court asked for any additional witness statements and materials to be presented by the 5th November. As I don’t have anything in addition, I didn’t submit anything. No date for hearing yet.