Hermes lost my phone and some food items (total value of about £900) and offered me £300 compensation ***Settled through ADR***

[Dee21]

I posted a parcel on 14th August. I declared the content and the value of the items and was offered to pay for additional insurance. I decided to pay for the insurance and hence paid almost £20 as postage cost. After about a week, I realised my parcel was not delivered and then contacted hermes to inquire about my parcel. They did depot sweep for about 3 times and then came to the conclusion that the parcel was lost. 

 

I later submitted claim for the lost items. There was so much back and forth. Eventually, they came back to inform me today that I will be refunded only £300. I have rejected this offer and demanded for full compensation. I am now planning to send a letter of claim to Hermes. 

 

I have read some posts but realised most people did not pay for insurance. Do I stand a chance of getting full refund even with insurance?

[honeybee13]

Hello, welcome to CAG.

 

What is the value of the lost items please?

 

HB

[BankFodder]

Can you give us more information about the phone and also the food items and also list their values separately please.

What was the declared value of the items when you made the arrangement with Hermes?

Please have a very thorough read of the stories on this sub- forum and you will quickly understand exactly what will happen and how you will go ahead and make your claim and what the various steps will be.

Please come back here when you think you understand all the principles and we will take you to the next step.

Before issuing a letter of claim it is a good idea to make a formal complaint to Hermes rejecting the offer. Of course they will knock you back but it is important to have a paper trail.

Read the other stories on the sub- forum and you will quickly understand

[Dee21]

29 minutes ago, BankFodder said:

Can you give us more information about the phone and also the food items and also list their values separately please.

What was the declared value of the items when you made the arrangement with Hermes?

Please have a very thorough read of the stories on this sub- forum and you will quickly understand exactly what will happen and how you will go ahead and make your claim and what the various steps will be.

Please come back here when you think you understand all the principles and we will take you to the next step.

Before issuing a letter of claim it is a good idea to make a formal complaint to Hermes rejecting the offer. Of course they will knock you back but it is important to have a paper trail.

Read the other stories on the sub- forum and you will quickly understand

Thanks for responding to my post.

 

The phone was a brand new Samsung Galaxy S21 5G 256GB, which was purchased from Samsung US for $900.  It will cost me about £819 to purchase the same phone from Samsung UK. I presented the invoice to Hermes during the claim process. There were also 7 different food items which were brought from abroad. I posted all these items to a family member. The value of the food items is £84.

 

I declared the value of the parcelas £900 at the point of postage and was now given the option of insurance. I also indicated that the parcel contained a phone and food items before I posted the parcel.

 

I have rejected the offer via email and notified Hermes that if I don't get full compensation, I will go the small claims route.

 

I have read a lot of similar posts and I have drafted a letter of claim using samples that I found on this forum. 

 

My main concern is if paying for insurance will affect my case negatively in any way.

[Dee21]

1 hour ago, honeybee13 said:

Hello, welcome to CAG.

 

What is the value of the lost items please?

 

HB

Thank you. The value of the items is £903.

[BankFodder]

Don't send the letter of claim yet.

You should write a formal letter of complaint to Hermes rejecting the offer and explaining why. Tell them that if they want to let you have the £300 then you are prepared to accept it but it will not be in final settlement.

Hermes of course will knock you back but when you get that letter from them or if you don't hear anything then you should send the letter of claim.

Post your proposed letter of claim here so that we can check it.

After you have sent them your formal letter of complaint, start reading very thoroughly the Hermes stories on the sub- forum so that you understand how it all works and what will most likely happen in your case

[Dee21]

26 minutes ago, BankFodder said:

Don't send the letter of claim yet.

You should write a formal letter of complaint to Hermes rejecting the offer and explaining why. Tell them that if they want to let you have the £300 then you are prepared to accept it but it will not be in final settlement.

Hermes of course will knock you back but when you get that letter from them or if you don't hear anything then you should send the letter of claim.

