Hermes incorrect "Overweight parcel" invoices

fwor

I've used Hermes a lot over the last few years, and it's generally been a good experience, but twice now I have received invoices out of the blue from them, alleging that a parcel I've sent has been overweight.

The emails are genuinely from Hermes, because they include actual parcel references, but the thing is that I'm 100% certain in both cases that the parcel was not overweight.

Have I just been unlucky, or is this something that other Hermes users have been seeing?

mrcol1000

They use volumetric weight rather than actual weight. If my scales say on the borderline then I always pay for the next weight band to be on the safe side and avoid an admin fee. Out of 500 parcels I have had about 5 underweight. 3 was definitely my fault. 1 was possibly my fault. 1 was definitely right in my opinion but they refuse to accept any kind of appeal.

If you dispute it then they will just tell you about their independently calibrated scales. So I guess it is either put up with it or find a new courier.

soolin

The other thing I've seen mentioned is that they use the 'overweight' charge to include over size as well . Did you measure all edges and was it under their overall size limit? I had to attempt to repackage something once as it was very long and wide but thin and light and whilst I was well within the weight limit I was over the total measurement allowed ...I think in the end I paid extra and sent it with DPD as they had a more generous size allowance.

fwor

They were nowhere near the size or volumetric limits - the most recent one weighed just under 800g, so miles within the full-size under-1kg band (I did not try to send it as the new "postable" under-1kg because that includes no insurance cover at all).

It would have had more credibility if the invoice had said an actual weight, but it just said that it weighed 2kg which is completely infeasible!

theonlywayisup

I get them by the bucketload, I have added similar to other posts of the same issue. Ignore them and nothing happens.

in_my_wellies

I've had it happen on three occasions using Hermes via Parcel2Go. On the first occasion I contacted the buyer and he kindly supplied me with a photo of the package on the scales with a ruler.
I uploaded this together with the ebay listing number to the Parcel2Go appeal form and the charge was removed.
Now I take a photo of every*parcel on the scales with a ruler. I've had two more incorrect size/weight charges removed once I sent the evidence.
*because each time my parcel has been way under the limit, I wasn't chancing it. One parcel contained a model Dinky car which weighed less than 200g packed up!

fwor

in_my_wellies wrote: »

Now I take a photo of every*parcel on the scales with a ruler.

I'm planning to do the same from now on. I was lucky with the last disputed one - it was a standard product and the manufacturer stated the exact weight of the product (under 500g) on their website, so I told Hermes that they "must be mistaken" and that I would not be paying.

It's a very unfortunate thing for them to be doing, because it undermines customer trust in them - the one thing I really want in a company that I hand over hundreds of parcels to is that I can trust them!