Courier left package on my doorstep, got neighbour to sign for it and it was stolen

Adamski707

Hi all,

Hopefully someone can give me some advice! I'd ordered a package from GAME.co.uk, worth approximately £400. This was due to be delivered to my address today - despite repeated attempts of mine to contact the courier (DPD) to reschedule the delivery as I knew I was not going to be in to receive the parcel (their website kept giving me errors).

It appears that the courier left the package on the doorstep of my flat, and got a neighbour to sign for it. Of course it was stolen by the time I'd got back. I live in a block of flats, but the front door to the flats has a faulty lock, so anyone could have walked in off the street and taken it. Or someone else in the block of flats could have taken it.

I contacted Game, and they seem very reticent to give me a refund. They are doing an 'investigation', but were talking about this being a police matter between me and my neighbour. Which I'd obviously like to avoid.

My position is this - I never gave my consent for the courier to accept a signature from my neighbours, so they shouldn't have left the package. And surely it is the retailer's responsibility to ensure that the item is delivered to ME, and to my address?

What do people think? Is there hard and fast regulation on this that I can reference in my conversations with the retailer? Thanks in advance!!

CoolHotCold

Consumer Rights Act

Section 28 Delivery of goods

(1)This section applies to any sales contract.
(2)Unless the trader and the consumer have agreed otherwise, the contract is to be treated as including a term that the trader must deliver the goods to the consumer.

Unless you have given permission for the goods to be delivered elsewhere, or someone else, then they have not fulfilled their requirement under the CRA.

marliepanda

Another one! DPD aren't doing very well with their high value console deliveries all of a sudden.

wealdroam

Adamski707 wrote: »

Hi all,

Hopefully someone can give me some advice! I'd ordered a package from GAME.co.uk, worth approximately £400. This was due to be delivered to my address today - despite repeated attempts of mine to contact the courier (DPD) to reschedule the delivery as I knew I was not going to be in to receive the parcel (their website kept giving me errors).

It appears that the courier left the package on the doorstep of my flat, and got a neighbour to sign for it. Of course it was stolen by the time I'd got back. I live in a block of flats, but the front door to the flats has a faulty lock, so anyone could have walked in off the street and taken it. Or someone else in the block of flats could have taken it.

I contacted Game, and they seem very reticent to give me a refund. They are doing an 'investigation', but were talking about this being a police matter between me and my neighbour. Which I'd obviously like to avoid.

My position is this - I never gave my consent for the courier to accept a signature from my neighbours, so they shouldn't have left the package. And surely it is the retailer's responsibility to ensure that the item is delivered to ME, and to my address?

What do people think? Is there hard and fast regulation on this that I can reference in my conversations with the retailer? Thanks in advance!!

Another possibility is that the neighbour that did the signing has stolen it.

Perhaps you could ask your neighbour these questions:

Why did your neighbour not think it prudent to take care of the goods he had just signed for?

What did your neighbour think he was signing for?

Adamski707

Thanks CoolHotCold! I've heard reports that Amazon issue immediate refunds for this sort of thing, I can't understand why GAME are being difficult.

The kicker of this is that I'd actually requested the order to be delivered to their Brighton store for collection, but I guess a fault in their website meant that it was marked to be delivered to my address. I immediately contacted them to ask them to remedy this, and was told this was not possible. Pretty shoddy customer service all round!

Adamski707

wealdroam - it is indeed possible that they have kept the delivery for themselves - although I happen to believe them when they say that the delivery man left it on my front door. (It WAS pretty irresponsible for them to sign for it and then let the courier do that though). I think it's most likely that someone else has stolen it though.

However, the crux of this surely is, the courier should not have accepted anyone's signature but mine (or at least a resident of my home) without my express permission?

Adamski707

Thankfully I bought this using a credit card and not a debit card - hopefully if the retailer do not give me a refund I will be able to get a refund from the credit card company.

naedanger

Adamski707 wrote: »

Thankfully I bought this using a credit card and not a debit card - hopefully if the retailer do not give me a refund I will be able to get a refund from the credit card company.

Yes. And you have the option of complaining to the Financial Ombudsman Service if your credit card company does not resolve the matter to your satisfaction.

Not sure what the driver and neighbour were thinking. I can see them both having a bit of bother over what happened. However you should not have a problem (other than it may take quite some time to resolve) getting your money back given you paid by credit card.

dacouch

Why would the driver go to the trouble of knocking on your neighboors door, obtaining a signature but then leave it on your doorstep...

shaun_from_Africa

dacouch wrote: »

Why would the driver go to the trouble of knocking on your neighboors door, obtaining a signature but then leave it on your doorstep...

It might well be the case that the courier knocked on the neighbours door, got a signature and handed the package them and it was the neighbour that then decided to leave the package on the OP's doorstep.

dieselv2

What does tracking information say?