Small Claims Court / Parcel Delivery!

shezza2

Hi all I have recently sent a parcel by Hermes through Parcels2Go What I did not know then is that both outfits have horrendous reviews, so yes I know now that I should read reviews first. Anyway true to their reviews between them they have lost my parcel £405 worth, and now neither of them are answering my emails. So what I am asking is what details do I need to take them to court, because they are not answering emails I can't get any addresses from them.

mije1983

I suppose the obvious question is did you have appropriate insurance to cover the value of the parcel? The basic cover that is the default tends to be very low.

If yes, then you need to start off by sending them a LBA stating that if they don't re-imburse you £x amount within x days then you will start a claim to recover the loss.


https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/small-claims-court/

shezza2

I only had the basic because to insure for the full value I could have got a taxi and delivered it myself. (what is a LBA)

MovingForwards

Letter before action. Sets out your claim and tells them when you will be lodging a claim with the court.

As you only paid for basic cover you will only be able to claim the value it was insured for, not the amount of the item.

mije1983

shezza2 wrote: »

I only had the basic because to insure for the full value I could have got a taxi and delivered it myself. (what is a LBA)

Then you are only entitled to whatever that limit is. £20/£30 maybe? It may not be worth pursuing this all the way to SCC for that small amount as it will take up far more of your time that the few pounds you will recover.

I assume it was only a short distance then as Hermes extra cover is usually around £10ish

shaun_from_Africa

If you did go to court, the first thing you would probably be asked is "did you tick the box stating that you decline to pay for extra insurance and that you were not worried about loss or damage"

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MH1927

If the item had been damaged in transit I would agree with the insurance idea.

However as the contact has been breached by a negligent failure I think a claim for consequential losses could be successful.

mije1983

MH1927 wrote: »

If the item had been damaged in transit I would agree with the insurance idea.

However as the contact has been breached by a negligent failure I think a claim for consequential losses could be successful.

The OP would need to prove Hermes were negligent. Just because they lost the parcel it doesn't automatically make them negligent.

MH1927

The contract is to deliver the item, they have failed the contract has been breached. To lose a parcel is pretty negligent, if it had been destroyed in a vehicle fire then ok fair enough.

mije1983

MH1927 wrote: »

The contract is to deliver the item, they have failed the contract has been breached. To lose a parcel is pretty negligent, if it had been destroyed in a vehicle fire then ok fair enough.

How do you know it hasn't been destroyed in a fire though? All the OP said was 'lost'. That could cover a multitude of reasons. Lost in a fire, lost off the back of a lorry, lost at sea, lost in a robbery etc. It could also be classed as lost because the label the OP put on has come off, or been defaced, so Hermes have no idea who it is intended for.

And that is my point, the OP will have to 'prove' on the balance of probabilities that they were negligent. With so many other possibilities, is certainly not an open and shut case. Of course, the may well give in after receiving the LBA so no need to follow through with court action.

MB69

To be honest, I have used both Hermes and Parcel2go and always not paid insurance and always had no issues.

So question is:

1) Did you use the Hermes drop off service or did they collect?

2) Have you checked the tracking and see at what point the parcel has gone missing?

3) I agree with MH1927, if you did indeed claim the full value of the parcel ( Did you declare the full value and then it did come up with the value for insurance and you ignored it, or did you declare the value of the parcel low?) then you can claim for compensation for negligent. However be aware that then YOU have to prove that they have been negligent and NOT them that have to prove they haven't been negligent. As the claimant the onus is on you to prove your case.

However if the item is lost, they are not responding to you, then you have nothing to lose by starting a CC action. However you need to write to them first, and give them reasonable time to action your request/investigate. Send by recorded delivery.

It will be interesting to know who your actual contract is with ? Would it be with Parcel2Go or are they simply a platform for the courier and your contract is with courier?