Am I liable to give a refund?

sheramber

Would a safe place designated by he customer be considered delivered , as opposed to the courier leaving the parcel in what he considered a safe place.

In this case the delivery  was not made on the day stated. You say it was courier error then would you not claim the cost from the courier for not delivering per the contract.

Do you pay for guaranteed next day delivery

LouElm14

sheramber said:

Would a safe place designated by he customer be considered delivered , as opposed to the courier leaving the parcel in what he considered a safe place.

In this case the delivery  was not made on the day stated. You say it was courier error then would you not claim the cost from the courier for not delivering per the contract.

Do you pay for guaranteed next day delivery

Couriers won't allow companies that delivery fresh food to claim for parcels that are delayed as it's not their fault they are perishable. I've had claims refused before when the driver has delivered to the completely wrong house and the goods haven't made it to the customer before they went passed the 2 day perishable delivery allowance. Or if the depot loses the parcel and finds it again 5 days later ( when it's useless to anyone), we can't claim. Absolutely ridiculous. No delivery is ever really guaranteed next day because the driver could break down or crash or there is extreme weather and so on so couriers have got all that covered in the T&Cs. 

Customers are given the 1 hour time slot and a prompt that if they won't be in to nominate a safe place. Which has not been chosen in this instance, so the driver leaves the parcel in what they deem a safe place. Which works well 99% of the time but there's always the exception. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

sheramber said:

Would a safe place designated by he customer be considered delivered , as opposed to the courier leaving the parcel in what he considered a safe place.

There may be an argument it muddies the waters but I think if the consumer is put in a situation where they are told the parcel must be left in a safe place if no one is home it puts the trader on shaky ground as they are effectively being told they must sign their rights away.

Saying the parcel can be left with Mrs Jones at number 7 however is fine as that would be the physical possession of someone nominated by the consumer (assuming Mrs Jones gets the goods in her hands rather than left on her door step).  

NBLondon

sheramber said:

In this case the delivery  was not made on the day stated. You say it was courier error then would you not claim the cost from the courier for not delivering per the contract.

If that's actually the case - the customer is in the right.  Your courier failed to deliver as agreed; therefore the customer is entitled to demand a refund.

The customer may have only had 5 minutes notice that they wouldn't be home on the later day.

The fact that your agreement with the courier doesn't allow for the claim is your problem, not the customers.

The only thing I can see against the customer is that they have delayed reporting the issue.  If the items spoiled through being left in an unsafe place (the customer nominates a safe alternative - not the courier) then wouldn't they have seen this on first opening the package?  Or are they claiming that the items didn't last as long as expected due to a day of not being chilled?

pinkshoes

LouElm14 said:

Hello, 

I'm hoping for some advice. I run a fresh food delivery service. A parcel was delivered to a customer and they weren't home to recieve. Emails and texts sent with proof of delivery and tracking details updated on the link we provide to them.  There was an additonal days delay( i.e customer requested for Tuesday, delivered Wednesday) due to courier error, customer was clearly advised this could happen at the point of ordering and that goods are well packed to ensure freshness throughout and we're not liable for any delay as it's outwith our control. To be clear packaging has been fully tested and produce is completley safe and still chilled even if these delays occur. 

Customer claims they weren't home to recieve on the Wednesday, It's been left in a safe place ( as perishable deliveries always are as they cannot be returned to depot). Customer hasn't returned home until the following day and the goods by then are in an unsatisfactory condition and customer wants a refund.  

So a customer ordered fresh goods with delivery on Tuesday,  your T&Cs clearly (??) stated that although they have selected Tuesday delivery, this could in fact be Tuesday OR Wednesday, the customer agreed to these T&Cs but were actually away Wednesday and therefore did not get them until Thursday.

If these T&Cs were very clear to the customer (e.g. large print on the screen and easily visible, not some tiny NB note at the bottom or in a long T&Cs page) then I would say the customer was at fault and no refund was due.

If it was not clear however that the delivery could also be on a Wednesday, then I think you should refund.

LouElm14 said:

Thanks for the advice all, I'm not sure if my previous replies are showing ( i can't see them).

It's not a recurring customer.

Other customers have made threats such as scathing public reviews, compaints to enviromental heath and taking us to small claims courts. I understand it may be easier to just keep the customer happy in some cases but we just feel this one really isn't our fault and are fed up taking the hit. 

For a small business, this sounds like a LOT of complaints. I suggest having a good look at your ordering page to see how clear the delivery scenario is to the customer, and/or get yourself a better courier company who will take responsibility for delayed packages. 

LouElm14

pinkshoes said:

LouElm14 said:

Hello, 

I'm hoping for some advice. I run a fresh food delivery service. A parcel was delivered to a customer and they weren't home to recieve. Emails and texts sent with proof of delivery and tracking details updated on the link we provide to them.  There was an additonal days delay( i.e customer requested for Tuesday, delivered Wednesday) due to courier error, customer was clearly advised this could happen at the point of ordering and that goods are well packed to ensure freshness throughout and we're not liable for any delay as it's outwith our control. To be clear packaging has been fully tested and produce is completley safe and still chilled even if these delays occur. 

