EVRi has lost my parcel - court claim issued

[Dankeepsie]

Hi there, hope someone has an answer for me here.

 

I sold a music production unit on eBay on 2nd of February (evening). It was sold for around £500.

 

I packed it, bought a EVRi 48 hour shipping service through Parcel2Go and dropped it off the next morning (3rd February) at the same EVRi drop-off shop I have been using for years.

 

I received a receipt from the shop owner as evidence that I've posted the item, plus a tracking code.

 

After a day (4th February) I looked up the tracking number provided by EVRi only to see that 'The package has been dropped off and is waiting to be picked up by our driver.' Strange as they normally pick up shipments every afternoon,

 

I went to the drop-off shop and the shop owner said all the packages were indeed collected the day before by EVRi.

 

On 6th of February I received a message from the buyer saying the item purchased had not arrived. I see the tracking information provided by EVRi and the status is still as it was 3 days ago (waiting to be collected from the drop-off shop).

 

I told the buyer to wait until 8th of February in case this is only a tracking issue. But as I feared the item did not arrive.

 

I have been unable to reach out to EVRi despite many attempts through phone, email and their websites. Their customer services, both online and on the phone are nonexistent and useless, with only bots giving standard answers to queries.

 

I believe it will be the right thing to refund the buyer as they did not receive the item they rightly purchased. Hence, I am thinking of taking 'EVRi Parcelnet Limited' (The Company) to a small claims court for the full price of the item (as stated when purchasing the courier service) plus delivery cost, on the basis of lack of communication and losing my parcel.

 

Things for me:

Having a receipt and tracking information as evidence that the Company has received my parcel

 

Having the Company's tracking information showing that my parcel is still in the drop-off shop (however, it most likely isn't)

 

Zero communication from the Company in answering my multiple queries

 

The item sent is not in the listed of prohibited and/or non-compensation items in the Company's T&C

 

Things against me:

not having the package insured.

 

I am no legal expert however I would argue that the Company have not done their due diligence in delivering my parcel since they have lost it.

 

If this was a damaged parcel case I could have understood that this could have been due to me packing the parcel to a poor standard, however there should be no excuse in losing a parcel.

 

What do you think? Worth taking them to a small claims court for this?

 

Thanks in advance

Dan

[Dankeepsie]

Thanks @BankFodder for the encouragement 

 

I am however a little confused. Since I purchased my courier through Parcel2Go.com, do I need to take Parcel2Go to court or Hermes?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Dankeepsie]

Thanks @BankFodder. I have contacted both Hermes and Parcel2Go for an answer.

 

Hermes said they'd give me an answer tomorrow (72 hours).

Parcel2Go have told me a response and investigation into my case will take a minimum of 7 days, up to 22nd February!

 

Should I await their response and then send the letter of claim?

[Dankeepsie]

Surprise, surprise. This is what I have received from Hermes. TLDR: they are admitting to losing the parcel, however telling me to go to Parcel2Go because I purchased the service from them. Is this the right time to ask Hermes for compensation as beneficial third-party under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999? Thanks. 

 

[Dankeepsie]

Based on what I've read on this forum I already expect them to tell me "you haven't insured the parcel, so take a few quid and begone".

 

I've already readied a draft Letter of Claim. Attached and waiting to finalise when they use the above counterargument.

 

Letter of Claim DRAFT.pdf

Edited February 12, 2022 by Dankeepsie

[Dankeepsie]

I've been reading about guys waiting for 1 year to get some money back from Parcel2Go.com. It is not very assuring...

 

The defence from Parcel2Go.com seems to be the standard, as below. What defence do I have defence against this?

 

Upon entering the value £X, the following pop-up message was received: “Don't get caught without enough protection should the unexpected happen. You can protect your parcel up to the value of £5,000.00

• Yes, I would like to protect my £X parcel against loss or damage for £Y exc VAT.
• No, I'm willing to risk my £X parcel. I'm not worried about potential loss or damage.”

The Claimant declined the option to protect their goods fully, instead they continued their booking process, filling in all necessary details to continue. Prior to accepting the Terms and paying for the service, the Claimant is provided with another pop-up message, again this recommends the Claimant protect their goods fully against loss or damage. The Claimant declines this option and accepts the Terms and Conditions.

[Dankeepsie]

@BankFodder

 

I will be taking action against Parcel2Go.com Limited based on the recommendation here.

 

Parcel2Go.com have asked me to wait until 22nd February to get back to me. Based on my contact with Hermes, we already know the parcel is "lost". However I believe I have to wait for Parcel2Go.com to review my case before I can act against them.

