Pressure to Change Feedback

Bogalot

Davesnave wrote: »

No, I agreed to use a seller whose delivery time, Standard Rate, was quoted on their sellers page as 3-5 days. If it could be as much as 10 days, why not make that part of their T&C, not stick it in the detail of the purchase invoice.

I get that it's part of the overarching Amazon way of doing things and all there in the contract detail, but it's still poor. Not being able to track a parcel is unsatisfactory.

And that's roughly what my review was trying to convey.

No, the terms and conditions are what you agree to at checkout. You agreed to a ten day delivery window. This was not "stuck in the detail of the purchase invoice", it was clearly displayed on the checkout page.

You didn't pay for a tracked delivery. If this was key to you, you should have asked if this was available and paid accordingly.

There is nothing wrong with having high expectations, but yours are entirely different to the ones you were offered and agreed to at the time of purchase.

Davesnave

Bogalot wrote: »

There is nothing wrong with having high expectations, but yours are entirely different to the ones you were offered and agreed to at the time of purchase.

So, my expectations are too high, although they are probably not much different from those held by most others who regularly buy on the Internet.

Our experience is that items come quickly, and often 'free,' which is why we do it.

In this instance the seller charged more than half the cost of the item as postage, which I accepted. Fine. It was they who set the rate and chose not to track. It was a computer part, not heavy.

The rest has been explained.

Some people think my feedback was reasonable, and others don't. That's also fine, because this thread has helped me think about the whole matter more clearly

I'll decide what else happens when the alternative item arrives. Hopefully, it won't be 10 days.

Thanks to all, whichever side of the fence you sit here.

lincroft1710

Davesnave wrote: »

As a grumpy old git of 67 I want to make sure I'm not turning into Victor Meldrew! :rotfl:

It is a condition of attaining 67 that one follows in the footsteps of our glorious predecessor VM who was only about 58 when we first encountered him

LilElvis

fleshandbone wrote: »

It was not the fault of the seller the seller was let down by the delivery agent!!!!!!!!!!

The seller does not deserve to be marked down by something they have no control over, do you understand my point of view yet?

Of course the seller has control! They are the ones to choose their shipping agent, not the buyer!

Have a look at some past threads on the Praise, Vent and Warnings board and you will find threads where members say that they expressly avoid shopping with some sellers because of the shipping agents they use - Hermes and Yodel being two that frequently seem to screw things up.

And no, I don't understand your point of view because I expect reviews to be a truthful reflection of the buying experience - both good and bad, not one which has been manipulated by the seller to achieve a higher score or star rating.

fleshandbone

LilElvis wrote: »

Of course the seller has control! They are the ones to choose their shipping agent, not the buyer!

Have a look at some past threads on the Praise, Vent and Warnings board and you will find threads where members say that they expressly avoid shopping with some sellers because of the shipping agents they use - Hermes and Yodel being two that frequently seem to screw things up.

And no, I don't understand your point of view because I expect reviews to be a truthful reflection of the buying experience - both good and bad, not one which has been manipulated by the seller to achieve a higher score or star rating.

So the seller can control an untracked parcel because they have a direct line to everyone that works in the parcel depot and to the delivery driver. OK MATE!

I would bet you or the OP would not pay an extra £10 to use DPD or DHL as the delivery agent.

fairy_lights

I think that was a perfectly reasonable review. If the seller asked me to change it then I would...down to a 1/5, because traders trying to control the reviews customers leave makes a sham out of the whole review system.
If one average review bothers them so much then they've got their priorities wrong.

Undervalued

fleshandbone wrote: »

No no no you don't understand, you have blamed the seller with the feedback you left, when the problem was caused by the third party delivery agent, ok do you understand that part?

You feedback, should be about the quality and value of the product and service from the seller, not about the third party delivery agent that this seller has no control over.

The 10 days, gives the seller time to try and resolve the issue or to allow time for transit delayed items to arrive, which in 9 out of 10 times they do.

However the feedback you left gives others the impression that the seller may take orders and not send out the goods, I hope that is crystal clear enough for you.

