Parcelshop/Hermes 2 -BOSS ME-25 multiple effects pedal switched/stolen ***Settlement Resolved***

[FMJ36]

Hi

 

I am looking to send a letter before action to Hermes following the loss of two items from packages that were tampered and the items stolen before they reached the recipients. The two items were sold on ebay and dropped off at the parcel shop to be delivered by Packlink and Hermes on the same day with the same 8-digit ticket barcode:

 

First item (BOSS ME-25 guitar pedal) sold for £63, including postage with standard cover (up to £25):

 

15/05 - item dropped off at parcelshop, in orginal box with padding, inside a secured delivery bag

19/05 - item arrived at recipients house and recipient reported that he had received a pair of womens ASOS jeans in a clear plastic bag, there are clear signs of tampering and resealing at the top of the bag, the image of the package on the recipients doorstep is clearly not the package that was sent, which weighed 5kg and was nearly 20cm in height. I have attached the photos

20/05 - packlink open formal investigation into theft/tampering of parcel (maximum compensation £25)

20/05 - hermes claim the parcel has been delivered and request that the recipient file a Denial of Receipt if he has not received the item

 

 

Second item (Ipod Classic 120Gb) Sold for £60 including postage with standard cover (up to £25)

 

15/05 - item dropped off at parcelshop, in perfume box with packaging, inside a delivery bag

19/05 item arrived at recipients house and ipod was missing from inside, leaving just an empty box with packaging in the delivery bag (photos attached)

20/05 - packlink have not yet responded to the complaint

 

I have written up a template 'letter before action' to send to hermes customer support ([email protected]) and put it in the quote below. Please have a look and let me know if this is the correct step to take next

 

Quote

Dear Customer Support,

 

I am reporting the theft of two items that have gone through the Hermes network and gone missing. The delivery bags have reached the recipient having clearly been tampered with and with either the item missing or the item replaced. Both items were dropped off to the parcel shop on the same day on the same ticket, barcode - P9814659. 

 

 

The first case is package reference - H0067A0004036768

 

This package was delivered with clear signs of tampering, and a cut through the top where the item (Boss ME-25 pedal) had been removed and then replaced by a pair of womens ASOS jeans in a clear ASOS bag, prior to being delivered. Please find the photos attached. 

 

 

The second case is package reference - H0067A0004037570

 

 This package reached the recipient with the item of value (Ipod Classic 120Gb) missing. The package had been tampered with and the item removed, leaving an empty box with packaging in it when it reached the recipient. Please find the photos attached.

 

 

Under the Consumers Rights Act 2015 I am claiming compensation for the full sale value of both items, which is £123, including cost of postage and insurance. As beneficaries of the contract with Packlink, the Contracts (Right of Third Parties) Act 1999 gives me the right to claim this compensation, directly from Hermes. If my claim is not approved, within 14 days of receipt of this letter, I will be forced to open a small claims case through the Government Small Claim service.

 

Yours sincerely,

...

 

 

Best regards

 

 

[BankFodder]

I've removed the files that you posted.
He posted several files with names which gave no indication as to the contents of the file or which image was which and am afraid that we don't have time to go through and sort out the filing.
If you are going to post up documents then please can you make sure that they are named in a way that means something so we know what we are opening. If this matter goes to court – which it probably won't – then you will certainly have to do that. You won't be able to inspect a judge to do your filing for you.

You are dealing with two low value items here and so getting the compensation you are looking for should be relatively straightforward although it has to go through Hermes they will probably force you to issue proceedings. Recently we've had some people who have had luck with packlink – so you should certainly try it with them.

Because you are dealing with two items, I think it is probably better to run two separate threads so that things don't get complicated. Unless you say that both items were sold to the same recipient – but I get the impression that that is not the case.

In each case, I understand that these events happened very recently and so am afraid that you will at least have to give Packlink an opportunity to receive your complaint and either to pay you out or to decline liability.

If they have done neither within a reasonable period of time – say 14 days – then come back here and we will take you through the process.

In the meantime, you should start reading up the Hermes threads on the sub- forum so you understand the way things normally go and how they generally speaking tend to settle at mediation

[FMJ36]

Thanks BankFodder, I have opened a new topic for the second item (iPod Classic) which can be found here:

 

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/435059-hermes-package-tampered-with-item-stolen/

 

Hermes are now assessing the claim for the first item (BOSS ME-25) and said this will take up to 28 working days. I will update this page when the decision comes through

 

Both companies have now come back :

 

20/05 - Packlink email stating that they are carrying out a formal investigation for tampering/theft

22/05 - Packlink email confirming that the parcel had been lost

24/05 - Packlink dismiss the claim with no compensation (photo below)

