Parcel stolen whilst in Evri's possession - what do I do?

powderyalabasterguzzler

I bought three LPs (around 150 USD total) from a company in the US last month. The records were a limited run and are already out of print so I can't buy them again. I was on a waiting list for many months to buy these so I was looking forward to surprising my wife with the LPs as they're by an artist she really loves.

The company took the order and shipped the records three days later. About 2 weeks after I placed the order, I checked with DHL (the original carrier) to see when my order would be delivered. Turns out it had been handed over to Evri for local delivery. (I've never heard of this happening before, where an international courier with a presence in the UK will hand over delivery of an item to Evri.) The item was recorded as out for delivery on Monday 10 July. The delivery time came and went, and nothing showed up.

The next day, I saw on Evri's website that my order could not be delivered because the courier could not gain access to my property. I knew this wasn't the case because we have one local delivery person with Evri in our village, and she knows how to access our property. So I waited for another update. Evri said on Tuesday 11 July that my parcel would be delivered the next working day (Wednesday 12 July). That's the last update I've had on the Evri parcel delivery page.

On Friday 14 July, I managed to catch up with the Evri delivery lady as she was dropping parcels off with my neighbours, and asked her whether she knew anything about my parcel that was supposed to be delivered on Monday. Turns out her van was stolen as she was making a delivery that day. I was shocked and asked if she was alright - of course I didn't want to be insensitive to her situation, and she suggested I get in touch with Evri about my parcel to see about a refund.

This is where the hard bit started. I tried calling Evri that day on their customer number (0330 808 5456). They don't give you the option to speak to a person. So I tried their online chatbot and explained the situation as best I could given the constraints of talking to a chatbot. I asked to be phoned back by Evri and also mentioned that their delivery person told me their van was stolen and that my parcel was very likely in the van when it was stolen (of course, this is something Evri should be able to check on their side since all parcels out for delivery are scanned and registered with a driver).

The next day (Saturday 15 July), I got an email from someone called Claire at Evri. They didn't acknowledge any of the information I'd sent about my parcel possibly being stolen, and instead said that my parcel was delayed because it "missed its connection with the delivery driver". They said they'd mark it for delivery that day and check back the next day to give me an update. I emailed Claire back to ask whether she'd received or read any of the information I'd sent with my complaint (i.e., that I knew the delivery driver's van had been stolen). I got another email the next morning (Sunday 16 July) with no acknowledgement at all about my second message, again apologising for the delay in delivering my parcel and saying that they would escalate this with the depot, and would be in touch the next morning with an update.

Predictably, my parcel wasn't delivered that weekend, nor was there any update on the parcel delivery page. On Monday 17 July I received yet another email from "Claire" (pretty sure she's another chatbot) saying that despite their best efforts, they can see my parcel hasn't moved and that they would initiate a thorough search at the local depot for my parcel, and that I can expect an update in 48 hours. Nobody from Evri has actually phoned me to discuss the issue, despite my requests to speak to a person since this is not a standard missed delivery or parcel delivered to the wrong address issue.

I'm not in a massive rush to resolve this; I'm aware that this is a relatively small matter in the grand scheme of things, that the delivery driver obviously had a much more difficult time with losing her van and other Evri customers probably lost items that were much more valuable or irreplaceable than my three vinyl records. But I'd still like to get a resolution, and I'm sort of stunned that Evri haven't contact me about the theft of my parcel or even acknowledged it. There must be loads of other customers just twisting in the wind while Evri pretend that these lost parcels are just going to turn up, with no proactive management or contact on their part to let people know or to help them procure refunds for their stolen goods.

TL;DR:

My parcel from the US, worth about $150, was stolen whilst in Evri's possession. Evri hasn't acknowledged the theft and is pretending that my parcel is just lost or misplaced. I want a resolution from Evri so that I can get a refund from the original seller in the US.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone had a similar experience with Evri where a parcel was permanently lost or stolen while in their possession? What did they/you do about it to resolve the matter?

2. Is there any way I can actually contact Evri to speak to a real person (not a chatbot) to resolve this and have them confirm or acknowledge whether my parcel was in fact on the delivery van when it was stolen? My concern is that without Evri acknowledging that my parcel is actually lost or stolen, I won't get a refund from the original company. I have tried contacting them twice by email to ask them to please step in, but so far there's been no response.

3. If I get no satisfaction from either Evri or the original seller in the US, can I claim Section 75 protection? (I made the original purchase on my American Express credit card.)

knightstyle

Your contract is with the seller who need to resolve this and refund you.   You do not have a contract with DHL or Evri.  The seller should have insurance they can get their money back from but even if they do not they still must refund you.
So get in touch with the seller first.

