Shipping a battery - which carrier?

Ant555
Ant555 Posts: 1,569 Forumite
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Has anyone shipped a standalone battery recently. If so, which carrier did you use?

I bought a replacement laptop battery off Amazon - thinking the return process would be easier than ebay if it was rubbish.

Turns out the item does need to be returned so I have requested a refund which has been authorised but I have to return the item myself and they will pay up to 4.75 - all of the carriers I have looked at prohibit the sending of a standalone lithium battery not inside a product.

Many thanks.
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Comments

  • November2
    November2 Posts: 1,107 Forumite
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    Overland Express have a business deal with DHL to ship dangerous goods however it will cost you around £10!

    You could send by any courier if you wrap it well and declare something like PC component rather than battery. This means of course you have to lie and risk item being destroyed if found! Also you will have no compensation comeback if item is not delivered or lost.

    The best way to deal with this is throw it back at Amazon and make it their problem, tell them you cannot return as RM and Couriers will not accept a battery and ask what they suggest you do. I'm guessing they will refund you and tell you to keep battery as they will not be able to provide you with an answer.
  • custardy
    custardy Posts: 38,365 Forumite
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    November2 wrote: »
    Overland Express have a business deal with DHL to ship dangerous goods however it will cost you around £10!

    You could send by any courier if you wrap it well and declare something like PC component rather than battery. This means of course you have to lie and risk item being destroyed if found! Also you will have no compensation comeback if item is not delivered or lost.

    The best way to deal with this is throw it back at Amazon and make it their problem, tell them you cannot return as RM and Couriers will not accept a battery and ask what they suggest you do. I'm guessing they will refund you and tell you to keep battery as they will not be able to provide you with an answer.

    Compensation isnt the issue.
    The fact is battery's are prohibited/limited for safety reasons,not compensation.
  • ShaneUK
    ShaneUK Posts: 1,094 Forumite
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    How did Amazon ship it to you, ie which carrier? Surely if Amazon can send via them, so can you?
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 72,186 Ambassador
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    ShaneUK wrote: »
    How did Amazon ship it to you, ie which carrier? Surely if Amazon can send via them, so can you?

    Amazon arrangements with a courier are unlikely to extend to returns. A lot of items are also carried by Amazon couriers which the customer cannot access.
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  • Gary123456790
    Gary123456790 Posts: 638 Forumite
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    I bought a power bank from amazon, it was faulty when it arrived. They sent a returns label but in the instructions it stated that you should call them if it contained a battery. I called them and they just refunded it without return as they didn't want faulty battery products being sent.
  • Undervalued
    Undervalued Posts: 8,844 Forumite
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    Gary123456790 wrote: »
    I bought a power bank from amazon, it was faulty when it arrived. They sent a returns label but in the instructions it stated that you should call them if it contained a battery. I called them and they just refunded it without return as they didn't want faulty battery products being sent.

    I had a similar experience. In my case it was a faulty small lead acid battery. Once I explained that to Amazon they agreed to refund without me having to return the faulty battery.
  • shaun_from_Africa
    shaun_from_Africa Posts: 12,858 Forumite
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    ShaneUK wrote: »
    How did Amazon ship it to you, ie which carrier? Surely if Amazon can send via them, so can you?

    Amazon will have dangerous goods packing & certifying approval which means that they can send things like lithium batteries with certain couriers as those couriers can be fairly confident that the goods are safe to be shipped and have been packed in accordance with the legal requirements.
  • TheShape
    TheShape Posts: 1,779 Forumite
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    edited 30 October 2019 at 10:27PM
    Anyone else had experience of returning a battery? I contacted Amazon through live chat as a portable charger I collected yesterday is now priced £7 cheaper on Amazon than when I purchased three days ago. They said they couldn't adjust price post sale and said I could return and produced a returns label.

    If I can't ship it should I get them to call me and are they likely refund the difference in price?

    Edit: Item sold by Anker Direct, fulfilled by Amazon if that makes a difference.
  • custardy
    custardy Posts: 38,365 Forumite
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    TheShape wrote: »
    Anyone else had experience of returning a battery? I contacted Amazon through live chat as a portable charger I collected yesterday is now priced £7 cheaper on Amazon than when I purchased three days ago. They said they couldn't adjust price post sale and said I could return and produced a returns label.

    If I can't ship it should I get them to call me and are they likely refund the difference in price?

    Edit: Item sold by Anker Direct, fulfilled by Amazon if that makes a difference.

    Why do you think you cant ship it?
  • TheShape
    TheShape Posts: 1,779 Forumite
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    TheShape wrote: »
    Anyone else had experience of returning a battery? I contacted Amazon through live chat as a portable charger I collected yesterday is now priced £7 cheaper on Amazon than when I purchased three days ago. They said they couldn't adjust price post sale and said I could return and produced a returns label.

    If I can't ship it should I get them to call me and are they likely refund the difference in price?

    Edit: Item sold by Anker Direct, fulfilled by Amazon if that makes a difference.
    custardy wrote: »
    Why do you think you cant ship it?

    A number of couriers will not carry Lithium Ion batteries.

    I requested a call back from customer services. They were adamant that nothing could be done on price and I would need to ship the package to them and they'd refund the shipping cost.

    I asked if I could make a complaint that their returns (or sales) information should include a disclaimer for Lithium Ion batteries that there are courier restrictions. Rather than record a complaint they have decided to refund the entire cost of the battery without the requirement to return it. This was actioned quite quickly. The refund confirmation suggests that they've recorded that the product was faulty and refunded on that basis.
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