Post your proposed letter of claim here so that we can check it.

After you have sent them your formal letter of complaint, start reading very thoroughly the Hermes stories on the sub- forum so that you understand how it all works and what will most likely happen in your case

Okay, I will not send the letter of claim for now and will instead send a formal letter to reject the compensation. I have attached the draft letter of claim. Kindly help review 

Letter of Claim2.pdf

[BankFodder]

Let's see what they say when they knock you back. Then we will do the letter of claim

[Dee21]

I just got the same response from Hermes below. What would you advise I do next? 

 

Quote

 

"I am sorry you have had to contact us regarding the delivery of your parcel. 

 

I have looked into your concerns and understand that as as you selected the maximum compensation level of £300 Hermes cannot exceed this amount as per your contract.

 

So that we can process this as quickly as possible for you, we kindly request that you send us some details:

 
- your bank sort code
- your bank account number (the short one, not the long card number)
- your name as it appears on your bank card
 
Once we have received the above information, we will send you a further email once the payment has been processed. This can take up to 5 working days to reach you

 

Please accept my apologies for the frustration this has caused you.    

 

If you require any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us."

 

 

[BankFodder]

Normally speaking at this point we will be sending a letter of claim.

However I'm wondering whether it might be fun to try and accept the £300 at they are offering you and then sue for the balance afterwards.

If you are interested in trying that then here's a draft response

 

Quote

Dear XXX

Reference number XXX

Thank you for your response to my complaint.

Just to be clear, I consider that your insurance requirement is unfair and actually unenforceable.

However, as you are offering me £300 then I am providing you with my bank details and I look forward to receiving the money from you without any delay.

My sort code is XX-XX-XX
my bank account number is 12345678

Please understand that I am still considering my options in relation to the outstanding balance.

Yours sincerely

 

The reason I think this would be fun is that if it really is an insurance then they will pay you out without any conditions. Of course this then leaves you completely open to sue for the balance which will be much easier and also cheaper.

On the other hand, if they suddenly stick their heels in and refused to pay you unless you accept this as full and final settlement then it gives the lie to their claim that it is an insurance and when you go on to sue them for the entire £900, you add this to your stock of arguments.

Frankly I think that if you are prepared to send them the letter above then they will find that they are cornered and you will be an interesting little experiment for everybody who comes here after you.

If you prefer, of course, we can simply send a letter of claim for the whole £900 but frankly even if they reject the above letter, it will only add a week or so of delay before issuing your claim.

Let us know what you want to do

[Dee21]

2 hours ago, BankFodder said:

Normally speaking at this point we will be sending a letter of claim.

However I'm wondering whether it might be fun to try and accept the £300 at they are offering you and then sue for the balance afterwards.

If you are interested in trying that then here's a draft response

 

 

The reason I think this would be fun is that if it really is an insurance then they will pay you out without any conditions. Of course this then leaves you completely open to sue for the balance which will be much easier and also cheaper.

On the other hand, if they suddenly stick their heels in and refused to pay you unless you accept this as full and final settlement then it gives the lie to their claim that it is an insurance and when you go on to sue them for the entire £900, you add this to your stock of arguments.

Frankly I think that if you are prepared to send them the letter above then they will find that they are cornered and you will be an interesting little experiment for everybody who comes here after you.

If you prefer, of course, we can simply send a letter of claim for the whole £900 but frankly even if they reject the above letter, it will only add a week or so of delay before issuing your claim.

Let us know what you want to do

Thanks so much. I will send the letter to them to pay the £300 as a part payment. Will let you know their response.

[BankFodder]

Great. It can't do any harm at all – so long as it is clear to them that this is not the end of the story.

If they try to withhold the "insurance" money then that demonstrates very clearly to everyone that the insurance scheme is simply just a nice little money earner. It's actually a kind of reverse extended warranty and it's and to intended to reduce their customers expectations of their own rights and to reduce Hermes' exposure to losses when they lose or damage their customers' goods.

