'Rip off Britain' warning

soolin

I just happened upon a small segment of 'Rip off Britain' today (26th May) concerning parcels and couriers and thought it might be worth reminding people to check the small print on any service they use. 

The TV article was odd, they appeared to blame the courier companies for allowing people to send items that were excluded from compensation and even ended up getting goodwill gestures from the couriers which I think sets a worrying precedent and other people might be tempted to send anyway on the basis the lady on the TV will just get their money back anyway.

Basically one woman had sent 2 mirrors via Hermes , despite them being excluded clearly from compensation , her argument was that she shouldn't have to read the exclusion policy that she confirmed she had read and that Hermes should have stopped her from sending the moment she typed 'mirror' in the description box. One was lost and one was damaged (although the photos on the TV suggested it was wrapped in some bubble wrap and a bit of card only) Hermes gave her the money back once the TV got in touch and said they were working on their site so that the description box flagged up a clearer warning and not just a reminder to read the T and Cs.

The 2nd was bronze figurines that arrived damaged- and DPD said they were excluded from damage compensation- but again paid out when TV company got involved.

I'm glad the people got their money back but it is a worrying trend that people don't think they need to bother reading any of the T and Cs as it is always the company's responsibility to stop them doing something stupid , is that now a thing- does no one actually bother reading warnings when sending expensive things? I would hope people here on MSE are more savvy and take responsibility for checking before they send something- but I thought I'd post the warning anyway.

TOP_CAT

Getting TV involved gets a refund .......I would bet thats not in the T and C,s  .

Hemmes would need its own TV channel ?

Spoonie_Turtle

Their online form now does make it clear that cover is not available if you type in certain words.  Not emblazoned in red across the whole screen, I can't remember exactly what form it takes, but it is very clear - no cover can be selected and it does say something like 'not available' in the relevant area underneath the box.

[Given people's experiences on here of buyers not bothering to read descriptions, it's hardly surprising people don't read the T&Cs of services they buy either.]

I'm all for people getting redress when they've been treated unfairly, or T&Cs have been sneaky/hard to find/whatever, but those don't really seem to be applicable in the above-mentioned instances.

GadgetGuru

Hmm......how does one get said TV companies involved......

RFW

Quite a while ago I sent some watches via a courier. They weren't expensive and didn't need excessive insurance so I'd never really read any small print about exclusions. The courier admitted that their driver threw the box over a garden fence somewhere in the vicinity of my customer and was never discovered.
When I put a claim in they refused to pay as watches weren't covered, when I pointed out that they had admitted that they were to blame for the parcel going astray and I had emails explaining how their driver was incompetent and that I'm sure the press would be interested they sent a cheque.

The media terrifies them, one negative viral story can trash even the biggest of companies.

RFW

IftiBashir said:

Hmm......how does one get said TV companies involved......

Mostly with luck. You can probably find the production companies on Twitter or some other social media.

forgotmyname

Just need to be lucky and have issues making it known on social media just as a reporter or production company start searching
out for people who had issues with a particular company or service.

jon81uk

IftiBashir said:

Hmm......how does one get said TV companies involved......

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