Decathlon Non-delivery Compensation

drspa44

Hi all,

I ordered a £200 bike from decathlon.co.uk for next day delivery. After much annual leave taken, I sought compensation using MSE's template letter. After 14 days, the company has not responded. Here is part of the email I sent to Decathlon:

This is in regards to order XXX, with tracking XXX, wherein you agreed to sell me Triban 100 Flat Bar Road Bike L for £199.99 on 21 Aug 2019.

It was agreed you would deliver to me on Tue 27 Aug, however this did not happen. It was then agreed that you would deliver to me on Wed 28 Aug, however this did not happen either. I was then advised delivery would be made between 10-11am on Fri 30 Aug, but this did not happen either. On these three occasions, Parcelforce loaded the package onto their truck but drove it back to the depot, having run out of time. I was further advised by the Parcelforce depot that it would be rearranged for Sat 31 Aug, but this did not occur either. Without warning, Parcelforce chose to return the item to you and as there was no other courier available, we agreed to cancel the order. I can confirm I have been refunded £199.99 as of Mon 9 Sep. More information on this series of events can be found in my previous emails to you about this order.

I was compelled to take time off work for 2 days (Tuesday and Wednesday) and one half day on Friday, which represented a net loss to me of 2.5 days * 8 hours * £20.76 hourly pay after tax = £415.30. I am writing to claim this amount from you, however for a swift resolution I am willing to settle for £150 (£60 per day). I shall not be claiming any compensation for the Saturday or the many hours on other days I have spent contacting you and Parcelforce.

I look forward to a full and prompt response to this letter within 14 days. Failing this, I will bring proceedings against you in the county court for damages, and interest on them at the rate of 8% per annum and costs.

My main question is how much to claim. I note that their terms and conditions ( https://www.decathlon.co.uk/terms-of-supply.html ) say: "...in no event shall we be liable to you for any business losses and any liability we do have for losses you suffer arising from any Contract shall not exceed the purchase price of the relevant Products...". This implies I may not be able to claim for more than £200? Additionally, I wonder if it is commonplace for courts to award lower damages in such cases? Or will they just throw the whole case out? Is unpaid leave treated the same as annual leave in such cases? They previously offered a £20 gift card, which I refused.

Thanks for reading my long post

born_again

well how much did you lose in wages?

drspa44

Given that I used up 2.5 annual leave days, I think what I stated in my post is a fair assessment:
2.5 days * 8 hours * £20.76 hourly pay after tax = £415.30

Aylesbury_Duck

That’s not the same as losing money though. I can’t see that they’re going to give you £150, let alone £415. You have a responsibility to mitigate your losses, and you didn’t.

drspa44

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

That’s not the same as losing money though. I can’t see that they’re going to give you £150, let alone £415. You have a responsibility to mitigate your losses, and you didn’t.

What could I have done to mitigate my losses? Am I not entitled to expect something to arrive if both the retailer and the courier insist that it will arrive on a certain day, so I need to be in to receive it?

Aylesbury_Duck

Get it delivered to your workplace? To a collection point? To a relative or friend’s house? Ask a relative or friend to house-sit to receive it? Get it delivered to a neighbour? Select a specific date when you know you are in anyway to accept it?

The point being that if this goes to court, you have to show you’ve mitigated your losses and been reasonable. I don’t think you’ve done either.

davidmcn

drspa44 wrote: »

What could I have done to mitigate my losses?

Pay somebody else for the trouble of waiting in for your delivery, at a lower rate than £20.76 per hour?

ThumbRemote

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

Get it delivered to your workplace? To a collection point? To a relative or friend’s house? Ask a relative or friend to house-sit to receive it? Get it delivered to a neighbour? Select a specific date when you know you are in anyway to accept it?

The point being that if this goes to court, you have to show you’ve mitigated your losses and been reasonable. I don’t think you’ve done either.

You can't mitigate your losses in advance, so none of this is relevant.

drspa44

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

Get it delivered to your workplace? To a collection point? To a relative or friend’s house? Ask a relative or friend to house-sit to receive it? Get it delivered to a neighbour? Select a specific date when you know you are in anyway to accept it?

The point being that if this goes to court, you have to show you’ve mitigated your losses and been reasonable. I don’t think you’ve done either.

It's a heavy boxed bike which cannot be delivered to any other location. I am not going to attempt to assemble a bike in my office's mailroom or the car park of an ASDA collection point. I also don't have any relatives, friends or neighbours that are happy to sit in my dingy flat on 4 consecutive sunny days waiting for a delivery to be made, nor would I let them without compensating them for their time.



I asked them to deliver on Saturday, which they promised they would, however they did not. I also said if they were able to deliver after 5 pm they would be able to, but they never tried. I suggested if they were willing to pay a £15-ish taxi fare, I could pick it up from the Parcelforce depot which is very close. I gave them many, many opportunities to make this right, but they just told me every time to wait in for another day because lightning doesn't strike twice/three times/four times.

drspa44

davidmcn wrote: »

Pay somebody else for the trouble of waiting in for your delivery, at a lower rate than £20.76 per hour?

If I had such hindsight to create a job ad and start interviewing candidates, I would not have entered into the contract at all.

Aylesbury_Duck

ThumbRemote wrote: »

You can't mitigate your losses in advance, so none of this is relevant.

On the contrary, OP is trying to justify £400 of losses on a £200 purchase, over half of which he clocked up after the original delivery date. He also took paid leave of 2.5 days solely to receive the delivery, so I can't see that he's mitigated his losses. He's made a suggestion of £150 "for a swift resolution" but still claims he's lost £415.

What is taking leave of a day, at £21 an hour, to receive a £200 bike, if it's not knowing in advance?