What you seem to fail to understand is that the OP's contract is with the seller. Who the seller subcontracts the delivery to is the seller's problem.

The buyer has no contract with the delivery company so if the goods are not delivered within the contracted time that is still the seller's fault.

The seller may in turn have a claim against the delivery company but that is not the buyer's problem.

That's the law! Whether it is "fair" or not (whatever fair means) is another matter.

LilElvis

fleshandbone wrote: »

So the seller can control an untracked parcel because they have a direct line to everyone that works in the parcel depot and to the delivery driver. OK MATE!

I would bet you or the OP would not pay an extra £10 to use DPD or DHL as the delivery agent.

The seller chose to use an untracked delivery method, so yes it is in their control. Choosing this method they have therefore accepted that some parcels will go missing with no explanation or ability to provide the buyer with information.

Plenty of my online orders are delivered by DHL and DPD and without the need for me to pay extra. In fact most of my deliveries are free either because the seller offers it for all transactions or because I have spent over their threshold to qualify for free delivery.

By the by, it is generally considered to be the height of rudeness to "shout" at people by using capitalisation. OK mate?

unholyangel

fleshandbone wrote: »

It was not the fault of the seller the seller was let down by the delivery agent!!!!!!!!!!

The seller does not deserve to be marked down by something they have no control over, do you understand my point of view yet?

The seller was under an obligation to deliver the goods. They decided to outsource this to a third party. They chose which third party to outsource it to - that means it is within their control. To be genuinely outwith a parties control, it has to be something they have no power/influence/option to change. They do not escape liability simply because they contracted a third party to do the job for them.

fleshandbone wrote: »

You need to allow a reasonable amount of time for any delays caused by transportation and 10 days is reasonable before you go about making any claims or leaving feedback.

*sighs at the very disappointing attitude of some*

No, you do not need to wait. You can choose to if you wish (perhaps the 3-5 days quoted wasn't important to you) but there is no requirement to.

You sure do have a strange sense of consumer rights. I dont think I've once seen you be helpful to an OP on this board, quite the opposite in fact.

Bogalot wrote: »

You purchased something with an expected delivery date of 17th October/ ten days and you are complaining about the ten day delivery window. That is the delivery time that forms part of your contract.

If you have an issue with waiting the mutually agreed delivery time then find a different seller. It's not fair to complain about something you explicitly agreed to.

OP purchased being told 3-5 days delivery. It wasn't until after they'd purchased they clicked on tracking and saw it was up to 17th (ie 10 days). I've had the same just last month - was told it was (and I paid for!) next day delivery, after I ordered it then changed the delivery details and didn't arrive for 9 days.

Given the 10 days wasn't shown until after the order was placed, it wouldnt be binding in any case.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Davesnave wrote: »

Who chooses the courier and sets the level of service in this regard?

This one is half and half, we would gladly ship every single order by Special Delivery and have it with the customer next day by 1pm, we do offer the option and about 1 or 2 customers a year pay the extra £9.99, out of about 40,000.

Our competitors will out sell us by being pennies cheaper despite having a much longer window for delivery.

Competition and a desire of shoppers to pay the cheapest often choose the delivery agent.

Regardless of what service is used, none are 100% and most rely on how well the delivery person at the delivery end does. Current Yodel driver here, really good, previously one, a lazy git who twice left parcels in inappropriate places.

Lost parcels is part of shopping online and completely random, my view would be that the way the seller handles and resolves the problem would be what I rate them on, majority of that would be based on their communication skills.

The 10 day window (I assume you mean the ETA was 3-5 days but the seller said please allow 10) suggests Royal Mail was used, we've had several instances of replacing a customer order and then being told the first has arrived, it's rare but parcels do randomly get stuck, how long one should wait past the expected date is a topic that could go on forever. The only flip side of this is that if 2 do arrive I assume the consumer has some responsibility to see that one is restored to the retailer which may cause an inconvenience one way or the other.

If you left feedback just because the parcel went missing in transit I think it's pointless IMHO, if you left feedback because of waiting the extra time past the ETA that would be your opinion that your entitled to you.