Concierge desk lost Yodel parcel (free gift sent by Google Promotions)

[VGTom]

Hello there (again)!

Hope all is well since the last time I was here.

 

I am hoping to get a little bit of help with the issue I am currently facing.

 

Let me give you guys a clear picture of the situation:

 

Google Promotions sent me a smartwatch via Yodel that was supposed to be delivered on the 8th of Wednesday. The Yodel website showed that *the delivery will require a photo in your open door* ,I thought they would ring the intercom and try to deliver it in person. I work from home so was home the whole day.

 

Around 14:00 I get an email that the item has been delivered. Obviously the driver didn't even come to my apartment but went straight to the reception desk and left my parcel there. Just to make sure I quickly checked in front of my door and downstairs but they didn't leave any parcels there.

 

Usually the concierge team needs a couple hours to register any items they receive into the system, after which I receive an automatic email and a text message which lets me collect the parcel the same day or after. This time I didn't receive anything from the concierge team. It seems like as if they didn't even receive the parcel however Yodel has an extremely blurry image as proof of delivery (2 parcels on top of each other on the concierge desk). I waited another day and decided to ask the concierge team in person. After hours of searching they couldn't find anything in the storage hold.

 

Since then I have contacted both Google and Yodel, none of which could give me a clear answer and help me. Yodel completely ignores the fact that the driver should have come to my place first and tried to deliver the parcel in person (I didn't specify any safe places, I didn't even mention the concierge in the comments or the like). Google tells me the item has been delivered so they can't help me anymore.

 

I just wanted to know what my rights are in this situation.

 

Which party is to blame here?

 

Google did have a contractual obligation that I successfully receive the item they send me and they failed to do that. In my opinion I am not in contract with the delivery company but with Google. On the other hand it seems like the concierge desk has clearly made a mistake here.

 

Is there any way I can sue the concierge desk for losing my parcel? I am not sure what is the best course of action here, would love to hear your opinion on the matter!

T

[Ethel Street]

I don't know what Google Promotions is.  Is this a free gift that you didn't pay anything for? If not how much did you pay for the smartwatch?

[VGTom]

Yes, I bought a Pixel 7 pro and it came with a free gift from Google that I was able to claim in January, a month after the purchase of the phone.

[dx100uk]

is there not CCTV that covers the desk?

 

 

[VGTom]

There is and this is the reply I got from the concierge team: 

Quote

 

Hi T,

 

Its indeed a long night of search and a lot of parcels were delivered at the said date and time with similar packaging to the picture you sent making it impossible to identify this said missing parcel on the CCTV footage.

It would be great if Yodel findings could lead to a logical conclusion.

 

 

I feel like they are stalling. I told them the exact minute the parcel has been delivered, I sent them the proof of delivery photo which shows the parcel they have to look for and they still "couldn't locate it".

[dx100uk]

i'm wondering if you could request the cctv under an sar?

 

dx

 

[VGTom]

Interesting, how would I go about doing that?

[Homer67]

Click on sar

[VGTom]

My bad, just realized this.

 

I could try this but do you think there is a more direct approach like suing the reception for the value of the item?

 

I am going to be honest, I would prefer not to do any detective work myself.

 

I am just not sure if I should go for Google or the reception.

 

I guess I was in contract with Google and in the end they failed to fulfill that contract.

 

How do you see this?

Who is the one to blame here?

 

[dx100uk]

please bother to add blank line not a big block of txt.

 

this is a forum not facebook.

 

you need to find who is your target

if the parcel was never delivered its yodel

if it was stolen its the desk operators.

 

till you see what happened you cant decide

 

sar 

 

dx

 

 

 

[VGTom]

Interesting, I actually think it's awful to read something where there are 2 cm high blank lines between sentences. Hurts my eyes. Also not sure how you write on facebook, I don't use it. 

According to Yodel the parcel has been delivered but the concierge team can't seem to find it. All I know is what I've shared with you.

Not sure if you read my previous message -
"I am just not sure if I should go for Google or the reception.

 

I guess I was in contract with Google and in the end they failed to fulfill that contract."

My question is if Google can be blamed for me not receiving the item or not. 

Yodel has a photo as proof of delivery, I can't sue them unless I prove that the image is an old one and the metadata has been tampered with. 

[Ethel Street]

Sounds like Yodel have:

 

-- A photo, albeit blurry, of the concierge desk, a photo whoch presumably contains metadata showing what time it was taken

-- 'Delivery status' of some sort on their website saying when it was delivered

-- an email they sent you saying it had been delivered

 

And all those things show more or less the same time? And the concierge desk aren't saying whether they received it or not. Seems they just don't know, not that they expressly say they didn't receive it

 

I assume that the photo, although blurry, is clearly the concierge desk in your apartment building? Are any of the concierge desk staff shown in the photo?

 

That would be quite strong evidence in court that Yodel did deliver it to the concierge desk. Of course it's possible the delivery driver stole it and neither package in the photo is yours but I'm not sure how you could go about proving that.

 

Yodel are appointed by and delivering for google but on the face of it they have delivered it and you have no claim against either of them.

 

I'm not a lawyer but I think you would struggle in court to show that they should have brought it to your apartment and not left it at the concierge desk. It's common for concierge desks to receive parcels for residents and it sounds as if that is the well established system where you live. The concierge desk receives it on your behalf. In law as your agent. I assume that in the delivery instructions you did not say 'Do not leave at Concierge Desk'.

 

The only option that leaves you with is suing the concierge desk. Not actually the desk staff but whoever it is that employs them. The Managing Agents? You'll have to research that. You would use the information from Yodel that I listed above as your evidence that they received it on your behalf and they have lost it. As it was a free gift the value of your claim would be whatever it would cost you to replace it.

 

Hard to say how strong your case would be if it went to court. The concierge defence would likely that the photos show no details of who the packages were addressed to and so there is no evidence either of them were for you. It would be up to the judge who they believed.

[VGTom]

Thank you for the detailed response. You have a good understanding of what had happened and all the evidence we have here.

Fortunately, the photo shows the whole reception area with one of the members of the staff (no face though) so it is pretty easy to prove that the driver has been there. Also google confirmed in email that the parcel in the photo indeed looks like the one they sent out.

I do agree with what you are saying. I will wait for the concierge desk to officially close the investigation on their side and then send a letter before action to the building management agency(?!). The item's value is £180, so I don't mind going to court with slim chances even as the money I can lose if ruled against me is negligible. 

Thank you again, will get back to you once I receive the concierge staff's final answer. 

[Ethel Street]

One further thought. If the concierge desk never logged it into their system another possibility is that someone passing the desk just after the courier left them on the desk picked them up and walked out with them. ie they were stolen by someone unknown.  That would still be the concerge's responsibility though; they would be negligent in not putting them somewhere secure immediately.

 

So you could also ask to see any CCTV around the time the package was delivered. Does it show the concierge staff putting the packages somewhere safe?

 

And if only one of the two packages in the photo was yours then has anyone else complained that a package delivered to the concierge desk that day has gone missing?