dhl damaged package, wont pay out on insurance. desperately need help

pcste

firstly, my appologies if i have posted this thread in the wrong place. i was sure what catagory to put this question in.

I sent a custom built crypto-mining rig (pc) to a customer via courierpoint, they inturn employed dhl to collect and deliver my package.
i paid approx £70 extra for insurance as the items value was £2800
the buyer recieved the item and on opening discovered that the power supply had become dislodged and had smashed into the graphics cards (4 x sapphire r9 290's) and had then landed on the memory and the motherboard. he also discovered a dint and scratch on the outer packaging, indicating the package had recieved a large knock or fall

the components are built into a custom made aluminium cage. the power supply was fixed in several places and the force of the knock has made the power supply come loose, a metal bracket which was secured with 2 screws had completey sheared off. which indicates to me there was considerable force.

so far courierpoint have dragged their feet and each time i have supplied photos or info the always take ages to get back to me and then always ask for more info.

eventually the manager emailed me and said that the item was not packaged properly and mentioned that the power supply was not secured on all sides and clearly did not even read my previous emails which showed the sheared bracket, infact he even said there was no fixing in that place.
he said that the outer damage on the package did not show enough force to have done the damage inside.
sounds like he is contradicting himself, he's accepting there is outer damage but not accepting that that caused it.
he then said in his email that courierpoint would lke to offer a goodwill gesture of £237.

i spoke to a solicitor friend. who told me the packaging argument was irrelevent as dhl had inspected the item on pickup (open box, checked inside) and that they had enterd into a contract at that point by accepting the package and saying it was fit to travel.
i replied to courierpoint with this info and informed them i was considering small claims court.
they replied with something along the lines, the item was inadequately packaged and if you want to take this to court we believe we will win and you will have to pay the extra costs, are you sure you want to do that?

on the one hand they offered me a good will gesture, so they must know they are wrong. on the other hand they seem to be calling my bluff to take them to court.

would be really gratefull if any body can point me in the right direction.
i can find plenty of info about couriers damaging packages but very littly on what consumer group to contact or where to get help.

pinkshoes

I think I'd be sending a letter before action, giving them 14 days to pay for he damage.

how much are you claiming off them? You need to quantify your loss.

campdave

pcste wrote: »

i can find plenty of info about couriers damaging packages but very littly on what consumer group to contact or where to get help.

There's no consumer group to contact, or anyone to act on your behalf, other than the consumer pages for some newspapers 9the guardian print three or four letters each weekend, but this will be a fraction of what they receive).

Send them a letter before action, and if they don't pay up, commence small claims court proceeding. Hopefully your solicitor friend can give you some helpful advice. However, large companies are probably used to people sounding off and threatening court, so you may find them willing to stand their ground and let you initiate proceedings.

custardy

usual question.
define 'well packaged'.