Dispute with a shipping company

josame

I am being chased for payment by a shipping company, no invoice has been received and the company delivered my item (they collected it from an auction house) before I received their quote. The quote is for just over £100 which I would not have agreed to pay. I have shown them numerous actual invoices of companies stating figures of £26 - £40 for the same service and I am refusing to pay. They are indicating legal action but I have not received a letter.

Flight3287462

So how did some random shipping company know to collect the item?   Who was paying to paying to pack and secure the item?  Was it on a pallet?  Was the pallet oversized?

If it was on a pallet you are already in the £70-£80 mark if it was oversize then the sky is the limit.

Aylesbury_Duck

Presumably you won this item at auction? What terms and conditions did you agree to when agreeing to the sale? I can't imagine they included the option for the auction house to store your property while you shop around for a cheap courier.  

josame

Ok my OP was a bit limited on info. 
The item is a  bottle of whisky worth £200, I signed the auction house release form but I did not sign an agreement with the shipping company and they collected and delivered without having agreed a price with me.  

Brywalker

I can't see that they can claim such an amount retrospectively if it wasn't agreed beforehand.  I would ask them for their evidence that I'd agreed to pay what they're demanding. I can't see the court siding with them if no contract was made with you.  

josame

@Brywalker I can't see that they can claim such an amount retrospectively if it wasn't agreed beforehand. I would ask them for their evidence that I'd agreed to pay what they're demanding. I can't see the court siding with them if no contract was made with you.

Agreed, I have not had an invoice and I have offered to pay them £50 which having done a trawl of similar service providers is more than sufficient.

Flight3287462

josame said:

Ok my OP was a bit limited on info. 
The item is a  bottle of whisky worth £200, I signed the auction house release form but I did not sign an agreement with the shipping company and they collected and delivered without having agreed a price with me.  

Wow, that certainly changes things. That should cost around £10 plus packaging.

pinkshoes

josame said:

Ok my OP was a bit limited on info. 
The item is a  bottle of whisky worth £200, I signed the auction house release form but I did not sign an agreement with the shipping company and they collected and delivered without having agreed a price with me.  

What does it say on the auction house release form? Are you signing to agree to use their courier service to delivery your item??

I would check the release terms VERY carefully to make sure you haven't agreed to using their inhouse courier. If you are sure nothing was agreed, and they have delivered it without a contract in place, then I suggest getting a couple of quotes from other companies you might have used, then offering them this amount. 

I guess if they decline, you can either ask them to return the bottle and you will send your own courier to collect, or pay them what you think is fair and see if they take it further. If there is no contract, then charging £100 delivery for a small item worth £200 is ridiculous and a court will not agree with them.

DullGreyGuy

josame said:

@Brywalker I can't see that they can claim such an amount retrospectively if it wasn't agreed beforehand. I would ask them for their evidence that I'd agreed to pay what they're demanding. I can't see the court siding with them if no contract was made with you.

Agreed, I have not had an invoice and I have offered to pay them £50 which having done a trawl of similar service providers is more than sufficient.

A contract doesnt have to be written for one to exist... though its hard to prove what was agreed without one.

It would help to understand the full story of whats happened, as a non-account holder with a courier they normally wouldnt even have a job created to be able to collect the item before a price has been agreed and paid.

user1977

josame said:

The item is a  bottle of whisky worth £200, I signed the auction house release form but I did not sign an agreement with the shipping company and they collected and delivered without having agreed a price with me.  

How did you think the bottle was going to get to you? Presumably the auction conditions said something about delivery/storage of items after the auction?

MobileSaver

josame said:

The item is a  bottle of whisky worth £200, I signed the auction house release form but I did not sign an agreement with the shipping company and they collected and delivered without having agreed a price with me.  

Who instructed the shipping company to collect the whisky and how did the shipping company know where to deliver the whisky to?