Customer claims they weren't home to recieve on the Wednesday, It's been left in a safe place ( as perishable deliveries always are as they cannot be returned to depot). Customer hasn't returned home until the following day and the goods by then are in an unsatisfactory condition and customer wants a refund.  

So a customer ordered fresh goods with delivery on Tuesday,  your T&Cs clearly (??) stated that although they have selected Tuesday delivery, this could in fact be Tuesday OR Wednesday, the customer agreed to these T&Cs but were actually away Wednesday and therefore did not get them until Thursday.

If these T&Cs were very clear to the customer (e.g. large print on the screen and easily visible, not some tiny NB note at the bottom or in a long T&Cs page) then I would say the customer was at fault and no refund was due.

If it was not clear however that the delivery could also be on a Wednesday, then I think you should refund.

Yes ordered for Tue, delivered wed, customer home Thurs. It does very cleary state this at the top of the order confirmation email and explains to contact us immediately if dates need to change. Also included on all delivery information pages, faqs and within t&c's so well advertised. 

For a small business, this sounds like a LOT of complaints. I suggest having a good look at your ordering page to see how clear the delivery scenario is to the customer, and/or get yourself a better courier company who will take responsibility for delayed packages. 

I can see why you'd think this but we've been in business just over 2 years, sent over 20,000 orders and I can hand on heart say the number of times a customer has made a complaint like that i can count on one hand. It's always because we say they are not entitled to a refund & understandably they get angry and lash out to try to get us to refund. We're a family business and therefore very protective of the reputation and genuinely do try to be fair to customers, even when we think the fault lies with them. Currently using DPD who by all accounts are the best of the bunch and no courier will accept liabilty for delayed fresh produce ( it would cost them too much) , some don't even deliver perishable produce so it's slim pickings! 

LouElm14

NBLondon said:

sheramber said:

In this case the delivery  was not made on the day stated. You say it was courier error then would you not claim the cost from the courier for not delivering per the contract.

If that's actually the case - the customer is in the right.  Your courier failed to deliver as agreed; therefore the customer is entitled to demand a refund.

The customer may have only had 5 minutes notice that they wouldn't be home on the later day.

The fact that your agreement with the courier doesn't allow for the claim is your problem, not the customers.

The only thing I can see against the customer is that they have delayed reporting the issue.  If the items spoiled through being left in an unsafe place (the customer nominates a safe alternative - not the courier) then wouldn't they have seen this on first opening the package?  Or are they claiming that the items didn't last as long as expected due to a day of not being chilled?

Even if we clearly state Tuesday is an estimate not a guarantee to customer?

Customer had 3 & 1/2 hours  notice on the one hour window ( I can see the communicaitons via the courier admin site)  and also the entire day before to let us know they wouldn't be in the following day.

Customer has not nominated safe place, they've not actioned on the delivery at all and as it's perishable the courier leaves the parcel in a safe place by default, if one is not nominated. Clearly stated within our delivery terms also. In this case it was left in a front porch. 

ThumbRemote

If your products are meant to be delivered in 1 day, why do you expect your customers to take the hit when they are late?

Scenario: Customer orders for delivery Tuesday. It isn't delivered. Customer is going away on Wednesday morning.

At this point what does the customer do?
1) Contact you and say they don't want the goods. This assumes they know that this is an option, and you make it clear that they can do this when ordering. However by that stage even if the parcel is returned it is no good to you either.
2) Hope the goods will last OK till they get back. 

Surely the customer has done you a favour - if the good were returned they would definitely have been wasted, but by getting them delivered they may have been OK. 

Or are you expecting customers to put themselves out when your deliveries are late?

comeandgo

I get deliveries from hello fresh which are often late and sometimes very late.  Their customer service is second to non.  I get a full refund each time it’s not delivered on time.  If you can’t guarantee your customers get delivery on the day they want then I think you must give them a refund.

LouElm14

ThumbRemote said:

If your products are meant to be delivered in 1 day, why do you expect your customers to take the hit when they are late?

Scenario: Customer orders for delivery Tuesday. It isn't delivered. Customer is going away on Wednesday morning.

At this point what does the customer do?
1) Contact you and say they don't want the goods. This assumes they know that this is an option, and you make it clear that they can do this when ordering. However by that stage even if the parcel is returned it is no good to you either.
2) Hope the goods will last OK till they get back. 

Surely the customer has done you a favour - if the good were returned they would definitely have been wasted, but by getting them delivered they may have been OK. 

Or are you expecting customers to put themselves out when your deliveries are late?

As i've said above, we do clearly advise customers that the delivery date is not guarateed and there may be an additional day delay due to courier error. Customers kept up to date on this at all times. If a customer wasn't going to be home on the wednesday, then they should order for monday - many customers understand this and re-arrange if they have to.

Customer has not done us any favours at all, have ignored all delivery communicaiton, allowed delivery to go ahead, let the produce sit outside for 30 hours then complained. Would have been much better to get in touch and let us work out a solution. 

Not asking anyone to put themselves out, asking them to read and understand the terms of delivery clearly shown to them.