DPD have "Lost" my parcel - Purchased via DPD Local Online (Parcel2Go)

[CarboRexic]

Hi,

 

So I've been in contact with DPD UK Ltd directly and Dpd Local online (Parcel2Go) regarding my parcel which was "Lost". It's a long story so I will keep it short and any details I may have shortened I can expand  on later in the thread

 

8th of August I sold a PlayStation 5 on ebay for £530

I purchased the label from DPD Local Online (at the time thinking I was buying directly from DPD but turns out its actually run by Parcel2go and they have the account with DPD)

I posted the item on the 9th 

10th of August at 1:30pm it was marked as delivered, but with no picture as proof of delivery as is normal practice for DPD

5:30pm buyer contacts me on ebay saying that basically the driver left the parcel in a "safe place" I.e his front door step and he lives on a main street where many people walk by. By the time he's got home from work obviously it wasn't there anymore.

He's contacted DPD and they've admitted driver done wrong by leaving it there without permission and didn't follow procedure. Driver even turns up at his house and says he left it here (pointing at front door step). They've told buyer to contact me to open a case

 

I give DPD a few calls (recorded the calls) 

They admit they've made mistakes and direct me to dpd local online to open a dispute.

 

I open a dispute on 11th of August on thier website, they approve my claim on 20th August but only offer £50 as I didn't take out "parcel protection"

 

I reject the offer 3 times over next few days and then decide to email the ceo and manager of customer experience at DPD UK Ltd to tell them of my experience and I want my full refund,

To which they give thier "apologies" but as parcel2go is the  account holder I have to speak to them directly, but emphasis because of the nature of the case they will speak to parcel2go.

Next day a rep at parcel2go emails saying they should only be giving £50 but as a good will gesture" will now offer £150

I've told them ofcourse I don't want that but rather the full value.

 

I've only in the past 1 week come across this forum and read people's stories and the procedures of sending letter of action and then taking the company to county court and what the steps to that are. (Although I gotta admit I'm still abit confused)

 

Just wanted advice and help, 

Apologies for longing it out, tried to keep it short but didn't want to miss details.

 

Thanks

[BankFodder]

You are being confronted with the two most usual excuses.

1. You don't have any insurance and therefore not protected.
2. And anyway it somebody else's responsibility because you made your contract with P2G

 

Read up on the Hermes stories on the sub- forum and also in the threads which are pinned at the top. A few weeks ago I posted an eight point or nine point explanation of why the insurance requirement is basically unenforceable and unfair.

You will also see lots of references to Hermes saying that it's not their fault but in fact it's the fault of PackLink because they are the brokers. You will also understand why this fob off doesn't work. In your case however, you are spoilt for choice because you can sue either DPD or P2G because they are both in the UK. Packlink is situated in Spain and of course that makes it much more difficult for people to attack them – which I have no doubt is why they are there.

Do the reading. You will understand about the unenforceability of insurance so that won't be a problem.
Do the reading and you will understand about the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 and you will then understand why you can sue either of them.

The excellent thing here is that you have got recordings where they admit their errors. Well done recording your calls. We have people have been here for years and although we are always telling them to record the calls and to read our customer services guide – they never do – because they didn't think that the particular call was going to be that important.
Big Fail!

Do the reading, understand the issues and then draft a letter of claim and let us have a look. Your chances of success are much better than 95%. I suggest that you go for DPD.

 

[CarboRexic]

Date XX September 2021

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

Re: Item lost in network – XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX – Value £530

 

Reference: XXXXXXXXXX

Parcel ID: XXXXXXXXX

 

The subject item was posted on 09/08/2021 using DPD and subsequently lost in your network.

 

A dispute of delivery was submitted on 10/08/2021 including proof of value via DPD Local Online. On 20/08/2021 I received a response from DPD Local Online stating that they will only refund me £50, and was revised to £150 on 27/08/2021. This offer is unacceptable.

 

I am sure you are aware of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, the effect of this Act is to give a third-party beneficiary to a contract all rights that they might have had if they were directly a contracting party.

 

The insurance that DPD Local Online offer is unfair as it expects a consumer to protect against a company’s negligence and failure to deliver their own parcel and therefore unenforceable under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Please make arrangements for payment of the full value of the lost item.

