Floor damaged by delivery driver

Gordon_Hose

If the driver wasn't insured to deliver into the house, he shouldn't have offered to do so. Before reading this thread I wouldn't of assumed to stop him in his tracks and ask him if he's insured.

Sorry, but both the driver and the courier company are liable.

Hintza

The OP and the driver were moving it together and if I was the courier I would be talking to the driver and probably refuting any claim.

paddyrg

So a kindly driver who could have just dumped the package on the lawn offered to help you get it not just over the threshold but into the right room and you want him to lose his job? That'll teach him.

WTFH

Most deliveries are "to your door", if you want it brought to the room, that's not part of the delivery.
Contrary to what others have said, no, he is not responsible.
As you say, you helped him. You lifted it up and in, then it appears you set it down and left it to him to move.

If you were worried about the floor, why didn't you continue to help him move it, rather than leaving him to push it on the floor?

spacey2012

I think it is fair to say, the bloke has lost his job.

midnight_toker

Thanks for the replies. Seems I have opened up a can of worms!

I do not want the delivery guy to be sacked, but, the fact is that his actions damaged my property! Why should I have to pay to rectify a problem caused by him?

I helped him lift it over the threshold, and would then have been more than happy to help him lift it to the corner where it was slid to, but I wasn't given the chance - he pushed it there before I had the chance to object or suggest a better way of moving it.

He did not even mention that he wasn't allowed to bring it inside - if he had done, that would have been fine. My partner and I could have brought it in ourselves. However, when he delivered it, he simply asked if I wanted it in the garage or inside the house, so I told him it needed to come into the house.

Obviously a 100kg stove isn't going to levitate, but it's perfectly possible to move it within a house without damaging the floor!

I guess the issue here is this: if a company isn't insured to deliver to within a property, but they do, are they liable for any damage caused? I don't see how they are not liable just because they aren't insured.

Anyone know anything about this liability? (or lack of it, if I'm wrong...)
Thanks

earthstorm

I assume the driver did not carry it on his back from his van to your door (most likely used a sack barrow).

could he not have took it off the sack barrow, placed in sack barrow in your hallway, you help him lift over threshold and place on sack barrow and then it could have been wheeled in to the room you wanted it in.

midnight_toker

The driver used a narrow pallet trolley to bring it to the front door. I then helped him lift it over the threshhold. He then slid it across the floor and the pallet trolley remained outside.

earthstorm

sodukoman wrote: »

Like always you assume far too much.

your remarks are not needed as i was proven right that he did not carry it on his back.

unholyangel

I'm not sure if this may be of use/relevance or not but I originally wondered if this may be covered by unfair terms - in that it seeks to pass on risk to consumers without making them aware of it. The part I think may be relevant is:

18.2.5 If a risk is transferred to consumers on the basis that they can themselves reasonably control it or insure against it, such as loss or damage to goods in their possession, they need to be aware of what they are supposed to do. To be useful, provision along such lines must be adequately drawn to their attention. If the contract is short and simple, this may require only the use of bold print – otherwise warnings separate from the main body of the contract will be needed. Effective highlighting of such clauses is essential if they require, rather than merely advise, the consumer to do anything.

I wasn't entirely sure though as whether the customer would be reasonably expected to know the risk is questionable. Personally I don't think the average consumer would and in law....they tend to assume consumers are clueless (hence why they receive so much protection in legislation). Anyway, I looked to the annexes (a list of terms OFT said breached unfair contract terms and asked them to delete/edit it accordingly) to get an idea of examples when that group has been used and found this:

Original term
… any goods delivered to the customer's premises shall be entirely at the purchaser's risk and he will indemnify the company for any loss or damage thereto.
Action taken
New term: [After] delivery of any units to be installed … you will be responsible for their safe keeping and you should make sure that you are adequately insured against any damage or loss which may occur to those units.