Goods not received - courier claims they were delivered - who is responsible?

usignuolo

My OH bought some household goods online from a company in Scotland. He paid online at time of order and later got confirmation in post. Supplier site said goods were in stock and would be delivered in 3-5 days. Did not arrive. A week later he contacted the supplier by phone who said goods had been delivered 3 days earlier. Matter closed. He said no it was not closed as he had not received the goods. He asked for proof of delivery. Supplier said would chase up courier and get back to him. Did not.

Three days later OH contacted supplier again. Told that courier had been contacted and still claimed items had been delivered but not yet supplied proof of this. Until they did supplier could do nothing.

(The goods were for home delivery, much too bulky to go in box or leave outside. There are only two of us here so there is no chance someone else in building could have signed for them.) Our neighbours confirm they have not been delivered to them.

Supplier says courier is responsible as goods were passed to them and they claim to have delivered the goods so we must wait for their proof of delivery by courier and if disagree, take it up with courier direct. They have not told us name of courier.

Meanwhile we have paid and have no goods. Who is legally liable?

mcduff16

Your contract is with the seller and it is the seller`s responsibility to get the goods to you

akira22098

If your OH paid with a credit card then you can contact the credit card company. Most offer some sort of online purchase protection. otherwise they should still be able to charge back the retailer as you have attempted but unable to resolve the issue with the retailer.

saveumcowboy

The company you bought from is responsible for getting the goods to you, they are the ones who have a contract with the couriers not you.

usignuolo

Problem is that the supplier is saying it is only our word against the couriers.

Obviously with only two of us living here, there could only be one of two signatures and it will not be either of ours which we can prove. But supplier seems to be dragging heels, saying have to wait for courier to respond (can't they send signatures by email nowadays?)

Meanwhile have paid for goods not received and supplier seems to be trying to shift responsibility. Unfortunately OH paid with business debit card not credit card as items were for his home office.

Who to complain to? Local Trading Standards maybe?

geri1965_2

What appalling customer service! Which company is this?

Fire_Fox

Are you dealing with this in writing by recorded delivery? The law is quite clear: you have a contract with the seller as you paid them, and they have a contract with the courier. Quote the legislation at them in the letter.

xadoc

As everyone else has said - your contract is with the seller.

The courier is a third party to the contract.

Courier may be responsible for the lost goods, but you deal solely with the seller.

It is not your responsibility or duty to contact the courier, and no, you can't claim against them. Sounds like whoever you've been speaking to at the retailer is an idiot if they think otherwise.

I would put your concerns in writing. Do you need the items urgently? If so, you could state this, giving them a time frame to deal with your complaint. ('time is of the essence' is the important phrase here)

e.g.
I ordered XYZ on such and such a date.
I was informed they would be delivered by such and such a date.
On x date the goods had not been received. I contacted you by telephone to advise of this. Despite several conversations with your representatives we still have not received our order of XYZ, or a refund of monies paid.
I understand that you need to liaise with the courier company as they are stating that the goods have been delivered.
A representative of yours has suggested that we contact the courier company ourselves to take the matter up with them. Our contract is not with the courier, our contract is with you to supply the goods, and therefore we are not able to contact the courier on that basis, we can only deal with you.
I can assure you that neither my husband nor I have signed for the goods, and as we are the only people living at this address, no-one else can have signed for them in our absence.
Currently we are out of pocket as we have paid for the goods which have not been supplied. We would like this matter to be resolved as soon as possible. We are still awaiting the delivery of XYZ. If you are unable to supply the goods then we need to receive a refund so we can purchase elsewhere.
Given that x amount of time has already passed since the projected delivery date, and time is of the essence I we would like to respectfully request that a delivery for XYZ be arranged or a refund of monies be paid within the next 28 days.

Kind regards

usignulo

Is it a reputable company? It doesn't seem very professional, and the fact that they haven't named the courier makes me wonder if your items existed in the first place?

usignuolo

I don't think the supplier is reliable although OH clearly did not realise that at the time he placed the order.

I have already written to the company with comments along the lines suggested but all they do is claim their records show delivery and so it is in the hands of the courier to prove this. There is a veiled suggestion we are making it up.

We are talking sizeable items of furniture here so it could not be a case of a lost package. We work from home but keep some stock off site and were going to store some of the furniture off site while we reorganised our home office. Maybe they are hoping to claim, I am being entirely cynical here, that someone else in the building signed for it, not realising there are only two of us here and it is a private house.

My OH has been handling telephone communications up to now. He is a mild mannered man and has been ready to accept their claim that it is all in the hands of the courier.

I am a more assertive personality and happy to write or complain in stronger terms but have a feeling they will take no notice. (I have looked up comments about them and find there is a lot of negative feedback).

Meanwhile husband needs the goods or an admission that they cannot supply so that he can order elsewhere. The last thing he wants is to order elsewhere and then have the original order turn up.

CelticStar

Your contract is with them - they have a separate contract with the courier. I think you need to stop the softly softly approach now and say that you are not interested in what the courier says has happened. The goods have not been delivered so you know for certain that there is no proof of delivery that they can produce. Therefore, if the furniture is not delivered by the end of this week then they will be receiving a solicitor's letter from you next week and you will also be reporting the whole matter to Consumer Direct as a scam. Put this in writing and send it by special delivery, or recorded delivery if you prefer.

littlereddevil

Which company is this anyway ? Can your bank do anything about it ?