Money Moral Dilemma: Should I return the duplicate order I received after bad delivery service?

BHeath2Bay

I don't know why so many respondents assume these dilemmas are "made up". This particular one is almost certainly genuine, because the same thing has happened to me (probably thanks to the same courier firm!). I was tempted to say nowt and keep both items, but I ended up emailing the retailer to tell them I now had two. Their response was to tell me to keep them both - as someone has said, it's often too much hassle for them to arrange collection of the duplicate and put it back into stock. Depends on the value of the item - and whether you really need two!

Chris_Jay

I've had a similar situation in the last week, although not identical.
I ordered something from Amazon for one of my grandchildren, as part of a larger gift to assist with his exam choices from September. It arrived, but was plainly (to me) a re-send, as everything, apart from the padded envelope, was damaged. I contacted the seller, asked for a replacement, explained that, although usable, the item wasn't fit to gift, and requested a return label. I don't have a printer, so I do need a physical label. Long story short, I was told that a new item would be sent, and to just keep the original. 
The replacement arrived today, in perfect condition to give, and the original item is something that I can use. The exterior is dented and scuffed, but the thing itself works, so I'm a happy bunny.

Dear OP, just contact the seller. You know it's the right thing to do.

VincentVega

MickB68 said:

It's your opnion that a terrible courier was used. The company obviously doesnt hold that opinion.

Do you honestly think that companies choose couriers based on how good they are?  As opposed to how cheap they are?

If so, I have a bridge I wish to sell, and an exciting investment opportunity that involves you giving me all of your money.

screech_78

Bigfra46 said:

Keep it and say nothing, the retailer claims the cost from the useless delivery company who might improve service if they have to pay for it. Will teach them a lesson. It’s not theft as retailer isnt out the money.

Yeah, that doesn’t happen. 

jedav

Boots delivered an additional item in an order (hand sanitiser, probably worth < £10).  I contacted them promptly, offered to return it, and they told me to keep it.  I'll post it on our local recycle group as it's not something I'll use.  They probably aren't allowed to take it back anyway.

An ex had a duplicate wine delivery, because the original went to a neighbour and he didn't know.  He kept both, paying for only one.  His dishonesty is why he's an ex.

fred_in_the_shed

Perhaps I can offer an alternative perspective. I'm involved in a small online business and we live and die by our reputation. We do everything we can to try and get our products to our customers, but once the parcel leaves us we are both at the mercy of the chosen parcel carrier. If the carrier fails to deliver on time, or at all, or to the wrong house, or crushes the parcel, or leaves it out in the rain then it always becomes our problem to solve. 

It's worth saying that they virtually never pay any compensation to us if they fail to deliver. The usual response is silence, knowing full-well that it is not worth us spending hours of our time chasing a small recovery.

We have tried most of them, and none is perfect. Of course, the more we pay the better the service, but there is a limit to the amount that the customer will pay. So what do we do? We could increase our prices across the board, but this makes us uncompetitive and reduces sales. We could increase our postage costs, but this causes a significant drop in customer numbers. We could choose to use a cheaper courier, but the cheap ones are cheap for a reason as discussed at length above. 

We generally make a small loss on postage on every parcel we send as a result. We don't ship the quantities that large online retailers do, so we pay the full price and get limited service. 

Sounds like the original poster's supplier was smart enough to ship another item to keep the customer happy, and will have made a loss on the transaction as a result. Please tell them that the previous package has turned up, its only fair!

primrose_penguin

I would contact the firm you bought the item from and explain what has happened and ask them to arrange a collection, after all they did send you a replacement. They may tell you to keep it, they may not, but either way at least you will have done the right thing.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Tiger_Tony said:

Why do so many people subscribe to the conspiracist theory that these dilemmas are made up?

I just wonder why you’d email mse and hope your question is picked when you could just post it yourself on the forum and get an answer instantly. 

Isin2000

fred_in_the_shed said:

Perhaps I can offer an alternative perspective. I'm involved i of course it's your problem to solve.n a small online business and we live and die by our reputation. We do everything we can to try and get our products to our customers, but once the parcel leaves us we are both at the mercy of the chosen parcel carrier. If the carrier fails to deliver on time, or at all, or to the wrong house, or crushes the parcel, or leaves it out in the rain then it always becomes our problem to solve. 

It's worth saying that they virtually never pay any compensation to us if they fail to deliver. The usual response is silence, knowing full-well that it is not worth us spending hours of our time chasing a small recovery.

We have tried most of them, and none is perfect. Of course, the more we pay the better the service, but there is a limit to the amount that the customer will pay. So what do we do? We could increase our prices across the board, but this makes us uncompetitive and reduces sales. We could increase our postage costs, but this causes a significant drop in customer numbers. We could choose to use a cheaper courier, but the cheap ones are cheap for a reason as discussed at length above. 

We generally make a small loss on postage on every parcel we send as a result. We don't ship the quantities that large online retailers do, so we pay the full price and get limited service. 

Sounds like the original poster's supplier was smart enough to ship another item to keep the customer happy, and will have made a loss on the transaction as a result. Please tell them that the previous package has turned up, its only fair!

Of course it's your problem to solve. The delivery company is your agent acting on your behalf.

LessImpecunious

Isin2000 said:

fred_in_the_shed said:

Perhaps I can offer an alternative perspective. I'm involved i of course it's your problem to solve.n a small online business and we live and die by our reputation. We do everything we can to try and get our products to our customers, but once the parcel leaves us we are both at the mercy of the chosen parcel carrier. If the carrier fails to deliver on time, or at all, or to the wrong house, or crushes the parcel, or leaves it out in the rain then it always becomes our problem to solve. 

It's worth saying that they virtually never pay any compensation to us if they fail to deliver. The usual response is silence, knowing full-well that it is not worth us spending hours of our time chasing a small recovery.

We have tried most of them, and none is perfect. Of course, the more we pay the better the service, but there is a limit to the amount that the customer will pay. So what do we do? We could increase our prices across the board, but this makes us uncompetitive and reduces sales. We could increase our postage costs, but this causes a significant drop in customer numbers. We could choose to use a cheaper courier, but the cheap ones are cheap for a reason as discussed at length above. 

We generally make a small loss on postage on every parcel we send as a result. We don't ship the quantities that large online retailers do, so we pay the full price and get limited service. 

Sounds like the original poster's supplier was smart enough to ship another item to keep the customer happy, and will have made a loss on the transaction as a result. Please tell them that the previous package has turned up, its only fair!

Of course it's your problem to solve. The delivery company is your agent acting on your behalf.

Also coming from a small business perspective, unfortunately, as fred in the shed points out, the delivery companies are all evil mega corps  Other businesses (small or otherwise) have no choice but to use one or other of them; and, as fred also points out, it's virtually impossible to get any recompense from them if they fail to deliver (in any sense). For example, at one time, if you were lucky (and very persistent) you might get 6 first class stamps from Royal Mail - but that was in the old days - they now just don't bother to respond to any claim for compensation... Some couriers are excellent in one place and rubbish in others - dependent on the individual delivery driver as much as anything, though in general the you get what you pay for rule applies (but how many customers want to pay more for delivery?). And there is a clear imbalance in the system - as a small business the Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes us responsible for our item until it has been received by the customer, but we have no similar protection when purchasing (delivery) from delivery companies (good or bad)...