small claims court - do i have a case?

dvdgrdnr

Hello,
i have recently bought an oven for £2200. We were after a specific one and nowhere had it in stock unti August (because of Covid 19) - except for one seller based in Yorkshire.
They sold the cooker to us, but wouldn't arrange a courier - so i organised a 3rd party courier to collect.
Before it was collected I sent an email that asked: “can you please wrap it with anything and everything you can? I'll happily pay the extra for polystyrene and bubble wrap." 
The seller replied: “We have plenty of packaging and will wrap it well, that is not a problem.”
When the cooker arrived, it was not strapped to the pallet and it was covered in a single layer sheet of bubble wrap in some areas and some loose polystyrene on top (but not taped to it). As a result the cooker has been badly damaged in transit. The courier driver made a note of it and i took photos of it on the pavement as it arrived. The sellers have confirmed they didnt secure it to the pallet or wrap it with anymore than what i've already mentioned.
I have contacted the seller, saying that i want to send the cooker back for a full refund, but they are refusing. They say it is the fault of the couriers for the damage. Here's what they wrote:

• Your courier had the choice to refuse the transport on the day but they did not. Clearly the packaging was not an issue to them.
  
• The damage was caused while in their care, something which is out of our control.
  
• No amount of packaging could prevent the damage caused to the cooker.  Your images show damage as though it has fallen from a height or something of weight dropped on it.

I have so far, spoke to citizens advice, contacted my bank (i paid by bank transfer. They are looking into claiming the money back) and the courier company are raising a claim as well. However, i am concerned that these potential solutions might not work out.
If that's the case, i am assuming the next step will be small claims court - so my question to the learned folk on here is .... do i have a winnable case please?
TIA 

JJ_Egan

It was your courier yes

You can claim against your courier .

• Your courier had the choice to refuse the transport on the day but they did not. Clearly the packaging was not an issue to them.
  
• The damage was caused while in their care, something which is out of our control.
  
• No amount of packaging could prevent the damage caused to the cooker.  Your images show damage as though it has fallen from a height or something of weight dropped on it.

dvdgrdnr

Thank you JJ_Egan.
So, the claim isn't against the seller for the shoddy packaging, but rather against the courier because they damage happened whilst it was in their possession?
I would have thought it was the seller's fault - is that not so?
The only issue I might have there is that the courier's only cover so much in terms of damage. Something like £1.30 a kilo (the oven weighs 150kg) so there's a big difference in the price.

JJ_Egan

Seller yes if it was their courier .

Shoddy packaging   is let down by  not strapped to a pallet as you never asked for that .

However the key here is the damage

• No amount of packaging could prevent the damage caused to the cooker.  Your images show damage as though it has fallen from a height or something of weight dropped on it.

[Deleted User]

dvdgrdnr said:

Thank you JJ_Egan.
So, the claim isn't against the seller for the shoddy packaging, but rather against the courier because they damage happened whilst it was in their possession?
I would have thought it was the seller's fault - is that not so?
The only issue I might have there is that the courier's only cover so much in terms of damage. Something like £1.30 a kilo (the oven weighs 150kg) so there's a big difference in the price.

Did you not take out insurance? 

Aylesbury_Duck

As advised, your courier is the problem here.  In a transaction where you buy an item plus delivery, the seller is responsible for the item up until the point you take possession.  You took possession from the retailer through your representative (the courier), at which point it ceased to be the retailer's responsibility (beyond your consumer rights of course, if anything had been faulty with the cooker).

You need to read the terms of your contract with the courier and check what instructions you gave them or how they act in the absence of instruction.  If you can prove they were negligent in accepting the cooker for transit when it wasn't properly packaged, and that it suffered damage beyond simple accidental damage one might expect to happen from time to time in delivery, you have a case.

If not, then it's down to whatever insurance the courier offers as standard, and if you needed a greater value of cover, you should have bought it.

dvdgrdnr

ok - thank you everyone for your responses.

born_again

Did you see any pictures of the actual cooker before purchase? As it seems strange that a company selling something like that would not arrange a courier.
Did your courier not take any pictures on pick up to cover themselves?

steampowered

I don't think you can claim against the seller, because you arranged the courier and transport.

You might be able to claim against the seller if you could prove they agreed to do the packaging and the cooker was poorly wrapped, but as it sounds like the cooker was not properly secured, it sounds like this was not the main cause of the damage.

You might have a claim against the courier. However check the T&Cs. Couriers will usually limit their liability to the cost of the fee paid for the transport and will advise insurance if greater limits are required.

societys_child

Why couldn't they arrange delivery? It doesn't sound right.

Seems to me they've shipped you a damaged cooker, knowing full well that when you arranged your own courier it'd be your problem.

I could be wrong . .

DCFC79

Why pay by bank transfer, why would you not use a credit card pr a debit card ?