   

If a satisfactory response is not received within 14 days of the date of this letter, proceedings through the county court will be issued without further notice.

 

Yours Faithfully.

 

XXXXXXXX   XXXXXXXX

 

 

 

 

As you've advised to go for DPD, I've drafted this letter to apply to them.

Not sure if there's enough in the draft to point towards their negligence regarding my item. 

[CarboRexic]

I sent the above letter of claims to DPD head office just under 2 weeks ago 

The coming Tuesday (28/09/20201) will be the 14th day since it was delivered to them

 

I haven't received anything back from them, nor do i expect them to reply.

 

I think next is get a particulars of claim ready so I can submit a claim online for county court action?

 

[BankFodder]

By now you should already have registered on the money claim website. You should have started to prepare the claim as you can save your work as you go. You should have drafted your particulars of claim and post it up here so we can check it.

You should be completely ready to click off the claim on day 15.

You should also have done lots of reading so that you understand how it all works, all the arguments so that you are completely ready to go
 

[CarboRexic]

I have just spent last few hours registering and signing up and filling in all the details.

 

Below is a POC I have drafted.

Quote

 

The defendant is a parcel delivery company DPD (UK) LIMITED

On 09/08/2021 the defendant agreed to deliver the claimant's parcel containing a PlayStation 5 Disc Version value £530, to an address in the UK. The delivery fee of £7.79 was paid by the claimant.

Parcel tracking number: ????????
Parcel reference no: ?????????

The defendant failed to deliver the parcel and have reported it as lost on 20/08/2021. The defendant refuses to refund the full value of the item and the delivery fee.

The claimant seeks £530 being the value of the item, £7.79 delivery cost and legal fees.     

 

 

(Sorry for being stupid but this POC is supposed to go where it says 

 

"

Claim details

Why you believe you’re owed the money:

"

right? Reason why I'm asking is because I don't see anywhere it specifically says what are your particulars of claim)

 

Tomorrow being the 15th day, I will be ready to click it off (assuming the POC is ok) 

 

I have read a few more hermes/packlink etc stories where they were resolved and gives me hope I will regain my lost money. 

Will carry on reading up as much as I can.

 

[BankFodder]

That all looks fine. I'm assuming that the money you are claiming is actually the value which was declared – correct?

As to where it goes, I'm afraid that I haven't visited the money claim website for a long time and frankly I can't remember where it goes. I don't think anybody has asked this question before so have always assumed that it is pretty obvious.

They may not actually call it "particulars of claim" but somewhere they are asking for the details or questions as to why your claiming. Let us know if you are having difficulty finding it. It should actually all of been done and ready by now

[CarboRexic]

Yes, the money i am claiming is the value I declared at the time of buying postage.

 

I'm pretty sure that box asking me to briefly describe what happened is where the POC was supposed to go and I entered it there

 

Its all been submitted now, they have until 4pm on 18 October 2021 to reply, unless they request an extra 14 days.

 

The waiting game begins

 

Appreciate the help BF, will update the thread when / if anything is updated.

Will be on the lookout on gov website if they don't respond to claim for judgement as soon as I can closer to the deadline.

[CarboRexic]

DPD have requested for an extension hence the new date is now 1st of November at 4pm

[AndyOrch]

They have defended the claim in full hence the extra 14 days.

[CarboRexic]

Their defence

Why they disagree with the claim

Claim has been issued against the wrong party despite Mr ..... being advised of this on several occasions he has continued with his claim.

