ParcelForce Insurance "Get-out"

Floppy_2

Hi

I recently sold an item on Ebay and sent it to the buyer via ParcelForce including their £150 insurance. When the item arrived, it was found to have been damaged in transit - beyond repair as it turned out. I claimed on their insurance, but this was rejected because the buyer had not kept the original packaging.

Now, this post is not to do with the fact that the buyer threw away the packaging, or that ParcelForce should not require the packaging to be kept for inspection, but simply that ParcelForce do not state in any prominent place that the packaging must be retained or any claim will be rejected. It is therefore very easy for them to get out of paying any compensation for damaged goods because most recipients are not aware of this and throw the packaging away.

I booked the collection on-line on ParcelForce's website and the first mention of keeping the packaging comes in the "small print" buried away in note 11.2! Not exactly prominent, which it should be if it such an over-riding requirement.

Be careful if you intend to use ParcelForce for any valuable items - especially in the run-up to Christmas - because they will not honour their insurance commitments if you do not keep the packaging.

Altarf

It's obvious you need to keep the packaging. How else do you demonstrate that the packaging was appropriate and that the damage was due to ParcelForce's mishandling?

Floppy_2

Altarf - thanks for your comment - you are obviously more astute than I am! I just thought that others might learn by my mistake.

The requirement to keep packaging wasn't obvious to me as a buyer of Parcelforce services, nor, clearly was it obvious to the recipient because they discarded the packaging.

Parcelforce offers clear instructions about how to pack- (down to the thickness of box /cardboard to use, bubble wrap of individual items, polystyrene shapes etc) and mine complied with all requirements. Moreover, it was clearly marked as fragile on all sides.

When booking, Parcelforce reassures you that lost and damaged items will be compensated provided a claim is made within the statutory time limit. But why not add that it is also a requirement to keep all packaging? Incidentally, Postwatch (the postal "ombudsman") is of the same opinion - that this is sharp practice by Parcelforce and their insurers. It should be clearly stated and not in small print, that, should anything go wrong, compensation will only be paid if a) packaging is retained and b) following an inspection to review the parcel and its content. After all, it is not only the buyer (of Parcelforce services who needs to be aware of it), but also the recipient.

I would think that carriage of parcels/documents is the same as any consumer product or service: if it does not provide what it promised to deliver, then you are entitled to a refund. In this case, we had "before" and "after" photos (how many people photograph the contents of their parcels to verify condition?) - and the only thing that had happened in between was that the package had been transported from A to B - by Parcelforce. Ludicrously, if we had wrapped and sent damaged goods but kept the packaging, presumably we could have claimed compensation.

This Christmas, make sure that any child/relative/friend you send to, knows to keep ALL wrapping until the contents are checked and until the Parcelforce/insurer's inspector has called. Forewarned is forearmed.

Don't let Parcelforce ruin your Christmas.

headcovers

Altarf wrote:

It's obvious you need to keep the packaging. How else do you demonstrate that the packaging was appropriate and that the damage was due to ParcelForce's mishandling?

I think whilst the OP has fallen foul of this requirement (whether it is obvious or not) their reason for posting here is to warn others who might also not realise this requirement.

I for one found the post very helpful and will take care when I post this Xmas to ensure packaging is kept to one side just in case.

DesG

Floppy wrote:

Moreover, it was clearly marked as fragile on all sides.

Well there is the cause of your problem, that is an almost guaranteed way of having them play football/basketball/catch-whoops, with your parcel.

The worst part of their get out clause is that you didn't do anything wrong, it was the recipient who discarded the packaging



Cheers, Des.

raeble

DesG wrote:

Well there is the cause of your problem, that is an almost guaranteed way of having them play football/basketball/catch-whoops, with your parcel.

Yes I used to work in the dispatch department and I have seen a royal mail man do this. He was explaining that we shouldn't mark fragile on it. So we never had since then. If anyone marked fragile on the parcels that I was sending out I would make sure that I crossed it off.

basilthebeagle

Well here's my experience - a guitar was sent, sold on ebay, in perfect condition. Packed as follows: triple wrapped in bubble wrap, double encased in a sheet of industrial packing card a heavier weight than recommended by their website for the weight of the parcel, another slip of the same packing card top and bottom, all seams sealed with proper parcel tape, plus band round the parcel, plus each corner multi encased in parcel tape for strength, 2 A4 FRAGILE signs attached, picked up with no complaints from the driver as to how well it was packaged.

It arrived and the whole bottom of the guitar had a huge crack running round it which would, I can tell you, have taken some doing.

Recipient complains, I cry over the loss of a good guitar, I fill out the claim form.

Almost a month later I get a letter saying that a qualified person had inspecte dthe parcel and its original packaging and decided the packing was not sufficient and I could not claim.

Having written a #*@~ off, rude letter to follow, I waited to send it before contacting the recipient to ask, completely innocently, whether he had heard anything from parcelforce about inspecting the parcel and, if so, what had they said..... guess what - the email came back - um...nope they haven't even contacted me yet, maybe I should get in touch with them again and chase it up.

I am absolutely appalled - appeals procedure is in place - I have kept every single email, fax acknowledgement, letter etc etc and sent all this off with the appeal....

smcaul

I have to say that from your description of the packaging I can quite see why they rejected it. A guitar is hollow, no matter how much bubble wrap you use the crush force of other parcels will still be there, you would have needed to send it in a hard case to ensure it arrived safely.

The parcels go through a very automated system, but the loading onto trailers is done by hand. It is not possible to stack all parcels nicely, they end up in a pile and so the packaging has to be very strong.

I previously worked as a contract manager for PF, I rejected many claims from companies due to poor packaging. These were printers for example. A printer box is designed to protect a printer whilst on a pallet or on a shop shelf - it is not designed to protect it going through a parcel network.

Just covering something that is hollow in bubble wrap and cardboard is not sufficient packaging.

custardy

as said,people dont seem to understand the sheer volume of items handled.
if your package is at the bottom of a trolley then it could easily have 100+kg stacked on top of it
something like a guitar needs to be in the likes of a hard case to truly protect it
as for the collection driver,he's not there to decide what is/isnt properly packaged.
its down to you,all he is doiung is trying to get through his collections/deliveries for that day

Doctor7

I have had several bad experiences with Parcel Force they try every trick in the book not to pay out on insurance,they are a disgrace and their customer service is as helpful as a choclate fireguard

custardy

ah good informative post