A huge thanks to the CAG community and BankFodder in particular for your advice and support. I have made a donation.

Here goes! First call: - Mediator explained process, highlighting that flexibility would be required for this to work - I explained my case, giving a brief timeline and stating that I was looking for full compensation for the value of the item (£1500)+ postage (£5) + court fees (£110)+ compensation for a breach of GDPR (£50), as Hermes did not respond to my SAR + Interest (£?). Second call: - Mediator confirms that Hermes offer £300 as a good will gesture - They claim my contract is with Packlink and not with them - They claim that I opted for the lowest insurance - They tell me that the court would not award damages for the SAR, as these cannot be quantified. Here the mediator agrees, saying that it is unusual for small claims court to consider this, and that I should really be using the ICO route. - I say that this offer is ridiculous - I refer to the rights of 3rd parties (mediator is aware of this) - I explain that it is unfair to ask me to insure Hermes against their own negligence. - Mediator asks me how I am prepared to compromise, telling me that the gap in expectations is too large and that a solution is unlikely to be found. - I say that I am prepared to save Hermes the embarrassment and consequences of a defeat in court. - I offer to drop the £50 compensation for the SAR. Third call: - Mediator tells me that Hermes have increased their offer to £1500, minus the £25 compensation and the £5 refund that I have already received from Packlink through standard insurance (I did refuse this at the time, they paid anyway). £1470. - I tell the mediator that this is a great improvement, but I am looking to cover my costs. I offer to abandon the interest claim in return for the court fees (£110) - I also mention that this is effectively an admission on Hermes' part Fourth call: - Hermes agree to pay court costs - Mediator seems to be delighted with this outcome, saying that the settlement was unexpected. Summary: Total won: full item value + court fees + refund of postage. Total conceded: Interest + compensation for SAR breach. Whilst I would love to teach Hermes a lesson, I was able to negotiate an outcome where I am not out of pocket. The only cost is my time and the extremely unpleasant experience. For me, the amount at stake was too significant to risk it all in court ( I suspect Hermes knows this!). In hindsight, I probably could have pushed harder because Hermes' stakes are even higher. However, I wanted to keep the mediator on side by showing my willingness to compromise. As I was unable to communicate with Hermes directly, I had to rely on the mediator. My advice : pursue your claims! It's becoming clear that Hermes' approach is not sustainable - they're crooks and they know it, it's only a matter of time before it all gets exposed.

Apologies for the delay. We were able to agree a settlement, I'll post more details in the next couple of days.

On the subject of advising the OP, I have just confirmed a mediation appointment for next week. I will read up on the other users' posts as a few have already been through the process.

Hermes waited until the last moment and filed a defence ( attached). As expected, they are contesting all of it, including the SAR. What do you advise as a way forward? Thanks Document (2).pdf

Thanks both, I hadn't accounted for the deemed service part. Will wait a few more days.

Thanks. I just tried this, but I get an error: You can only request Judgment by default if the required number of days have passed. Strange, I make it over 28 days since issue?

Update: Claim issued 01/09/2020 and Hermes filed an acknowledgement of service on 07/09/2020 ("I intend to defend all of this claim"). 28 days have passed and there is still no defence - do I need to do anything?

Looks good to me, thanks. I'ts all uploaded, pending a final check before submitting.

I checked and it says that due to the large number of complaints, it can take up to 3 months before my case is assigned to a case officer. Once this has happened I will get a case number. It has been almost 2 months now.

I'll have to check the screenshot I took, it's on my computer so I can confirm later today

No, still no response to the SAR. I filled out the online form on the ICO website to complain.

Hi, would it be possible to get some guidance on the particulars? Thanks

I received an unexpected reply to my letter before action. It came in the form of an email, regurgitating standard answers and referring me yet again to the 3rd party reseller (packlink). No acknowledgement of my intentions to take them to court. I have attached their response. In their copying and pasting spree, they seem to have included an unrelated message to "carol wright" (not me!) I'm not planning on replying to this, I'll just wait for day 15. Any thoughts? Hermes Reply 20.02.20 - Copy.pdf

Thanks - I posted the letter this morning. I'll spend the next few days getting familiar with the consumer rights act and the MCOL service.