Their timeline of events

Time line of events

Date

What happened

19/10/2021

1. The Defendants defence is filed in response to the claim issued by the Claimant on 29 September 2021 against DPD (UK) ltd, the correct name is DPDGroup UK Ltd.   2. However, having reviewed the particulars of claim the Defendant is confident that they are not the correct Defendant in the claim.   3. DPD Group UK Ltd provides courier services to account holders on a credit basis.   4. All DPD Group UK Ltd customers have an active account with an account number in order to book shipments. Upon opening an account the customer confirms that they accept the terms and conditions of DPD Group UK Ltd and that the contractual relationship of the parties will be governed by these terms and conditions.   5. The Claimant is not a customer of DPD Group UK Ltd and has, therefore, never entered into a contract for services with the Defendant.   6. We are able to confirm the consignment giving rise to this claim, is XXXXXXXXXXXXX.   7. The tracking notes for these consignments confirm that the parcel was booked for collection and delivery via a web based service www.dpdlocal-online.co.uk.   8. DPD Local Online is a service, which allows individuals who do not hold an account with DPD Group UK Ltd to place one off bookings for collection and delivery of parcels through the website www.dpdlocal-online.co.uk which is in fact provided by Parcel2Go.com Ltd.   9. In the case of the Claimant, they have contracted with Parcel2go.com Ltd.   10. Parcel2go.com Ltd then subcontract the delivery of the parcels to DPD Local UK Ltd. DPD Local UK Ltd are a sister company to the Defendant.   11. At no point is the Defendant Company, DPDGroup UK Ltd in any way involved.   12. For the avoidance of doubt DPD Local UK Ltd are also not party to the contract between the Claimant and Parcel2go.com Ltd.   13. During the creation of a consignment on the website www.DPDlocal-Online.co.uk, the Claimant must confirm that they accept the terms and conditions. A link to the terms and conditions in full www.DPDlocal-online.co.uk/content/about-terms.   14. The Claimant must have accepted the terms in order to place the booking. A booking cannot be completed without accepting the terms and conditions.   15. The terms and conditions clearly state in section 1: “a) The www.dpdlocal-online.co.uk website is hosted by Parcel2Go.com Limited (this Website Service). b) This Website Service is provided to you by Parcel2Go.com Limited and your Contract for the Transportation of your goods and other services is formed with Parcel2Go.com Limited. c) The Services are provided by Parcel2Go.com Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under company registration number 02591405 whose registered office is at The Cube Coe Street Bolton Lancashire BL3 6BU, and (where appropriate) subcontractors or couriers acting on its behalf (P2GO/we/us).”   16. The terms further state within section 3, “ g) Contract – the contract for transporting your goods or providing other Services between you and Parcel2Go.com Limited to which these Conditions will apply. For the avoidance of doubt, DPDLOCAL is not a party to the Contract.”   17. As the terms and conditions state Parcel2Go.com Ltd is a distinct limited entity. The Claimant had entered into a contract with Parcel2Go.com Ltd and has no contract with DPD Local UK Ltd.   18. The Defendant believes they have demonstrated that the claim has been issued against an incorrect Defendant and there are no grounds for bringing a claim against DPD UK Ltd.   19. The Claimant will further be able to see via their receipt and bank or credit card statement that they have paid the company Parcel2go.com Ltd (P2GO) for the service.   20. The correct Defendant for the claim would be Parcel2go.com Ltd.   21. It is further noted that the Claimant has rejected two settlement offers from Parcels2Go.com Ltd confirming he is aware with whom he holds his contract.   22. The Defendant, therefore, rejects the Claimants claim in its entirety as being issued against the wrong party and puts the Claimant to the burden of strict proof to prove a contact exists between themselves and the Defendant Company. 23. The Defendant requests that the Court exercise its case management powers to strike out the claim in line with Rule 3.4 (2) (a) of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) which states ‘The court may strike out a statement of case if it appears to the court... that the statement of case discloses no reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the claim’.   24. If the Court does not strike out the claim or allow redirect the Defendant will continue to defend the claim and seek to recover any costs and damages incurred in doing so.

Their evidence

Their evidence

Type	Description
Contracts and agreements	Copy of terms and conditions relating to the parcel delivery

Edited October 19, 2021 by dx100uk
spacing

[CarboRexic]

"DPDGroup UK Ltd" has finally replied and defended the case as expected.

 

I have till 21st November to reply.

 

The defence seems similar to others where they are claiming to have no liability as I have not contract with them directly but as I have learnt from the forums here that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 gives me the right to claim directly against a company because I enjoy all the benefits as a 3rd party as I'm the beneficiary from that contract.

 

Just looking at the next steps on gov website it's asking me to choose the closest court to me which is "Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court and Family Court" but having a look at reviews on Google dosent seem like a very good court with bad service etc

I dont think that dosent really matters, but just trying to make sure everything's proper before proceeding

 

 

 

[AndyOrch]