Yodel tore my article and now he doesn't want to honor the insurance

andycorleone

I sold an  aluminum and plastic kitchen bread bin on Ebay. I put it inside a box and used a lot of bubble warp. I even put some  "Fragile" text tape on the outside so they were a bit carefull. Yodel supposed to have up to £ 50 insurance, which was fine because I sold it for £50
The same day my ebayer receives it, send me a message stating that the item is broken. The plastic door to the bread bin was broken. making the rest of the article unusable.Yodel must treat the package very badly for this to happen.
After a few back and forth emails and filling out a form with Yodel. they refuse to pay anything because the outside of the box shows no signs of damage.
I saw some people having similar issues with them on Trust pilot reviews and they were apparently able to get their money back by opening a case in an online small claims court. seems like a simple procedure. What are my chances of being successful, and if not, do I have to pay the small claims court fees?

Aylesbury_Duck

Have you seen evidence that the package is undamaged?  If so, then you might not win a court case because it would suggest the problem was the inadequate packaging/padding inside.  The fee is £25 I think, which you may be able to claim if you win.  In summary, you're down £50 now.  You could end up £75 down or back to even if you win and can get your fee back. 

Of course, if you send a letter before action threatening small claims, they may back down and make an offer of part or all of your £50.  Worth a try.

Sandtree

Court is always a roll of the dice as it ultimately comes down to who the judge believes. In many cases however these things wont get to court because the cost of Yodel sending someone to prepare a defence, possibly attend court etc is more than the cost of simply settling (though sometimes companies go with morals rather than financials)

First step is to get a picture of the box and the broken item. If the box is undamaged it certainly strongly suggests poor packing and so means you'd be relying on them backing down rather than you being in the right.

societys_child

Wrapped in bubble wrap . . .  Was it then packed into some sort of box to protect it?

andycorleone

societys_child said:

Wrapped in bubble wrap . . .  Was it then packed into some sort of box to protect it?

Yes Inside a brown box. all Wrapped in bubble wrap 

Manxman_in_exile

Sandtree said:

...
First step is to get a picture of the box and the broken item. ...

This ^^^^^

Have you seen evidence from your purchaser that the breadbin is actually broken?

born_again

Was the "The plastic door" taped up, to stop it opening and closing as it will have been bounced around in the back of a van etc?

Jenni_D

born_again said:

Was the "The plastic door" taped up, to stop it opening and closing as it will have been bounced around in the back of a van etc?

If the bubble-wrap didn't prevent the door from moving then this is very likely what has happened.