Discount Courier (Delivery Comparison) websites.

governmentloser

You want to post a parcel so you go on their site, follow their instructions to the letter, maybe purchase additional protection and drop your parcel off. 

Then you are notified by the recipient that the parcel  has been damaged (or maybe it has been lost), so you try to make a claim .... only to be told that your claim has been rejected because you have not complied with the claims procedures in their terms and conditions.

Like many others out there I fell foul of Delivery Comparison Company and, having read some posts of similar situations in the forum, I thought I would clear up a few points if you find yourself in a similar situation.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 has improved the protection offered to customers who buy goods and services and then find that they don't live up to expectations or they break rules around fairness.

Of course, rights are only useful if customers are aware of them, and it can be difficult to persuade obstinate sellers or traders that you, the customer, are in the right. So, a few pointers ...

1. The contract is between you and the Delivery Comparison Company rather than the courier, so don't
     bother contacting the courier.
2. Irrespective of whether a parcel is damaged or lost by a courier you claim off the Delivery 
    Comparison Company and they claim off the carrier.
3. The Delivery Comparison Company have a duty of care to you and must look after your parcel. If
    they don't, they must compensate you for your loss. That begs the question of whether there is
    any point in purchasing parcel protection in the first place.   
4. In all probability any protection you might purchase will NOT be insurance. Unless they are
     registered to sell financial products they can't sell insurance. The protection will most likely be an in
     house "service."
5. Section 57 of the Consumer Rights Act (CRA) 2015 and Schedule 2 (Sections 62 and 63) of the 
    same act applied in my case.
6. Because you book the service online, "distance selling regulations" also apply.
7. I took the company to court claiming that the terms and conditions were unfair. The judge agreed
     with me and ordered the Delivery Comparison Company:-

(i)     to pay for the damaged goods in full,
(ii)    to refund the full amount I had paid for the delivery and the parcel protection,
(iii)   to refund the court costs I had incurred in bringing the action and
(iv)   to pay interest from the date they originally took my money for the delivery.    

So, if a Delivery Comparison Company rejects your claim citing non compliance with their T&C's, section 15 of the CRA 2015 along with Schedule 2 (Sections 62 and 63) are great starting points. 

born_again

Distance selling regulation are not a blanket cover for anything purchased via phone or internet. There are exclusions.

governmentloser

Errrr, I didn't say that distance selling regulations are a blanket cover, I said that when I was purchasing a delivery service from a Delivery Comparison Company, in addition to Section 57 and Schedule 2 (Sections 62 and 63) of the CRA 2015 the distance selling regulations also applied. 

As the judge told the defendant, when distance selling regulations are applicable, the consumer benefits from additional rights, which was the reason I mentioned it in this particular case. 

Sandtree

1) Yes, obviously, CRA is explicitly between you and who you choose to buy from. These are not comparison sites, they are agents

2) Yes, that's who you bought from

3) That's up to you... you are buying it from them

4) Correct, there are many protections, warranties etc that people call "insurance" but are not legally so. Its a double edged sword, its a lot cheaper than insurance as SolvencyII doesn't apply, nor regulatory oversight, nor FOS rights for complaints. Downside is no FOS rights, lower financial security etc

6) And?

7) Issuing is always a gamble and you have to read the judgement in detail to fully appreciate it however most small track cases are handed down verbally and so much harder to consider... have heard a thousand cases like yours where the "judge" did this that or the other but on probing it was a judgement in default and so no judge ever looked at it.

There are groundbreaking and interesting judgements out there... most are not small track

visidigi

I've never understood this idea that when you buy from a middleman who is only able to offer you the price based on volume and responsibility for risk they be default make you eligible for speaking to the courier direct.

You ultimately aren't buying the services of the courier, you're buying the service of the third party who are highly likely to provide less coverage/service.

Sandtree

visidigi said:

I've never understood this idea that when you buy from a middleman who is only able to offer you the price based on volume and responsibility for risk they be default make you eligible for speaking to the courier direct.

You ultimately aren't buying the services of the courier, you're buying the service of the third party who are highly likely to provide less coverage/service.

As people dont understand basic principles and that understanding is rarely helped by sites like this.

Go to this site's owners Money Supermarket, and use their site to get a quote for Home, Motor etc and they compare prices but you buy from Direct Line or Axa... go to the same site and get a quote for business insurance and no matter what brand you see you buy from Simply Business not Axa or AIG.

Its all in the small print at the bottom of the page but visitors assume its all a comparison site

visidigi

Sandtree said:

visidigi said:

I've never understood this idea that when you buy from a middleman who is only able to offer you the price based on volume and responsibility for risk they be default make you eligible for speaking to the courier direct.

You ultimately aren't buying the services of the courier, you're buying the service of the third party who are highly likely to provide less coverage/service.

As people dont understand basic principles and that understanding is rarely helped by sites like this.

Go to this site's owners Money Supermarket, and use their site to get a quote for Home, Motor etc and they compare prices but you buy from Direct Line or Axa... go to the same site and get a quote for business insurance and no matter what brand you see you buy from Simply Business not Axa or AIG.

Its all in the small print at the bottom of the page but visitors assume its all a comparison site

That's not the same thing. These resellers capture all the data and payment, you don't break out to the carrier site at all. Where as comparison sites break you out to the party you buy from. In fact the help pages on these sites all say that you should not contact the courier directly.