            - Hermes deem the parcel as lost in the network and advise contacting Packlink for compensation (photo below)

 

I will prepare a letter before action to post to both Packlink UK and Hermes UK, and will post a draft of it here before sending it off, let me know if there is anything else I need to do before that

 

Thanks

Hermes.pdf Packlink.pdf

 

Here is a draft of my letter before action:

 

Quote

Dear...,

 

I would like to bring to your attention the tampering of a parcel, and subsequent theft of a BOSS ME-25 multiple effects pedal, while in transit through the Hermes network. As a private seller, this has cost me the full sale value of the item of £56 plus postage costs of £6.68. Under the Consumers Rights Act 2015, I am claiming compensation for this value - £62.68. Given that Hermes are beneficiaries of the contract with Packlink, the Contracts (Right of Third Parties) Act 1999 gives me the right to claim this compensation directly from Hermes. If my claim is not approved, within 14 days of receipt of this letter, I will be opening a small claims case through the County Courts.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

I tried to keep it brief and to the point, let me know if there's anything missing

 

Thanks

[BankFodder]

I like brief a lot. Brief is very good. However, you start off by saying that you would like to bring it to the attention blah blah blah as if you are raising the issue for the first time. Also you haven't mentioned any reference number so they have no idea what you are banging on about.

You should start off by saying something like

"As you know, on XXX date I used your service to send a parcel containing a XXX to a UK address. It was sent under your reference number XXX.
I have already informed you that when it arrived at its destination, the parcel had been tampered with and no longer contains the item above.

The item was properly declared and the value was properly declared at £XX. You have refused to reimburse me for the theft of my property.

Talk about the 1999 act – blah blah."

Head it up – "Letter of Claim".

Do it again and stay after school until it's done properly
 

[FMJ36]

Thanks BankFodder, I've revised the Letter of Claim and will e-mail and post it today. From what I've seen on these threads the next step is to prepare the claim on the MCOL website, so I'll start on that now. Will update here again when I next hear from Hermes or if I have any questions about the process

[BankFodder]

Post the draft POC here before you click it off

[FMJ36]

Heres the draft:

 

Quote

Dear Martin de Lange,

 

On 15/05/20 I used Hermes service to send a parcel, containing a BOSS ME-25 multiple effects pedal, to a UK address. It was sent under Hermes reference number - H0067A0004036768. I have informed you that when it arrived at its destination, the parcel had been tampered with and no longer contained the item above.

The item was properly declared and the value was properly declared at £62.68. My compensation claim, for the theft of this item, has been dismissed.

 

Under the Consumers Rights Act 2015, I am claiming compensation for the value of £62.68. Given that Hermes are beneficiaries of the contract with Packlink, the Contracts (Right of Third Parties) Act 1999 gives me the right to claim this compensation directly from Hermes. If my claim is not approved, within 14 days of receipt of this letter, I will be opening a small claims case through the County Courts.

 

Yours sincerely,

...

 

[BankFodder]

You're the second person today who has this made the same misunderstanding of the 1999 Act

also, you haven't headed up "Letter of Claim"

 

[FMJ36]

Amended as follows:

 

Quote

Letter of Claim

 

 

Dear Martin de Lange,

 

On 15/05/20 I used Hermes service to send a parcel, containing a BOSS ME-25 multiple effects pedal, to a UK address. It was sent under Hermes reference number - H0067A0004036768. I have informed you that when it arrived at its destination, the parcel had been tampered with and no longer contained the item above.

The item was properly declared and the value was properly declared at £62.68. My compensation claim, for the theft of this item, has been dismissed.

 

Under the Consumers Rights Act 2015, I am claiming compensation for the value of £62.68. Under the Contracts (Right of Third Parties) Act 1999 I have the right to claim this compensation directly from Hermes. If my claim is not approved, within 14 days of receipt of this letter, I will be opening a small claims case through the County Courts.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

I've had a look at some examples of Particulars of Claim on other threads here and drafted this:

 

Quote

The claimant used the defendant's courier

service to deliver an item, value – £56 to a

UK address. Reference number

H0067A0004036768. The defendant breached the

contract by losing the item, prior to

delivery, and refuses to compensate the

claimant. The defendant's requirement that a

customer is responsible for insuring

themselves against the defendants own

negligence or the criminality of its

employees are unfair within the meaning of

the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and therefore

unenforceable. The claimant seeks £56 plus

delivery fee £6.68, total: £62.68.

 

Please let me know if anything needs to be changed, or added, for this case in particular. Thanks

[FMJ36]

Just a quick update to the case. Hermes put up a defence and i sent off DQ yesterday, opting for mediation. Attached is a copy of their defence.

