What do I do next? Parcelmonkey & Fedex

Okell

Patevedrew said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone. 

The undeclared items were small Christmas Stocking type items - not a lot individually but collectively they mount up. Had it not been Christmas I would not have arranged substitute presents nor inconvenienced another person. Had Parcelmonkey been on the ball customer service-wise I would have had time to sort myself. They failed miserably.   [But you decided of your own volition not to declare their value to the carrier.  That was your choice and your error.  Why should the carrier be liable for your error?]

Parcel was going to Yorkshire.  [Is that relevant?]

The situation has left me feeling that, had I not "protected" the dearer items by paying the fee, I would not be offered anything regardless of what was in parcel as Parcelmonkey's 'vermin infestation' clause excludes a claim.   

If I had not taken the protection, why would it be acceptable that they can destroy my goods due to an infestation caused by their decisions and neglectful ineptitude and for me to remain uncompensated for any amount?   [If you had not taken protection of course it would still have been unacceptable.  By law the carrier has to provide the service with reasonable care and skill, and they cannot exclude liability for that.  Even without "insurance" you could still have claimed compensation for breach of contract]

How is that fair? Consumers contract to have a parcel sent with no control over the conditions of the courier's depots. It seems to me that the companies involved have a duty of care to handle and store our parcels carefully and this duty should not be overridden by their self-serving and self-protecting clauses. A depot so overrun by rats 'that their cat has disappeared' and a 'full Biffa skip leaves the depot everyday with items for destruction due to infestation' (Fedex manager's words) that, in my opinion, should be shut down until made safe (even if only for staff's H&S sake).  [See my previous response]

Surely, Parcelmonkey have a responsibility to ensure their contractor operates safely? It is they who have the professional relationship with Fedex and they who decide to partner with them. I only chose the price point. As far as I am aware, the price only dictates the speed of service not where in their warehouse a parcel is stored. I could have opted for no protection and it still would have been infested.  [See my previous points]

I still feel they should pay me in full. If parcel had been 'lost' I would be more flexible in my attitude as these things happen and I had it in my mind to worry more about the higher value items.  [They are paying you in full.  You say you paid £250 for the service and they have offered you £250.  The £120 you paid for replacement presents is paid for out of the £250 refund you get.  You can't get it twice. Nor can you claim £30 for the bottle of wine you decided to buy for your mother in law.  that was purely your decision and nothing to do with anyone else.  I'll ask you again, where do you get the other £89 from?]

To accept a minimum, well below my eventual costs, is unpalatable as mismanagement due to lack of vermin control in Fedex's depot is not an issue of my making and is entirely avoidable by good husbandry. Vermin infestation is not something that should happen in a well-run depot. Regardless of what was in my parcel, it should have passed through safely.  [The carrier has offered to refund you in full for the items whose value you declared.  That's it.  Full stop.  The fact you included items in the parcel that were prohibited is irrelevant as you did not declare them]

And, to take 4 months to properly engage with me is ridiculous. I sent them every document they asked for and several times. They admitted they hadn't looked at the email inbox they told me to use so I had to do it again. Atrocious service.   [Irrelevant.  You've got a full refund for the items whose value declared.  You are not entitled to anything else]

See my comments in bold italic

Ergates

Patevedrew said:

I still feel they should pay me in full. If parcel had been 'lost' I would be more flexible in my attitude as these things happen and I had it in my mind to worry more about the higher value items.

They... have.  You told them the parcel was worth £250, they've paid you £250. 

Do you expect to be able to come along, after the parcel is lost and say "Oh, actually, I meant to say it was worth £350, can I have the extra £100"?

Or, to put it another way: A quick check of Parcel Monkey's website shows that a parcel over £250 would cost more to deliver.  If they'd successfully delivered it, would you have gone back to them, corrected your mistake and paid the extra?

This seems a clear case of wanting your cake and eating it.   You wanted to pay the delivery cost of a parcel worth £250, but you want to be compensated for a parcel worth more than £250.

outtatune

Me: Hello, I'd like to insure my £5k Vauxhall Corsa please!
Evil insurer: Of course, that'll be £peanuts!
Me: fab!

Later me: Oops, my car's been nicked!
Evil insurer: That's awful! Here's £5k
Me: what do you mean £5k? If cost me a quarter of a million quid!
Evil insure: Your Corsa cost a quarter of a million?
Me: No you idiot, my Ferrari 296! I only said it was a Corsa so you wouldn't charge me as much
Evil insurer: <insert expected response here>

pinkshoes

@Patevedrew Look on the bright side - at least you paid for extra insurance and got the £250 you declared back!! Lots of people don't bother and end up with £20!

Your maths doesn't add up. You got £250 back and only had to spend £150 on new presents, to you're actually £100 up, so yay another reason to be cheerful!

It was your choice to under-insure it so unfortunately it's a risk you take. I've done this before as going up to the next value category was a lot more expensive, but my parcel thankfully arrived.

eskbanker

Okell said:

Patevedrew said:

I still feel they should pay me in full. If parcel had been 'lost' I would be more flexible in my attitude as these things happen and I had it in my mind to worry more about the higher value items.  [They are paying you in full.  You say you paid £250 for the service and they have offered you £250.  The £120 you paid for replacement presents is paid for out of the £250 refund you get.  You can't get it twice. Nor can you claim £30 for the bottle of wine you decided to buy for your mother in law.  that was purely your decision and nothing to do with anyone else.  I'll ask you again, where do you get the other £89 from?]

See my comments in bold italic

pinkshoes said:

Your maths doesn't add up. You got £250 back and only had to spend £150 on new presents, to you're actually £100 up, so yay another reason to be cheerful!

OP explained the derivation of their inflated claim figure in the first post:

Patevedrew said:

all the goods [as opposed to the £250 declared value presumably], £120 extra presents and £30 thank you, plus their fee and insurance comes to £489

Patevedrew

ThumbRemote said:

While other people have answered your questions, there's one potential line you could follow. If FedEx have a known problem with rat damage to parcels, it's surely negligent of them to be accepting parcels in that depot. 

However, this may be very difficult to pursue as your contract is with ParcelMonkey, and it would have to be in court.

Thanks ThumbRemote, that is really my point too. Why should their difficulties reflect on consumers?
I daresay a lot of people send parcels without insurance. At the rate of a full skip a day that amounts to a lot of destroyed goods and unrecoverable costs especially if vermin infestation clauses are operating thus negating any possible claim whether you're insured or not.
I think this is the true scandal and that the staff have to work in those conditions. 

Okell

ThumbRemote said:

While other people have answered your questions, there's one potential line you could follow. If FedEx have a known problem with rat damage to parcels, it's surely negligent of them to be accepting parcels in that depot. 

However, this may be very difficult to pursue as your contract is with ParcelMonkey, and it would have to be in court.

But the OP has been (or will be) fully compensated for his loss(es).

Why do you think he's entitled to more than the £250 he's already been paid or been offered?