Amazon Return Self-Ship Lost in Transit

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Undervalued said:

Hell0 said:

This was fully refunded by Amazon after an escalated complaint. 

Well, that is good news. However the important lesson from this (which also relates to several other recent threads on here regarding other retailers) is the retailer is only liable for loss or damage during the return if they chose,  bought and paid for the service.

With hindsight you should have either insisted that they provided a pre paid return service of their choice or adequately insured the parcel and pursued Amazon for the cost of doing so.

What legal basis is this statement made on please?

I’m not saying I disagree, I would genuinely like to know the answer. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hell0 said:

This was fully refunded by Amazon after an escalated complaint. 

Thanks for coming back and letting us know OP, glad to hear you got a good result

km1500

I think the thinking is that if the retailer paid for the return, then the courier is acting as an agent for the retailer, thus handing the package to the courier is akin to handing the package to the retailer.

However, I too cannot find any definitive legal precedent.

The only thing I have been able to find re: risk is the other way around ie the seller uses the buyer's courier (page 3)...

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/429300/bis-13-1368-consumer-contracts-information-cancellation-and-additional-payments-regulations-guidance.pdf


"Risk passes from the trader to the consumer when the goods are delivered unless the courier is one not offered or named by the trader as an option, but chosen and arranged by the consumer. In this case risk passes to the consumer when the item is delivered to the courier."

MattMattMattUK

Hell0 said:

They should have issued their own prepaid label or told me to pay for insurance, which they would have needed to refund rather than capping it at £20. I can't really be liable for it to go missing, when I follow their instructions? 

Based on it weighing less thana 20kg, which the machines Siemens make for consumers seem to be, it would have cost £18.45 with Royal Mail insured up to £1,000 or £16.25 with UPS insured for £800.