Okell

knightstyle said:

Your contract is with the seller who need to resolve this and refund you.   You do not have a contract with DHL or Evri.  The seller should have insurance they can get their money back from but even if they do not they still must refund you.
So get in touch with the seller first.

But the seller is in the US...

So I doubt the CRA applies and I suspect that consumer protection in whichever state the seller resides in might not cover this or might not be practicable for the OP to access.

s75 or chargeback might be a possibility depending how OP paid.  But if the three LPs cost $150 in total, s75 might not apply.  (My understanding is that each item needs to have cost at least £100 for a s75 remedy).

born_again

Okell said:

knightstyle said:

Your contract is with the seller who need to resolve this and refund you.   You do not have a contract with DHL or Evri.  The seller should have insurance they can get their money back from but even if they do not they still must refund you.
So get in touch with the seller first.

But the seller is in the US...

So I doubt the CRA applies and I suspect that consumer protection in whichever state the seller resides in might not cover this or might not be practicable for the OP to access.

s75 or chargeback might be a possibility depending how OP paid.  But if the three LPs cost $150 in total, s75 might not apply.  (My understanding is that each item needs to have cost at least £100 for a s75 remedy).

3 Lps are going to be well under £100 each, given exchange rate for $150 is around £115. There will then be P&P to deduct from the price.

Op you are looking at a chargeback for non receipt.

tightauldgit

powderyalabasterguzzler said:

I bought three LPs (around 150 USD total) from a company in the US last month. The records were a limited run and are already out of print so I can't buy them again. I was on a waiting list for many months to buy these so I was looking forward to surprising my wife with the LPs as they're by an artist she really loves.

The company took the order and shipped the records three days later. About 2 weeks after I placed the order, I checked with DHL (the original carrier) to see when my order would be delivered. Turns out it had been handed over to Evri for local delivery. (I've never heard of this happening before, where an international courier with a presence in the UK will hand over delivery of an item to Evri.) The item was recorded as out for delivery on Monday 10 July. The delivery time came and went, and nothing showed up.

The next day, I saw on Evri's website that my order could not be delivered because the courier could not gain access to my property. I knew this wasn't the case because we have one local delivery person with Evri in our village, and she knows how to access our property. So I waited for another update. Evri said on Tuesday 11 July that my parcel would be delivered the next working day (Wednesday 12 July). That's the last update I've had on the Evri parcel delivery page.

On Friday 14 July, I managed to catch up with the Evri delivery lady as she was dropping parcels off with my neighbours, and asked her whether she knew anything about my parcel that was supposed to be delivered on Monday. Turns out her van was stolen as she was making a delivery that day. I was shocked and asked if she was alright - of course I didn't want to be insensitive to her situation, and she suggested I get in touch with Evri about my parcel to see about a refund.

This is where the hard bit started. I tried calling Evri that day on their customer number (0330 808 5456). They don't give you the option to speak to a person. So I tried their online chatbot and explained the situation as best I could given the constraints of talking to a chatbot. I asked to be phoned back by Evri and also mentioned that their delivery person told me their van was stolen and that my parcel was very likely in the van when it was stolen (of course, this is something Evri should be able to check on their side since all parcels out for delivery are scanned and registered with a driver).

The next day (Saturday 15 July), I got an email from someone called Claire at Evri. They didn't acknowledge any of the information I'd sent about my parcel possibly being stolen, and instead said that my parcel was delayed because it "missed its connection with the delivery driver". They said they'd mark it for delivery that day and check back the next day to give me an update. I emailed Claire back to ask whether she'd received or read any of the information I'd sent with my complaint (i.e., that I knew the delivery driver's van had been stolen). I got another email the next morning (Sunday 16 July) with no acknowledgement at all about my second message, again apologising for the delay in delivering my parcel and saying that they would escalate this with the depot, and would be in touch the next morning with an update.

Predictably, my parcel wasn't delivered that weekend, nor was there any update on the parcel delivery page. On Monday 17 July I received yet another email from "Claire" (pretty sure she's another chatbot) saying that despite their best efforts, they can see my parcel hasn't moved and that they would initiate a thorough search at the local depot for my parcel, and that I can expect an update in 48 hours. Nobody from Evri has actually phoned me to discuss the issue, despite my requests to speak to a person since this is not a standard missed delivery or parcel delivered to the wrong address issue.

I'm not in a massive rush to resolve this; I'm aware that this is a relatively small matter in the grand scheme of things, that the delivery driver obviously had a much more difficult time with losing her van and other Evri customers probably lost items that were much more valuable or irreplaceable than my three vinyl records. But I'd still like to get a resolution, and I'm sort of stunned that Evri haven't contact me about the theft of my parcel or even acknowledged it. There must be loads of other customers just twisting in the wind while Evri pretend that these lost parcels are just going to turn up, with no proactive management or contact on their part to let people know or to help them procure refunds for their stolen goods.

