Reasonable compensation (newbie alert)

edagius

hi all, long time reader first post, be gentle


basically I had a parcel delivered from a popular online retailer and on realising that we were out they went to the garage gates on the side of the house and tried them (looking for a safe place) but realised they were locked. Then he decided to push them so they opened at the top just enough to push the parcel through (ignoring the 'this door is alarmed' sign).


I have the above on cctv.


so he then went away, but the alarm was triggered and I was notified by my phone and came home from work to check it out wasting some of my time and realised what had happened.


The gates are mechanised so they can be opened electronically and the pushing of them has bent a bracket and pushed the system out of alignment - I have been able to fix this myself with a spare bracket then re adjust the system taking some more of my time.


I complained and after a few weeks of waiting and chasing I got a call today basically saying the courier company will 'pay for my invoice' in essence saying if I tell them how much I want they will give me a cheque and then claim it from their driver.


I'm now wondering how much I should ask for... I know it didn't cost me anything directly other than having to stay late the next day at work and my time + knowledge to mend the system on the gates BUT if I hadn't been able to do that myself Id have called someone who would have charged me or if I was in another line of work I might have lost earnings.


what are the opinions of you good moneysaving people?




thanks in advance

unholyangel

Unfortunately in cases like this, the law only entitles you to your actual losses - you also have a statutory to take reasonable steps to mitigate your losses where possible (like you have done by fixing it yourself rather than paying someone).

Now are they saying they'll pay the invoice or have they said they're offering a goodwill gesture? (or perhaps they're offering both?)

If they've only said they're paying the invoice, I'd proceed with caution as they may ask for proof of losses. If they've mentioned goodwill then you know you have a bit of leeway.

wealdroam

Hi and welcome to the forums.

I'll just focus this bit:

edagius wrote: »

I know it didn't cost me anything directly other than having to stay late the next day at work and my time + knowledge to mend the system on the gates BUT if I hadn't been able to do that myself Id have called someone who would have charged me or if I was in another line of work I might have lost earnings.

There are too many ifs in there.

Unfortunately you cannot claim for what might've happened.

For example, I suppose it is possible that he could've damaged the gates beyond economical repair such that the cost of putting things right might have run to many thousands of pounds.
Of course that didn't happen, so you cannot claim that amount.

Similarly, you didn't have to pay anyone for the repairs, so you cannot claim for that.

esuhl

I'd get a quote from a professional for the work that was done, then write a polite letter saying the how much the repair would have cost, and that, to save them money you spent your own time and materials fixing the problem, and also had to take further time out of work to respond to the alarm.

Then you could say that you would consider £X a fair reimbursement of your time (obviously less than the professional would have charged), and would be happy to consider the matter satisfactorily resolved should they be in a position to oblige.

edagius

thanks all, yes they were sounding like they were talking about a goodwill gesture (cant remember the wording they used)


unfortunately my wife and I are expecting a baby any day so getting people for quotes is the last thing we need to organise. also I suspect as its not a new mechanism that any professional is just going to suggest replacement (they probably would have before the damage anyway lol)


I hope they are going to just give something as a gesture, I was thinking something around the £80 mark for a few hours of my time + the chasing + the few materials - does this seem reasonable? I have no idea what would be reasonable so it could be £20 or could be £200

daytona0

A few red flags knocking about:

1. You are expecting a child very soon. Wouldn't that mean your wife is on maternity leave? Where was she when this all took place? Could she have gone in your stead to check the garage?

2. You either live right next to work, or fairly far away. If you live right next to it then the time it took to check + fix issue would surely not take longer than an hour? If you live far away then do you reasonably expect to get to the garage in time to have any sort of impact on the stealing? You already have CCTV, locks and a deterrent so there isn't much more you can do!

Very borderline issue. I personally don't see much point in going back home and wasting time from work. But that might be a wrong assumption in your circumstances.

I would say just get a quote and give it to them. I think you are lucky that the company are not asking a few more questions about all of this.

I do, however, want to remind you that the company may very well be billing the driver for this (as stated in your last post). So you are taking money from a hard-working person who is earning a crust for their family and just wanted to make sure that your parcel was safe and sound. Just think about that if you are considering how much you can 'squeeze out of them'.

daytona0

edagius wrote: »

I suspect as its not a new mechanism that any professional is just going to suggest replacement (they probably would have before the damage anyway lol)

Just for clarification but does this mean that some damage was already present?