 

 

 

[Dankeepsie]

Please see the letter of claim attached.

 

If you don't see any issues with it I will send it first thing tomorrow morning.

 

I will send it via the Signed For 1st Class so I have evidence of when they have received it. This might become handy should they miss their 14-day window excusing that they hadn't received the letter (I have seen them making this claim in forum stories).

 

Thanks in advance

Parcel2Go.com 1.pdf

[Dankeepsie]

Thanks @BankFodder

Please see Particulars of Claim drafted below:

 

The claimant used Parcel2Go.com Limited to post an item. The value of the item is £480.00, as claimed on Parcel2Go.com when purchasing the service on 02/02/2020 plus delivery cost of £5.64.
The parcel was dropped off at the Hermes ParcelShop as directed on 03/02/2020.
The parcel was failed to be delivered.
The claimant contacted Parcel2Go.com on 08/02/2022 to ask for the status of the parcel. No answer was given by the Parcel2Go.com despite their own deadline of 22/02/2022.
Letter of claim was sent on 22/02/2022 to ask for reimbursement with no response.
I will provide the defendant with separate detailed particulars within 14 days after service of the claim form.
The claimant claims interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year from 02/02/2022 to 08/03/2022 on £485.64 and also interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of £0.10.

[Dankeepsie]

@BankFodder Thanks for your help.

 

I have now unticked the option 'You are required to give details of your claim in the box below. If you wish, you may also send detailed particulars direct to the defendant. If you need to do this, please tick here'.

Reference number is not required at the moment, when the claim has been submitted (in 14 days) and issued it will be allocated a claim number.

[Dankeepsie]

Very good point!

 

Please see the updated draft of Particulars of Claim below:

 

Quote

The claimant used Parcel2Go.com Limited to post an item (.....). The value of the item is £480.00, as claimed on Parcel2Go.com when purchasing the service on 02/02/2020 plus delivery cost of £5.64.
The parcel was dropped off at the Hermes ParcelShop as directed on 03/02/2020. The parcel was failed to be delivered.
The claimant contacted Parcel2Go.com on 08/02/2022 to ask for the status of the parcel. No answer was given by the Parcel2Go.com despite their own deadline of 22/02/2022.
Letter of claim was sent on 22/02/2022 to ask for reimbursement with no response.
The claimant claims interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year from 02/02/2022 to 08/03/2022 on £485.64 and also interest at the same
rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of £0.10.

 

[Dankeepsie]

Parcel2Go have obviously received my letter and have responded quickly.

 

TLDR: I didn't insure the parcel despite being given the option to do so prior to purchasing the service, hence as per their T&C I am not covered for loss.

 

Also they are saying they will not be liable to pay me the market value of my item because it is "subject to depreciation". I have no idea what this means, but my item was a 2nd hand item and I have eBay sale receipts of it, so shouldn't the value of the consignment be the sale price?

 

They have offered to give me £5.64 as a "good will gesture" 

 

 I am going to reply to this email tomorrow, affirming with my stance on the issue, and that the clock is ticking for them. 

 

Here's Parcel2Go's reply to my letter of claim:

 

Quote

Good Morning ....
I am contacting you following a Letter Before Action.

Please accept our sincerest apologies for the damages to your goods and the resultant inconvenience. I understand when you send any parcels in transit, you do not expect the parcel to be lost before being delivered and this is frustrating when this happens.

During the booking process you were asked to declare the value of your goods and at this point, you would have been given the option of taking extra parcel protection to protect your goods in the case of loss or damage.
As this option was declined no parcel protection was added to your order and we are unable to compensate you for the missing goods.

Please also allow me to direct you to our Terms and Conditions;

6.7 If we are liable to you for any reason, we shall (subject always to clause 7) only be liable to refund to you the cost paid for the Service(s), unless you have purchased Parcel Protection for your Consignment from us.
For the avoidance of doubt, this includes any Parcel Protection that you may require in respect of any items listed on the “Items Protected for Loss Only” and “No Protection Items” lists. No level of Parcel Protection that you purchase from us will render allowable any item which is on the “Prohibited Items” list.

