Interparcel lost parcel worth 1500

[philipcooper99]

Hi there,

 

Wonder if I can get some advice on this. Appreciate Interparcel are a common point.

 

2 weeks ago I sent a parcel to Amazon using Interparcel and their my hermes courier. It was worth £1500 and has gone missing. The parcel contained DVDs and is not on their prohibited items list in their t's and c's.

 

The parcel has been showing on their tracking now for 10 days as out for delivery. Interparcel have fed me various fabricated stories which now result in them claiming the parcel has been delivered, but there is no proof of delivery, which they are trying to get me. Amazon say the parcel has not been delivered . Interparcel have been trying to get proof of delivery for 5 days, and have tried to fob me off with a spurious one already.

 

Interparcel have pretty much ignored most of my emails, and rather than this being a single mistake, have shown a complete failing of their systems to help me at all in any way. They have even hung up on me. They are unhelpful to the point of being down right rude. I would say they have done nothing and are negligent. I have so far spent over £40 in costs calling their premium rate number.

 

The drop down menu on their site defaults to £20, and this is the value I have given when booking the courier. (to be honest I would think if you declared it as £1500 it would be much more likely to be stolen). To insure this may cost £100, and I post them fairly often so even with this loss it is cheaper to self insure...however that does not mean I think I should not chase this.

 

After reading the following thread: ( I cannot post links as a new member, please google search for this forum and Interparcel small claims court DHL courier service) someone claims to have successfully taken interparcel to a small claims court and won based on negligence.

 

consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?233594-DHL-Courier-Service-lost-items-no-re-imbursement

 

I wonder if there is a case here for negligence? How would I go about this? What evidence should I ask for, and what steps should I take.

 

Is it worth reporting this to the police? I wonder if to justify this loss on my accounts I would need a crime number anyway. Which police force to report it to? (delivery was in Swansea). When the contents of this parcel were sold by me £650 in tax would have been generated, so in theory that would be worth the Police working on!

 

Also it would seem a rather simple step as the parcel has gone missing while out on delivery to question the delivery driver who had this parcel last.

 

Again any advice appreciated, any steps to take...

[dx100uk]

threads merged for you

 

dx

[stu007]

Hi

 

What type of "Transit Cover" did you take with Interparcel was it enough to cover the consigment for Loss or Damage in Transiit.

 

Have to sent a complaint to Interparcel: complaints@interparcel.com

[MARTIN3030]

FYI new members posts ARE NOT checked by Admin.

[philipcooper99]

Hi there Stu,

 

As said above £20 for the reasons given above. Cheaper to self insure, and probably increases the risk of theft to declare full value. The insurance is not the point I am digging at and not relevant.

 

I am sure if an insurance company paid out, they would be looking as I am if the company are negligent and still liable?

 

I take from the successful other cases that the interparcel contract is void if Interparcel are negligent. So far after 10 days of me contacting them they have done nothing to help me or trace the parcel.. which is not what they said they would do in the contract. They say they will investigate thoroughly.

 

If they did this I could go and get the parcel. Or call the police if it has been stolen etc.

[philipcooper99]

Anyone? Thanks Phil

[andydd]

So you didnt pay extra to insure for a higher amount ? I note it says the limit is £1000 anyway.

 

You mention self-insuring, have you done this, are you able to claim through this policy ?

 

Or are you pining all your hopes on them being negligant ?

 

Andy

[philipcooper99]

Hi Andy,

 

When I say self insure, I mean they charge £100 to cover this, as long as less than 1 in 15 parcels go missing its cheaper for me to self insure and take the hit myself. What I mean is I have lost £1500.

 

However like I say, with tax that would have been paid on these I have lost around £850.

 

This is often the way. All insurance companies make a profit on this principle,

 

However this does not mean I will do my best to find my parcel/sue them if they have been negligent?

 

Today Interparcel have emailed me to say, that the parcel was not delivered on the 17th like they had told me every day for the last 8, but it was delivered on the 13th. However they do not have proof of delivery. If I have paid for a proof of delivery service are they in breach of contract?

 

I guess my question is to the previous posters who have gone down this route, what steps did they take to win this in court?

[philipcooper99]

Hmm it seems that even though this is the correct place for this topic this is a very quiet part of the site. Is there another area I could post in to get some help? Maybe a legal forum for advice on small claims courts and proving negligence? The successful case on here was under a general forum and had 90 replies, cheers Phil

[BazzaS]

Hmm it seems that even though this is the correct place for this topic this is a very quiet part of the site. Is there another area I could post in to get some help? Maybe a legal forum for advice on small claims courts and proving negligence? The successful case on here was under a general forum and had 90 replies, cheers Phil

 

Even if you prove negligence, you will struggle to recover more than the value that you declared together with any fee you paid.

If you say "but it was worth £1500, but I declared only £200", they might ask a court to decide why they should believe that over the parcel being worth only £20, with you only now saying it was worth £1500.

 

You'll have been less than truthful for one of the two : how is a court to decide which one is true?

 

If the former, then you've lied as to the extent of insurance needed, and you'll be entitled to the £20 only. If the latter : again £20. Net effect : you look an unreliable witness to the court, and only get £20 either way.

[andydd]

It appears to me that it may be possible to claim for the loss of the parcel, simply make a claim for the amount* and point out the T&C's are to deliver the parcel, you claim they did not deliver it (get a witness statment from the recipient), they have no proof they did.

 

*BUT as BazzaS has pointed out the parcel is not worth £1500 because you claimed it was worth £20 (or whatever value) so it appears you are going to find it very difficult to obtain anywhere near the £1500 figure.

[philipcooper99]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies.

 

This was a delivery to Amazon FBA, for which I have all the documents to show what I had shipped, also have invoices to prove the value... however I guess it doesn't prove I had put these in the box...