 

Doc_20210722_100122 (5).pdf

[BankFodder]

Okay thank you.

It holds no surprises – but you never know, we have to stay on the ball and check if they come up with anything new.

So they aren't really denying very much. They are certainly not denying that they are in breach of contract or that they lost the parcel.

There really simply saying that you are seeing the wrong person. Of course this is entirely misleading and abusive of them because they know full well about the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act but they pretend they don't.

They also want to see proof of the value.

Of course what's really funny – and we seen this before as they say they don't have detailed tracking information and that you have to go to Packlink to see that.

I suppose that must be why they keep on losing the parcels because apparently they never know where they are.

Of course it's all rubbish and I don't believe it and frankly I don't even think they should have signed the statement of truth on this.

Thanks again for uploading this.

You should receive a DQ soon. Indicate you want mediation – and keep on reading the threads on the sub- forum because it's all going the same way.

Keep us updated

[FMJ36]

Hi, quick update on this case

 

Mediation was set for today and I never received a call, I called the mediation customer service and it turns out Hermes had cancelled it on 15/09 and I will receive a letter to inform me - too late

 

The case has now been transferred to the local court and the mediation service told me to wait until i hear from the local court as they may schedule a mediation, because it can't be rescheduled through small claims. I received an email from a Hermes lawyer on 15/09, the same date they cancelled 

Quote

Dear ...,

 

By way of brief introduction, I am a member of Hermes Legal Department and I have taken over conduct of the claim you made against Hermes.

I write with a view to settle the matter.

You are claiming compensation in the sum of £97.68.

Hermes position is that when you sent the parcel you entered in to a contract with Packlink. Hermes Parcelnet Ltd have contacted Packlink and they have advised that the value of the parcel was £56.00, you paid £6.68 for the postage and took out insurance in the sum of £25.00.

Therefore, under the contract you have with Packlink the most you are entitled to is £31.68.  Please note that Hermes Parcelnet Ltd are not liable for the parcel as your contract was with Packlink.

Notwithstanding the above, as a gesture of goodwill Hermes are willing to offer you £31.68 in full and final settlement, which is equivalent to the maximum amount of compensation you would be entitled to under your contract with Packlink. Alternatively, please provide us with proof in the form of receipts and bank statements as to the value of your claim and we will review accordingly.

We also take this opportunity to apologise to you for any issues you have experienced when using our services.

If you would like to accept this offer, please provide me with your account details at your earliest convenience and I will arrange payment.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely

...

 

Getting a bit more complicated than I anticipated but hopefully will be sorted when the local court get in touch. I haven't replied to the email as I have sent all this information before and dealing directly with Hermes doesn't seem wise at this stage. I didn't expect them to dodge mediation though so not sure what to expect next. If you have any experience with this, please let me know. Thanks

[BankFodder]

You're assuming that it's a lawyer. It's much more likely to be one of their paralegals. What is their name?

I don't see any problem about replying to them and I suggest:
 

Quote

Dear Chloe Higgs

Claim number XXX

Thank you for your letter of XXX date.

First of all I would like to point out that  you canceled the mediation at such short notice that I wasn't even informed about it and so I set aside time to receive the call and found myself hanging around doing nothing.

Not only did this inconvenience me but I'm sure that it inconvenienced the mediation service which is under-resourced and would have allocated his own scarce time to this appointment which it had organised because you, as defendant, indicated that you would like to enter into the mediation process.
My mediation appointment with you was scheduled for today, 17 September. I understand that you decided to withdraw from the mediation on the 15th – less than 48 hours before the appointment.
I only discovered because after I waited well beyond the scheduled time, I went to the trouble of phoning the mediation service who told me that you had cancelled.

I'm putting this on record because I shall eventually be showing this letter to the court. I consider your's is an unreasonable style of litigation and I expect that the court will agree with me. 
As you know, the new attitude of the courts is to encourage mediation at every step and for you to abandon it in respect of a claim for such a small amount and so patently unwinnable by you – and at such short notice and without informing me – certainly amounts to unreasonable litigation and I shall be inviting the court to exercise discretion to award me costs on the litigant in person scale. 

You are quite right that I have entered into a contract with Packlink but as Packlink is domiciled in Spain I have decided to apply my rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 which confer upon me full rights to bring an action in contract against you as clearly I was one of the intended beneficiaries of the contract.

There can scarcely be any other interpretation and once again I am quite certain that the court will agree with me.

On the matter of insurance, it is clear that that your insurance scheme first of all is not an "insurance". You are not regulated by the FCA are not authorised by the FCA to provide insurance for anybody and so that itself is a questionable matter.
In any event, the requirement that your own customers pay their money in order to protect you, Hermes, from your own negligence or criminality of your own employees is patently unfair and therefore unenforceable within the meaning of the unfair terms provisions of the Consumer Rights Act.