Where you purchase Parcel Protection for your Consignment from us, our liability to you is limited to the lesser of: (i) the value of the Parcel Protection taken out; or (ii) the actual value of the Consignment at the date of loss or damage (as applicable). Where you do not purchase Parcel Protection, you confirm that you accept the risks of not doing so.
We offer two types of Parcel Protection for Consignments:

- Protection for loss or damage
- Protection for loss only

Please note that if you purchase Parcel Protection for loss only, you will not be protected, and we shall not be liable, for any losses that you suffer due to any damage caused to the Consignment other than for up to the cost that you have paid for the Service(s) in circumstances where such damage is caused by our negligence, breach of duty or other wrongful act or omission, and subject to the limitations set out within this clause 6 and clause 7.

Irrespective of the type of Parcel Protection ((i) loss only; or (ii) loss or damage) that you purchase, we will not be liable to repay you the market value of the Consignment as at the time it was purchased by you. Consignments by their nature are subject to depreciation. You must take out a “new for old” compensation policy should you wish to be compensated in this way.
Should you wish to view these in full, Alex, please follow the link which I have provided below;

https://www.parcel2go.com/content/about-terms.aspx

As a goodwill gesture, we have added a refund of the carriage which is £5.64 to your order and this will be processed within 3-5 working days.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any further queries, ....

Kindest Regards

.....

[Dankeepsie]

I had replied to them 4 days ago and they haven't written anything back to me. The clock is ticking for them.
 

Quote

 

Hello,

 

Thank you for your e-mail.

 

Indeed I did not agree to pay extra for your company to properly do the job it has agreed to do. I shouldn't be insuring you against your own network's criminal activity and/or negligence. This is not a damaged package claim which could have been due to my negligence in safely packing the item. This is a case of stolen/lost item which you/Hermes are responsible for.

 

My consignment was not in the list of prohibited/non-compensation items in your/Hermes list.

 

You still have 12 days to reimburse me for the damage caused. I have no problem taking this claim to the county court.

 

Regards

 

 

[Dankeepsie]

Hi @BankFodder

 

The letter was received by Parcel2Go.com on 23/02/2022.

Their 14-day deadline to compensate me will end on 08/03/2022.

I will issue the claim on 09/03/2022. I've posted the particulars of the claim in an earlier post:

 

[Dankeepsie]

Thanks for your help. The Particulars of Claim has now been amended to the above.

Edited March 7, 2022 by Dankeepsie

[Dankeepsie]

They've come back to me on day 14 with the following:

 

Quote

Good Afternoon,
Thank you for your email.
Please accept my sincere apologies for the service you have received on this occasion.
Unfortunately it does not matter whether this is a claim for damage or loss, we offer protection for both of these when booking through our services. I understand the reason why you believe protection should not have been purchased.
Unfortunately although a rarity loss can still occur which is why we offer the protection to all customers.
I am afraid we will not move on our stance regarding this outcome.
Should you wish to take this further that is of course your prerogative to do so.
Kindest Regards

 

Looks like the standard response they give to everyone.

[Dankeepsie]

Am I allowed to disclose names here? I was told previously that due to GDPR I can't.

[Dankeepsie]

Claim was issued when their 14-day response period lapsed.

[Dankeepsie]

On 10/03/2022 at 10:05, BankFodder said:

Thank you. Start counting days although you can be certain that they will file their defence at the last possible moment

14 days from the day of the receipt I have gathered. As you say, they will likely drag it until the last day like they did with the response to Letter of Claim.

[Dankeepsie]

Received acknowledgement of service from Parcel2Go, signed 14/03/2022 by their Asset Protection Officer, intending to defend all of the claim. They now have 28 days to file a defence response.

[Dankeepsie]

Apologies, yes.

[Dankeepsie]

Slight problem. I won't be in the UK for 8 weeks (end of April until end of June). Can I revise the court date if it falls inside this period?

[Dankeepsie]

Thanks @BankFodder

I do have people at home to scan letters and send it to me. I will have them know of their new duty 

[Dankeepsie]

Defence letter received via e-mail just now. See attached. The defence is no different to other cases, where they take no responsibility on refunding uninsured items.

 

One note:

 

re 12. "Claimant processed a claim on their account themselves without contacting the Defendant first."

 

Unless I've misunderstood them, this is simply not true. I did request help through P2G's website first, making a claim internally. They did not reply to me while their own 14-day response period lapsed. They only replied and updated my claim’s status AFTER receiving my letter of claim, 15 days after I had opened a claim on their website.

Defence.pdf

[Dankeepsie]

So nothing has changed on the Money Claims website. The status of the claim remains as it was when I filed it.

 

From my understanding after reading the forum, a Directions Questionnaire will now have to be filled by both parties? Will I be receiving something from the judge to fill?