Parcel returned to sender- huge fee to pay

landt2013

This is about parcel brokers- where you input on a website how big and heavy your parcel is and where it's going, and the parcel broker presents you with a selection of carriers and services and you choose the one you want.

I chose the service I wanted, paid around £20, and the parcel was collected. I didn't hear any more about it for around three weeks, when the recipient said they hadn't received it and asked if something had gone wrong.

Then the parcel broker emailed to tell me I owed them £130 as the carrier had been unable to deliver the parcel and it had been returned to the broker's depot.

The recipient had rescheduled delivery to a different address after one failed attempt, but the carrier claims they couldn't get in to the new address and so returned the parcel to the sender (the broker). The recipient says he was waiting in all day for the carrier, that they didn't try and get in, and is pretty annoyed that he wasted a day and still has no parcel.

Can anyone tell me where the contracts lie in this case? Is my contract with the broker or the carrier? (obviously I have a contract with the recipient that I still need to fulfil, which I will do with another broker and carrier- the contents of the parcel are replaceable).

It seems mightily unfair that I have to pay £130 (plus another £50 if I actually want them to bring the parcel back to me- it's still languishing at the broker's depot). The broker says the carrier fulfilled their part of the deal, and the terms and conditions of using their site vaguely mention that a surcharge may be payable if items are returned, but I'd have rather they just threw the parcel in a ditch than send it back for that price. The parcel is only worth around £50, which the brokers know from the insurance declaration. What will happen if I don't pay? Shouldn't they have asked what I wanted them to do with it before racking up a bill that high? Is there a legal term for that?

Any help or advice would be appreciated. This seems to be an under-reported issue- does it only affect this particular carrier, I wonder? I don't want to name them but their company name is just three letters, and it's not DHL. Or this particular broker? I'd rather not name them at all just at the minute.

sinizterguy

Was there any small print you didn't read before clicking I accept ?

landt2013

There was small print that I did read, and reading it again it's clear the contract is between me and the broker, who have a contract with the carrier whereby charges incurred by the carrier are passed to the broker. What I'm really objecting to here is the amount- I'd (just about) happily pay the same to have the parcel back as I paid to have it sent, although this is the only carrier/broker I've come across where I've had to pay anything for undeliveries. But this amount is really excessive, I think. Is there any way to argue this? I just can't afford to pay £130.

sinizterguy

landt2013 wrote: »

There was small print that I did read, and reading it again it's clear the contract is between me and the broker, who have a contract with the carrier whereby charges incurred by the carrier are passed to the broker. What I'm really objecting to here is the amount- I'd (just about) happily pay the same to have the parcel back as I paid to have it sent, although this is the only carrier/broker I've come across where I've had to pay anything for undeliveries. But this amount is really excessive, I think. Is there any way to argue this? I just can't afford to pay £130.

If you did not agree to have these charges passed back to you, then just inform them in writing that you do not agree and as such you do not agree to pay their invoice.

But, they have your item hostage. I guess it depends on whether you actually want it back.

visidigi

sinizterguy wrote: »

If you did not agree to have these charges passed back to you, then just inform them in writing that you do not agree and as such you do not agree to pay their invoice.

But, they have your item hostage. I guess it depends on whether you actually want it back.

It'll be covered by the T&C's that they are liable.

Brokers, the bane of courier companies everywhere. They're fine when it goes right, horrific when it goes wrong. And yet consumers expect to be able to go to the courier direct when it does...

The problem you have OP is that reverse logistics are always more expensive than when you send them. This is usually down to the bulk discounts the brokers get for the service outbound (they have limited return volume).

You have no contract or link with the courier at all - its all and only with the broker (and this is the reason a broker is cheaper than going direct to the courier as the level of service is much less).

The curious thing here is the recipient asked for the redirect, not you, therefore there could be a case for saying you fulfilled your part of the contract with your buyer as they knowingly changed the address from what you agreed delivery to.

At the point at which they changed the delivery address you could argue the problem and associated costs would become theirs (as the broker contract is unlikely to mention this, but check it anyway).

andycris3107

I may be wrong but I was sure that the only person able to approve a change of address is the sender. The only time I've seen this to be different is with UPS where they will allow a recipient to request an address change at a cost of £5 which is billed to the sender (often without their knowledge). UPS however do not charge for returned packages, neither do any of the companies I have dealt with.

visidigi

andycris3107 wrote: »

I may be wrong but I was sure that the only person able to approve a change of address is the sender. The only time I've seen this to be different is with UPS where they will allow a recipient to request an address change at a cost of £5 which is billed to the sender (often without their knowledge). UPS however do not charge for returned packages, neither do any of the companies I have dealt with.

Thats a personal experience - all the main carriers charge a fee to return - the international ones usually offer the option to return or dispose.

As for the address change, usually none of the brokers allows this, so we would need to know who the broker was.

landt2013

andycris3107 wrote: »

I may be wrong but I was sure that the only person able to approve a change of address is the sender. The only time I've seen this to be different is with UPS where they will allow a recipient to request an address change at a cost of £5 which is billed to the sender (often without their knowledge).

This could well be the case; I wasn't contacted by either the carrier or the recipient, the recipient did the address change by himself- and the first I heard of it was when the broker emailed to say I owed them £130, whereupon I checked the tracking to find out what on earth had happened. The same morning the receipient emailed to ask why his parcel hadn't arrived.

andycris3107 wrote: »

UPS however do not charge for returned packages, neither do any of the companies I have dealt with.

I can say quite categorically that you are not correct here...

UPS are the carrier in question.

Collabora

i remember a few years back when i was selling computers. I received an order and all payments checked, so i sent order which was going to Germany. the next day my card processor contacts me to say the payment has been reversed as card was stolen. I knew the order was still in transit and had not left UK, so called the courier (UPS) who was very helpful and told me they would try and stop the delivery and return the item. about an hr later i got a call to say they stopped the delivery and would return it to me, but i had to pay £50. no choice , so paid this, so now i had a £150 PC to resell also cost me £20 to sent and £50 to return at the same time i had to pay my supplier for the PC. It took me a further 3 weeks to sell the PC which just covered my costs. And strange for some reason the buyer never contacted me to find out where his PC was. at least i got it stopped before they got hold of the machine

Collabora

andycris3107 wrote: »

UPS however do not charge for returned packages, neither do any of the companies I have dealt with.

You will find out that UPS and all other major couriers will charge a returns fee.