If you haven't guessed yet, I'm rejecting your goodwill offer and so it looks as if we are going to court.

In terms of "goodwill" you clearly haven't understood that it is Hermes who should be working to deserve the goodwill of their customers. It is not for the customers to earn the goodwill of Hermes.

In terms of the forthcoming litigation to which it seems we are now committed, as I expect that you know, the judge has a duty under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to enquire into the fairness or otherwise and enforceability or otherwise of all the terms are in your contract. I shall be inviting the judge to focus particularly on your insurance requirement.

When the judge then agrees that your insurance requirement is unfair I look forward to publicising the judgement widely on social media and I shall be encouraging as many people as possible to go back to you and to demand retrospective compensation not only for their lost or stolen parcels but also for the return of their so-called "insurance" premium.

And I am sure that the rest of the courier industry will thank you.

Yours sincerely

signed

 

[FMJ36]

Her name is Chloe Higgs. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll write up a reply and update again here when the case moves forward

[BankFodder]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloe-higgs-60b28810b?originalSubdomain=uk

 

[FMJ36]

This case has now been settled over email for the claim full amount, this is the final email regarding it. Thanks for all your help with this one.

Quote

Dear ...,

 

Hermes would like to settle this matter amicably and did agree to mediation. It is unfortunate that the scheduled mediation appointment did not take place however Hermes did not cancel the appointment, it was cancelled by HMCTS. I therefore sent our previous offer in light of the cancelled mediation appointment with a view to resolve this matter.

Further to your email, I note that you have rejected our offer of £31.68. As a gesture of goodwill Hermes is willing to offer you £97.68 in full and final settlement of your claim H8QZ73Y4. If you would like to accept this offer, please provide me with your account details at your earliest convenience and I will arrange payment.

With regard to parcel H0067A0004037570, I have passed this information on to our customer services claims department to investigate and they will be in touch with you shortly. Again, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any issues you have encountered when using our service.

Kind regards,

Chloe Higgs

 

It looks like I may have to file another claim for the other post which was also discussed - https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/435059-hermes-package-tampered-with-item-stolen/ and will update it now with the correspondence I have received

 

Thanks again 

[AndyOrch]

Well done topic title updated to reflect the outcome.

 

Andy

[BankFodder]

Well done. Your last email got a pretty instantaneous response.

[FMJ36]

Thank you, here's the email I sent for reference. I tried to include the important points you made in the example email and re-worded it to match the case

 

Quote

Dear Miss Chloe Higgs,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Following Hermes cancellation of our scheduled mediation for 17/09/2021, which I was not informed of, I will now await instruction from ... Court to proceed with the case.

 

I will not be accepting any offers below the value as stated in the claim. The total amount in settlement I am requesting is £97.68 which has been calculated as below: £56 for the value of the item, £6.68 postage and £35 court fee.

 

Please find attached receipts and evidence confirming the value of my claim. I will be fully content to provide my account details and settle the case in this manner, if the full amount of £97.68 is offered. 

 

Please note that Packlink is domiciled in Spain, therefore I have decided to apply my rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 which confer upon me full rights to bring a legal action against Hermes. In addition to this, Hermes are not are not regulated or authorised by the FCA to provide insurance and the requirement that a customer is responsible for insuring themselves against Hermes own negligence or the criminality of its employees is unfair within the meaning of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and is therefore unenforceable.

 

During mediation I was hoping to resolve another dispute with Hermes without having to take legal action, and take up more of the Small Claims departments time. I sent to your Client a Letter Before Claim, posted on 10/09, for another lost/tampered parcel of the total value of £59.84 (£56 + £3.84 postage), which was posted on 15/05/21, with a Parcel number H0067A0004037570. Please find attached receipts and evidence confirming the value of my claim. I will not file this claim if Hermes are willing to settle this dispute as well, in the full amount of £59.84. Otherwise, I will be forced to file another Small Claim against Hermes which will be opened on 24/09. If legal action is to be taken to resolve this matter, it may involve Hermes having to pay extra court fees and additional costs.

 

In summary, I will provide my account details and agree to settle claim H8QZ73Y4 if the full claim amount of £97.68 is offered. Furthering that, if an additional £59.84 is offered, for the total sum of £157.52, I will consider my upcoming claim for £59.84, plus the resultant court fees of £35, for parcel number H0067A0004037570, also revoked.

 

I look forward to hearing from you what action you would like to take next and I am hopeful we can resolve both matters without going through further proceedings, and taking up any more of the Small Claims department and the Courts time.

 

 

Yours sincerely,

...

 

[BankFodder]

Well I prefer my version