If so, you are VERY lucky that the company aren't asking more questions! Jeez.

unholyangel

daytona0 wrote: »

I do, however, want to remind you that the company may very well be billing the driver for this (as stated in your last post). So you are taking money from a hard-working person who is earning a crust for their family and just wanted to make sure that your parcel was safe and sound. Just think about that if you are considering how much you can 'squeeze out of them'.

I disagree with this bit. Surely if they wanted to make sure they got it safe and sound they would have delivered it to someone who lived there rather than through a gate - never mind the fact they went at some lengths to do so.

You'll likely find it was to save them from coming back. Especially if they're paid per parcel rather than per hour as usually, they get a flat rate per delivery/collection that doesn't increase if they don't deliver it the first time.

Bit of an extreme comparison but shoplifters, con artists, cowboys etc sometimes are just earning a crust to support their family - doesn't make it okay though. And its not as if this drivers actions were unintentional - they were deliberate.

edagius

hi


1. this was on the 4th april before my wife was on maternity (yes it has taken that long to get a rply)


2. they had no damage at the time (they were working fine) just the mechanism isn't new and probably not something they would know how to fix.


3. I work about half hour away so travel time plus working out what had happened + fixing it was well over 3 hours


4. if you have an alarm that notifies you when triggered, you don't ignore it when it goes off, same reason you don't go and check a noise in the night the next morning.


I know they will be claiming it back from the driver which is why I'm in two minds, on one hand he has forced a door on my property which was clearly locked and had a 'this door is alarmed' sign on. but on the other hand he was just trying to get the parcel to me....

daytona0

unholyangel wrote: »

I disagree with this bit. Surely if they wanted to make sure they got it safe and sound they would have delivered it to someone who lived there rather than through a gate - never mind the fact they went at some lengths to do so.

Yea but you must also bear in mind that OP is probably working full time, so it may be difficult to re-arrange delivery. Can't see how you can criticise anyone in hindsight for leaving a parcel in a safe place through a gate.

You'll likely find it was to save them from coming back. Especially if they're paid per parcel rather than per hour as usually, they get a flat rate per delivery/collection that doesn't increase if they don't deliver it the first time.

Well firstly you are assuming that you know what their pay structure is.

That aside, as long as the item is stored somewhere safe then who cares? Customer is happy because they don't have to book time off work etc and driver is happy because they are getting paid to do an honest days work.

Bit of an extreme comparison but shoplifters, con artists, cowboys etc sometimes are just earning a crust to support their family - doesn't make it okay though. And its not as if this drivers actions were unintentional - they were deliberate.

So you are saying that the driver deliberately caused the damaged? Wow that's a heavy accusation.

It was quite clearly unintentional. The driver didn't go out that day thinking "I'm going to break this guy's alarm system/gate", it just happened through trying to store a parcel safely! Can't see how you can reasonably compare that to con artists, shoplifters and cowboys etc.

That being said, driver is responsible and should sort it out.

daytona0

edagius wrote: »

hi


1. this was on the 4th april before my wife was on maternity (yes it has taken that long to get a rply)

Fair enough

2. they had no damage at the time (they were working fine) just the mechanism isn't new and probably not something they would know how to fix.

Fair enough

3. I work about half hour away so travel time plus working out what had happened + fixing it was well over 3 hours


4. if you have an alarm that notifies you when triggered, you don't ignore it when it goes off, same reason you don't go and check a noise in the night the next morning.

To me it seems like a bit of a waste of time... In the 30 mins it takes to get home your garage will be cleared out. Can't see what else you can do, aside from securing the garage (but I would assume that anything of value would be long gone anyway).

Mind you, I suppose instances like this could compromise security so maybe I can buy into you going back.

So why don't you start with quantifiable amounts in your claim:

3+ hours of your time at your normal wage (lost wages)
Petrol costs
Costs for any parts

Me thinks that is all you are entitled to have. OR just get a quote.

I know they will be claiming it back from the driver which is why I'm in two minds, on one hand he has forced a door on my property which was clearly locked and had a 'this door is alarmed' sign on. but on the other hand he was just trying to get the parcel to me....

As the old phrase goes, dammed if you do and dammed if you don't.