TL;DR:

My parcel from the US, worth about $150, was stolen whilst in Evri's possession. Evri hasn't acknowledged the theft and is pretending that my parcel is just lost or misplaced. I want a resolution from Evri so that I can get a refund from the original seller in the US.

My questions are:

1. Has anyone had a similar experience with Evri where a parcel was permanently lost or stolen while in their possession? What did they/you do about it to resolve the matter?

2. Is there any way I can actually contact Evri to speak to a real person (not a chatbot) to resolve this and have them confirm or acknowledge whether my parcel was in fact on the delivery van when it was stolen? My concern is that without Evri acknowledging that my parcel is actually lost or stolen, I won't get a refund from the original company. I have tried contacting them twice by email to ask them to please step in, but so far there's been no response.

3. If I get no satisfaction from either Evri or the original seller in the US, can I claim Section 75 protection? (I made the original purchase on my American Express credit card.)

I don't think there's really much point (or need) in you contacting EVRI. It's not YOUR parcel it's the sender's parcel until you receive it. You need to contact the seller and tell them your order hasn't arrived and you understand that the parcel was stolen. If they aren't acknowledging it then you have a big problem because you'd have to pursue them in the US courts and it's not going to be worth it. 

Even if you could get confirmation from EVRI that it was stolen you wouldn't get any compensation for it. The sender will need to claim on any insurance provided by DHL. So the problem here seems to be with your seller. 

Look into a chargeback on your card if you can. 

powderyalabasterguzzler

The total charge for the order on my credit card was £116.89 (including a £3.39 non-sterling charge). My understanding of Section 75 is that so long as the entire order value comes to over £100, then it's eligible for chargeback. I know that for flights, this is different because the cost is split up over each individual person or ticket rather than the order total.

Evri has come back to me this morning to inform me that my parcel is "potentially lost in [their] network" and that I should speak to the shipper about a refund. I have already sent two emails to the company in the US (they have no phone number unfortunately) and they've yet to reply to me about my order being lost/stolen. If I don't get an outcome from the seller by the end of the week then I'll look to Amex for a chargeback option.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

This site

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/183-postal-and-delivery-services/

has some threads attempting to use the argument of third party rights to hold couriers accountable in cases where the recipient doesn't hold a contract with the courier, although whether it's based on anything of substance I can't say. 

OP did you order from the company that released the records? If so you'd hope their desire to keep a positive reputation would mean they are open to getting this resolved. 

I don't buy LPs but have purchased a few limited things in other areas from the US and a few sites mention holding back some stock to replace missing/damaged items. 

Have you spoken to the US company yet? 

powderyalabasterguzzler

The company I bought the LPs from in the US are also the manufacturers of the records. They release limited edition versions of well-known albums directly through their online mail-order website so they are both the manufacturer and seller/distributer.

I have sent the US company two emails (no phone number is listed). The only response I've had from them is an email yesterday to say they are working on my customer support query. As I mentioned in my last post, I'll give them until the end of the week to respond. If I don't hear back by early next week then I will speak with Amex, my credit card provider, about my options to recover my money.

I'm hoping that now Evri have admitted the parcel is "lost" (read: stolen) whilst in their network, that the US company will be willing and able to either issue me with a refund or a replacement, rather than treating it simply as a delayed international delivery that I have to wait months for to resolve. A replacement order from the US company would be fantastic, but since these are limited edition records that sold out very quickly, I'm doubtful I'll get a replacement.

born_again

powderyalabasterguzzler said:

The total charge for the order on my credit card was £116.89 (including a £3.39 non-sterling charge). My understanding of Section 75 is that so long as the entire order value comes to over £100, then it's eligible for chargeback. I know that for flights, this is different because the cost is split up over each individual person or ticket rather than the order total.

Evri has come back to me this morning to inform me that my parcel is "potentially lost in [their] network" and that I should speak to the shipper about a refund. I have already sent two emails to the company in the US (they have no phone number unfortunately) and they've yet to reply to me about my order being lost/stolen. If I don't get an outcome from the seller by the end of the week then I'll look to Amex for a chargeback option.

S75 & chargebacks are 2 totally different beasts.

S75 is per item cost, any item under £100 is not covered excluding P&P & any other charges. You are holding CC jointly liable & they pay out

Chargeback has no limits of amounts & funds are recovered from retailer, although they do have the right to contest, although in this case they can not prove delivery as item as it was stolen enroute.

So you need to tell Amex, this is a dispute & chargeback for non receipt of goods. Although you may have to wait a certain time from debit date before they can start the process.
Visa is 15 days, Mastercard is 30 days.