ParcelHero Fail To Deliver

Busy_Packaging

I order a parcel through Parcelhero's website on 20th February 2017.

It's going to Russia, correct dimensions and weight added to the site.

Paperwork is generated by their website for you, just fill in the blanks. Correct addresses added.

You pay for the parcel service (in this instance TNT was my choice of shipping company) over £40.00.

The parcel is collected by a courier.

The tracking code is working and you can track it .......... all the way to Poland. I check every day (very important parcel).

On the 24th February the tracking at Poland states the parcel is to be returned to Origin (check this yourself, at the time of posting this thread the tracking code is GE803737936GB - copy an paste into TNT's website).

At this stage, I contact ParcelHero regarding my parcel to Russia, querying if I am to receive it back, if so, why? (Email sent to ParcelHero on the 24th February).

I receive a response.... "
[FONT=&quot]I have passed this information onto the carrier and currently awaiting a response.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Once received I will revert back to yourself."[/FONT]
Parcel arrives back at my home on 3rd March.

3rd March I receive another response:-
[FONT=&quot]Thanks for your patience whilst we look into this.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I can confirm the reasons behind this shipment being returned is due to the fact that you cannot ship goods to a private individual.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It would have to be sent to a business for business use I am afraid.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This is the reason behind the return.[/FONT]
I send the Parcel immediately though another company after checking and repackaging it (very important parcel).

I respond to ParcelHero's email on March 6th:

[FONT=&quot]Please can you arrange a full refund of this postage as ParcelHero has not supplied the service I purchased in good will. I followed all the instructions, all paperwork has been returned to me along with the parcel. There was no explanation as to why the parcel was returned within the paperwork either.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There is no mention of shipping to a private individual or business to business as a stipulation on your website or within the form documentation. The forms to complete have 'PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL' as an option.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I shall refer to Trading Standards if this cannot be rectified amicably.

[/FONT] I receive the following response :-[FONT=&quot]

Thanks for your enquiry and apologies for the late response.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I understand your frustration, Unfortunately I would not be able to process a refund for this shipment as it has traveled through the courier network so these charges unfortunately stand.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The carrier has not charged us for the return of your goods so no charge would be applicable for this.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As per our process no shipment going to Russia can be delivered to a private individual and would only be able to be delivered if it is going to a business for business use.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I hope this helps.[/FONT]

And then I receive another response today:

I haven't received a response to the below email. Can you please come back to me as soon as possible?
I look forward to hearing from you.


I have not responded as of yet.. I want my money back for a service I paid for. Any advice would be grateful. I eventually paid another £60+ for Parcelforce Worldwide Global Priority to get the parcel there quickly.

If anybody has had a similar experience using ParcelHero I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

agrinnall

I can't see how their argument holds water, the information on their website for shipping to Russia says:

" In particular you should be aware that there are restrictions in place for the import of medicine, personal affects, foods, and plants, amongst many other goods, and there are different restrictions and regulations in place for shipping to a private address, than there are for shipping to a business address."

To me that is a clear implication that they do ship to private addresses.

https://www.parcelhero.com/en-gb/international-courier-services/russia-parcel-delivery

How did you pay? If you used a card then a Chargeback may be an option. Otherwise, Letter Before Action followed by Small Claim using MCOL.

martinsurrey

agrinnall wrote: »

I can't see how their argument holds water, the information on their website for shipping to Russia says:

" In particular you should be aware that there are restrictions in place for the import of medicine, personal affects, foods, and plants, amongst many other goods, and there are different restrictions and regulations in place for shipping to a private address, than there are for shipping to a business address."

To me that is a clear implication that they do ship to private addresses.

https://www.parcelhero.com/en-gb/international-courier-services/russia-parcel-delivery

How did you pay? If you used a card then a Chargeback may be an option. Otherwise, Letter Before Action followed by Small Claim using MCOL.

hmm dont cherry pick

"Russia has many specific shipping restrictions, and is very strict in applying its import rules and regulations, so it is imperative that you check the import restrictions before you send your parcel"

and

"For more specific information about import restrictions, please contact our excellent customer services team with your enquiry."

so did the OP follow the advice and research the customs restrictions or phone the company?

Busy_Packaging

Thank you for your reply.

I paid via Paypal. I did telephone Paypal, they escalated to a claim and held the money, this was BEFORE I received any of the emails stated above other than the first message implying ParcelHero were 'looking into it' for me. I believe the claim through Paypal may be what triggered a response of somesort from ParcelHero.

The person I spoke to at Paypal agreed that I had purchased a service which was not supplied.

HOWEVER - I can see on the logs that there were a few 'conversations' between ParcelHero and Paypal and suddenly Paypal released the money back to ParcelHero. The statement for the return of the money to ParcelHero was:

Status

After careful consideration, we're unable to decide this claim in your favour at this time.
The difference is minor between the item you received and the item described in the listing.
I still can't believe it. The case is closed and there is no way I can dispute it.

unholyangel

I would say you're likely going to have to prove that they breached the contract and that breach caused you a loss.

In other words, that the package was returned due to a failure on their part (either a breach of contract or negligence/failing to carry out their duties with reasonable care & skill).

A few sites seem to suggest this problem arises when the goods are subject to duty/prohibition.

I believe they're alleging it was your mistake/it was up to you to check restrictions & ensure your package complied with the relevant laws or requirements. I suppose you could liken it to booking a holiday abroad when you don't have a passport/dont have the necessary visa.

Busy_Packaging

The item was a light shade. It did not fall within any restrictions for import into Russia. It was not gold or silver or any precious metal or of EXCEEDINGLY HIGH VALUE, just a light shade. The customs form I completed clearly states 'Light Shade'.

The automatic completion forms on the online website immediately place the wording 'PRIVATE INDIVIDUAL' within the fields for "company name". It was not being sent by a company or two a company. I had no company names to add even if I wanted to.

Bogalot

Select Russia and then go through to your delivery options, select TNT and select the information tab. It states:

This service is provided by TNT

Service Info

This service is only for business collections and deliveries

£50 Free Loss/Damage Cover
3 Free Delivery Attempted
Fully Trackable Service
Money Back Guarantee Option
Service Conditions
- Max Parcel Length: 270 cm
- Max Parcel Weight: 1000 kg

On the next page there is a pop up box stating similar.

Did these both pass you by?

I can't see you getting anywhere with this.

(I'm surprised your friend was not aware that some couriers will not deliver there. Their postal system is renowned for parcels going missing.)

agrinnall

martinsurrey wrote: »

hmm dont cherry pick

"Russia has many specific shipping restrictions, and is very strict in applying its import rules and regulations, so it is imperative that you check the import restrictions before you send your parcel"

and

"For more specific information about import restrictions, please contact our excellent customer services team with your enquiry."

so did the OP follow the advice and research the customs restrictions or phone the company?

My point is that if they have a blanket ban on deliveries to private addresses in Russia there is no reason why they can't just say that rather than suggest that they do deliver but leave it to the customer to check. Clearly there is no legal restriction on shipping as the OP was able to use a different courier to send the item, so it's entirely down to the T&Cs of ParcelHero and/or their couriers.

Bogalot

agrinnall wrote: »

My point is that if they have a blanket ban on deliveries to private addresses in Russia there is no reason why they can't just say that rather than suggest that they do deliver but leave it to the customer to check. Clearly there is no legal restriction on shipping as the OP was able to use a different courier to send the item, so it's entirely down to the T&Cs of ParcelHero and/or their couriers.

See post above - if you do a quote for Russia and select the TNT option it tells you twice that they do not deliver to non business addresses.