Returns to Wrong Retail Company

Kiranabbas1

Hello Everyone,

Apologies if this is the wrong place and the length!

I sent a parcel back for refund that I got from PrettyLittleThing. I had a few parcels to send back and whilst generating the returns label with Royal Mail i put the wrong company on the label, InTheStyle. This included that companies name and address. This was sent off through the tracked service on 21/08/2018.

After sending this parcel off I went off on Holiday and came back 09/09/2018 and noticed i had still not recieved a refund whereas I had for other parcels I’d sent off that day. Upon investigation I realised i had sent it to the wrong company and that they had recieved it on 23/08/2018.

I contacted the company who recieved it, InTheStyle, to clarify on its whereabouts. They stated that they had had a look through there returns team and cannot find the parcel in question and that if it was not incorrectly addressed to them they would have handed it back to the courier and there is nothing else they can do about it.

After speaking to Royal Mail they confirmed that the parcel had been delivered to them, and that if it was returned to sender the original label on the parcel would have been scanned and the parcel would be retracked back to me.

As the parcel had InTheStyle’s address on the label, I believe they would have to have opened it to realise that it was not meant for them. After going back and forth with them, they cannot tell me anything about its journey in there warehouse, although every parcel that enters is scanned in.

It appears that they have either lost it within there warehouse, maybe in separate pieces, or have just kept it. I do have an account with InTheStyle that has the details that would have been on the package recieved, so I believe more could have been done to contact me and notify me.

PrettyLittleThing have advised me there’s not much they can do on their side until they recieve the package however that I should claim back the cost of the parcel from InTheStyle directly as they would have been responsible for the whereabouts of the parcel as soon as it was delivered to their warehouse.

Where do I stand in this matter? I understand if it was sent to a private address there would be not much I could do short of knocking on there door. However as this a big retail company so what actions can I take, as there warehouse is the last true known location

Thanks in advance :undecided

marliepanda

You’re at their mercy. It’s no ones fault but yours and of the wrong comp y can’t find it, they can’t find it. It’s probably sat in a random ‘no idea what this is all about’ cupboard, but they certainly don’t owe you any money for you sending them a parcel!! Can you imagine?!

Your expectations are far too high. For them to open it, realise it’s not for them and then trawl their database for your details to contact you?

Sorry you messed up and you can’t expect everyone to bend over backwards to fix your disorganisation.

Rosemary7391

Did you have a returns address clear on the package/inside the package?



How much are you prepared to pay to get it back? I can't see them paying you for it (it's worthless to them after all), so you'll need to cover their postage costs and time back to you if they do find it.

societys_child

I had a few parcels to send back

Do you have a lot of returns? Suppose it is easy to lose some when they're returned to the wrong company.

ThumbRemote

marliepanda wrote: »

You’re at their mercy. It’s no ones fault but yours and of the wrong comp y can’t find it, they can’t find it. It’s probably sat in a random ‘no idea what this is all about’ cupboard, but they certainly don’t owe you any money for you sending them a parcel!! Can you imagine?!

Your expectations are far too high. For them to open it, realise it’s not for them and then trawl their database for your details to contact you?

Sorry you messed up and you can’t expect everyone to bend over backwards to fix your disorganisation.

Would exactly the same apply if a company accidentally sent goods to the wrong customer. One who had previously ordered from them?

No. The customer would have a duty of care to the goods, becoming an involuntary bailee.

So can you explain why the same doesn't apply in this case?

marliepanda

ThumbRemote wrote: »

Would exactly the same apply if a company accidentally sent goods to the wrong customer. One who had previously ordered from them?

No. The customer would have a duty of care to the goods, becoming an involuntary bailee.


So can you explain why the same doesn't apply in this case?

If they say they don’t have it, what exactly is the OP going to do? They only have the OPs word of what was in the parcel. They are not beholden to a) trawl their database for her contact details, even if data protection allowed that or b) refund her money for her own mistake.

POPPYOSCAR

marliepanda wrote: »

If they say they don’t have it, what exactly is the OP going to do? They only have the OPs word of what was in the parcel. They are not beholden to a) trawl their database for her contact details, even if data protection allowed that or b) refund her money for her own mistake.

Royal Mail have confirmed delivery.

There must be some liabilty?

photome

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Royal Mail have confirmed delivery.

There must be some liabilty?

I don’t think there is.

If the company say they can’t find it and refuse to do anything further , a court would have to decide

Rosemary7391

photome wrote: »

I don’t think there is.

If the company say they can’t find it and refuse to do anything further , a court would have to decide

And getting lost seems like a very understandable thing to happen a random package sent to a warehouse full of packages...

wesleyad

ThumbRemote wrote: »

Would exactly the same apply if a company accidentally sent goods to the wrong customer. One who had previously ordered from them?

No. The customer would have a duty of care to the goods, becoming an involuntary bailee.

So can you explain why the same doesn't apply in this case?

I agree that same should apply in a perfect world, but I would say the difference is what a court would find "reasonable duty of care"

The duty of care put on a miss-addressed package to a single dwelling will be a lot higher than that of a large company receiving large amounts of parcels daily. The reason being its easier for a the former to notice the mistake (impossible not to really), vs the large company. Probably not fair, but you can see why they aren't equal.

Rosemary7391

I'm not sure it's unfair wesleyad - it seems quite reasonable to take the circumstances of the entity receiving the parcel into account. It's not like they asked for it ! They both have the same duty - to take "reasonable care" - but that looks different due to the vastly different circumstances.