Although on a balance of probabilities I would be lucky that the parcel that went missing was the one I sent nothing in...

 

Interesting points from the thread of the guy in a similar boat who won in small claims court.

 

As for the police & reporting the possible theft & whilst it is not a civil matter you will not be deemed the victim as you will be compensated for your loss whereas the insurer will be the victim & CAN insist their client/carrier report any alleged theft.

 

I am the victim here so should report this as an alleged theft?

 

I gave permission for IP to use any agent they deemed fit to deliver my item. They chose DHL, who turned out to be negligent in their duty. Therefore, by not carrying out enough skill or diligence in their picking of a courier that failed to deliver, Interparcel broke their contract. This nullifies the contract. So the clause referencing the limited liability is also void.

 

And then finally:

 

Awarded the cost of the items to be replaced and my court costs. The end

 

The Justice system wins for the little man again.

 

This guy was awarded the cost of replacing the goods, not what he had declared as the value....

 

Why do you think that was? And not the value he had declared? Do you think he is lying?

[philipcooper99]

It has been 15 days now since Interparcel claim this was delivered.

 

I know the dvd box set title that has gone missing, and assuming any theiving driver would be shifting them on ebay or amazon etc I have been watching... there are none cheap for sale or new sellers.

 

Which points somewhat to these not being stolen, just missing in a warehouse somewhere.(sounds more likely as well)

 

I wonder if there is any legal way I can make these bone idols go and look for it properly?

[andydd]

I really cant see any way forward on this, it now appears irrellevant if you can start a small court claim under their T&C's or by claiming they were neglignt, the only point of using negligance is to possibly overide their T&C's, BUt as pointed out, you are going to strugle to prove the items are worth anything other than the £20 you declared, as pointed out, you will have to admit to a Judge that you 'lied', not a good start.

 

Now, a court claim may well be worth it as it would put IP under pressure and they may investigate more and do a proper search.

 

I would recommend before court action a Notice Before Action letter and also follow the CPR Pre-Action Protocols here > http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conductthis might get the ball rolling.

 

Andy

[andydd]

I really cant see any way forward on this, it now appears irrellevant if you can start a small court claim under their T&C's or by claiming they were neglignt, the only point of using negligance is to possibly overide their T&C's, BUt as pointed out, you are going to strugle to prove the items are worth anything other than the £20 you declared, as pointed out, you will have to admit to a Judge that you 'lied', not a good start.

 

Now, a court claim may well be worth it as it would put IP under pressure and they may investigate more and do a proper search.

 

I would recommend before court action a Notice Before Action letter and also follow the CPR Pre-Action Protocols here > http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct might get the ball rolling.

 

Andy

[philipcooper99]

Right, today after pushing them a little more Interparcel have come back to me and said that my hermes gave the parcel to a 'third party' as Amazon will not let My Hermes in their yard unless they are in a sign written van. I have asked who this third party was...

 

Also on the proof of delivery they have given me (which has no corresponding tracking number or anyway of identifying it is related to my parcel), it says can be left safe or with neighbour. again this is not in Interparcels T and C's, is not mentioned anywhere on their site (they mention items can be left with a neighbour but not a safe place). I would never ever in a million years agreed to that if they were upfront with that information. I feel that those 2 surely must mean they are in breach of contract.

 

Onto me claiming for replacements, I completely see your logic that they could claim I lied. I just wonder how others have done the same and taken this to small claims and been awarded the price of replacements. I think it was based on the fact that the contract was irrelevant once they had been negligent?

[philipcooper99]

Sorry Andy your link seems to have expired?

[andydd]

Sorry Andy your link seems to have expired?

 

I fixed it. Its the general one you couldfollow, its basically a list of questions for both sides to ponder, may or may not help. I dont really expect IP to suddenly pay out £1500 but they may make more of an effort to look for the parcel.

 

Andy

[philipcooper99]

Thanks for that Andy,

 

Tomorrow I plan to issue a letter before action to interparcel.

 

They are claiming the parcel was delivered to Amazon, and have an irrelevant POD in my opinion. Amazon say they have not received it.

 

To be fair should I be suing Amazon for the loss?

 

Is there any links to a template for these?

 

Have I got anything to lose just to start proceedings?

 

Any advice appreciated.

 

Phil

[andydd]

It could be that Amazon have lost it, I suppose you could name them as co-defendants but I'm not sure about that. (whereas there is a contract between you and IP Im not sure about between you and Amazon, I suppose there is one saying 'you send us the goods and we'll send you the money'). Maybe check out any Amazon T&C's regarding returns.

 

Not sure about templates for claims, easiset way is to start via MCOL > https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome you will need to be careful with the wording of your Particulars of Claim and list the actual contract provision and/or law you will be relying upon.

 

Have you got anything to lose ?.. Well, yes, money ! There will be fees for starting the claim (maybe £80) and hearing fees (£150 ? - maybe check online), you will get these back should you win but should you lose you will lose them AND face some costs, now generally costs are NOT recoverable in small claims BUT people can claim for loss of earnings, to a max of £90 I believe and also travel expenses, (these could be a few hundred). There is also a small risk of being made to pay their legal costs (these could be thousands).

 

But as pointed out the odds are against you becuase you declared the pacakage worth £20.

 

Andy

[philipcooper99]

Hi Andy,

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

It interesting, and make logical sense that yes declaring the package as only worth £20 is a problem, however as I pointed out in the only other thread, actual case history, the guy on here did the same and won in small claims court. According to him.

 

Today..... Amazon have emailed me to say they have the parcel.

 

It turns out it was Amazon's mistake and not interparcel. Im pretty disappointed with both of them. Never come across a bunch who care less than Interparcel.

 

Thanks for your help, and I am going to sleep well tonight!