Parcel delivery rights - requested to be left in a safe place...

RainbowLaura

Hi there,

My husband recently made a purchase of more than £100, and the parcel has not arrived. Much to my horror, he has informed me that he asked for it to be left behind a gate to the left of our front door!! (Which is, to be fair, down a very small cul-de-sac in a tiny village where everybody knows each other). We have no reason to believe that anyone has tried to deliver the parcel and no card has been left.

Now, the retailer website states that:

"All consignments must be signed for, unless you have previously given your consent, at the time of placing your order, for the consignment to be left somewhere without a signature. Please note if your parcel is left at your request, without a signature, you forfeit your right to make any claim with ourselves or the courier in the event of loss or damage."

However, I have also read on the Citizens Advice website that deliverers are only allowed to "doorstep" if the delivery is tracked, which this one is not.

He made the purchase through PayPal, if that makes any difference.

I was just wondering if we have any rights at all if the parcel doesn't turn up?

Thanks,

Laura

side21

so..

1. The parcel was a standard first/class delivery and was not a recorded delivery?
2. Your husband requested it to be placed near your home? Is that location able to been seen by people walking past and able to gain access to that location?

If both of these are a yes then I'm afraid it won't be possible to make a claim. Unless you speak to the company who sent it to see if they received the item back (worth a shot). Always do recorded delivery for item which are £50 and up (based on my opinion), I also learnt the hard way. You can also speak to Paypal about the situation but I doubt they will refund you since there is no evidence of the delivery which they can see.

Always make sure you do recorded/signed for delivery on more valuable products.

RainbowLaura

Thanks for the reply, I feared that might be the case

Seems lesson learnt the very hard way!

side21

RainbowLaura wrote: »

However, I have also read on the Citizens Advice website that deliverers are only allowed to "doorstep" if the delivery is tracked, which this one is not.

He made the purchase through PayPal, if that makes any difference.

I was just wondering if we have any rights at all if the parcel doesn't turn up?

Thanks,

Laura

Did you send CAB's comment to the delivery courier? I'm not aware if that is part of the law or just a general advice implied by them. Can you confirm if the parcel has been dispatched and how long? If its not dispatched yet, tell them to send it recorded instead ( may have to pay a bit more for delivery). I wouldn't advise anything to be left on the doorstep if its not recorded.

RainbowLaura

Thanks for the advice, my husband is not home yet but I will ask him when he comes in. I think it may be too late to change delivery option this time though unfortunately Worth a go with sending the CAB comment to the courier if not. Thanks again.

side21

No probs, good luck

Prothet_of_Doom

There are some unscrupulous people out there. Maybe the delivery driver, stole it, maybe a neighbour stole it, maybe it is lost in a warehouse.

Contact the vendor and the delivery company and ask them where it is, and if it was delivered when it was delivered, (and tell them...oh that's strange my wife was in the front garden all morning, painting the front door, so I think she'd have seen someone knocking on the front door with a parcel) .... See what they say then.

shaun_from_Africa

RainbowLaura wrote: »

However, I have also read on the Citizens Advice website that deliverers are only allowed to "doorstep" if the delivery is tracked, which this one is not.

That only applies to Royal Mail deliveries so if the delivery is by a different delivery service then whether or not they would leave an untracked or unsigned for item depends entirely on their procedures and policies.

unholyangel

I wouldn't worry about the T&C's - as I'm pretty sure those would be unfair. The reason is this, while they can make you aware their liability would end as soon as they've delivered the goods, they'd still be liable if it went missing/was damaged while in their care - they cannot disclaim liability for that.

Of course your husband giving them permission to leave it in an unsecure location muddies the waters. But they can't rely on that term because it effectively allows them to be negligent with impunity.

2.2.2 See paragraphs 1.1 to 1.9 for an explanation of the OFT's objections to
disclaimers generally. A term which could – whether or not that is the
intention – serve to relieve a supplier of services of the obligation to take
reasonable care in any of its dealings with consumers is particularly liable to
be considered unfair. Where goods or materials are supplied along with a
service, the same requirements as to description and quality apply as are
described in paragraph 2.1.1.

2.2.4 A more fruitful approach is to narrow the scope of the disclaimer, so that it
excludes liability only for losses where the supplier is not at fault, or which
were not foreseeable when the contract was entered into.

2.2.6 Disclaiming liability where the consumer is at fault. Terms which disclaim
liability for loss or damage (for example, to the consumer's property) which
is the consumer's own fault may be acceptable. But this does not mean
that a disclaimer which operates only where the consumer is in breach of
contract is necessarily fair.

2.2.7 Such a term is unlikely to be acceptable if it could deprive the consumer of
all redress in the event of a trivial or technical breach, or where the supplier
may be partly responsible for loss or harm suffered by the consumer. For example, failure to take specified precautions against the risk of damage or
theft by third parties should not be a basis on which the supplier can
escape all liability where he, or any employee of his, is negligent or
dishonest.

If the parcel was stolen after being delivered, its very much likely going to be at your expense. However, if the parcel was lost or stolen during transit, then they are still liable and cannot use your husbands permission to leave in an unsafe place as a "get out".

RainbowLaura

The delivery method was Royal Mail 1st class apparently. The thing is, how can we know whether it disappeared in transit or after it "arrived" on our property?

I really don't believe that it arrived, as we do this very frequently (for low value items) and every time we get a red card through the letterbox to let us know the parcel has been left. It's just proving that

GreatBeyond

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

There are some unscrupulous people out there. Maybe the delivery driver, stole it, maybe a neighbour stole it, maybe it is lost in a warehouse.

Contact the vendor and the delivery company and ask them where it is, and if it was delivered when it was delivered, (and tell them...oh that's strange my wife was in the front garden all morning, painting the front door, so I think she'd have seen someone knocking on the front door with a parcel) .... See what they say then.

This could end up getting a delivery driver the sack - please don't do this if it isn't the case.