[Dee21]

I have now received the £300 and postage cost. Should I go ahead with the letter of claim for the balance £600? Kindly suggest any modifications to the letter of claim.

 

Thanks so much

[BankFodder]

 

 

Quote

Dear XXX

Letter of claim – reference number XXX

I confirm receipt of £300 plus postage costs in respect of the parcel which you managed to lose others for your negligence or the criminality of your employees.

I refer you to my letter of the XXX date in which I stated that your insurance requirement was unfair and unenforceable and in which I also made it clear that I was keeping my options open even if you decided to pay me the £300.

I'm very pleased that you have decided to mitigate your loss however this does not deal with the matter and I still require a payment of £XXX which is the declared value of the parcel which I put into your care under the above reference number.

If I do not receive this payment within 14 days then I shall begin a legal action against you in the County Court and without any further notice.

Yours sincerely

 

[Dee21]

Thanks so much for your help so far. Will send the letter of claim on Monday.

[Dee21]

Quote

The defendant is a parcel delivery company, Hermes Parcelnet Limited.

On 14/08/2021, the claimant used the defendant's delivery service to send a parcel containing a mobile phone Samsung Galaxy S21 5G 256GB and some food items with total value of £908.78, to an address in the UK.
The defendant failed to deliver the parcel and have reported it as lost on 27/08/2021. The defendant refuses to refund the full value of the item on the basis that the defendant is only able to pay a maximum of £300 as compensation. The court is invited to exercise its powers under the Consumer Rights Acts 2015 to examine the fairness or otherwise of the defendant's terms and conditions with particular reference to their requirement that it is the customer who must purchase insurance to protect themselves against the defendant's own negligence or criminality of their employees.

The claimant seeks reimbursement of £603.78 being the outstanding balance, court fees and any interest owed pursuant to section 69 County Courts act 1984.

 

This is a draft of my particulars of claim. Kindly help review it and make any necessary modifications. Also, I have created an account on Moneyclaim and have started completing the details in readiness to send it after the 14 days.

[BankFodder]

Except that you haven't put the parcel reference number so they don't know what you're talking about

[Dee21]

Thanks. I will include the parcel reference number.

[Dee21]

Update*** Hermes has now requested for additional 14 days to respond to my claim. I am happy to wait as I am going to see this to the end until I get the full amount. 

[AndyOrch]

They have acknowledged service and intend to defend in full....they automatically get an extra 14 days to submit their defence.

 

Andy

[BankFodder]

open

[Dee21]

Just an update: Hermes rejected the claim but requested for mediation. I accepted to go the mediation route and was told to wait for 28 days to get mediation date. After waiting for 28 days without any message from the mediation team, I had to contact the small claims department and was told they missed sending my case to mediation. I was informed that my case will now go straight to court and might be offered opportunity for mediation again.

 

I have now been informed of the court date in May. Are there any preparation required from me? If I am offered mediation, should I accept?

 

 

[BankFodder]

Who was it who missed the mediation date? Was it Hermes or are you saying that the court service somehow or other made an error

[Dee21]

8 minutes ago, BankFodder said:

Who was it who missed the mediation date? Was it Hermes or are you saying that the court service somehow or other made an error

The court service made an error as my case was never sent to mediation at all. I guess someone did not tick the right box.

[BankFodder]

Okay well if they offer you mediation then you should accept it.

In the meantime, start preparing your court bundle.

The basis of your argument will be that the insurance requirement is unfair and therefore unenforceable. The fact that you went along with it didn't make it fair or enforceable. You simply acted from a position of ignorance. You cannot be expected to insure yourself against the negligence of Hermes or the criminality of their employees. It is a matter for Hermes to take action on their criminal employees or to protect themselves and their customers against those kinds of losses.

You've been given a date for hearing. Have you been given a date for disclosure of documents?