problem with delivery of goods bought online

[oldjimjen]

I bought an item from Company X with home delivery - cost about £30
Company X sent it by company Y
I got a message from company Y saying it couldn't be delivered because nobody was at home - this was false - I was at home
I talked to company Y and they agreed that that claim was false and the driver had not tried to deliver it
However company Y said I would have to collect the item from a post office
I sent a message to company X saying I had had 3 long phone calls with company Y and had had to travel 2 x 5 miles to collect the item
I said I claimed £25 for the inconvenience and travel
Company X says I should claim from company Y
I claim I bought the goods from X for home delivery and they are responsible for the non-delivery.
What are your thoughts about this? - who should I claim against?

[oldjimjen]

Apart from this being a specific problem it must be an example of a more general one - is a company uses a delivery service and the delivery service does not deliver who is responsible - who can be claimed against

[PallasAthena]

You sue Company X, the company you bought it from. You had a contract with them which required them to deliver the item to your home. They have failed to do that. It's their responsibility to arrange the delivery. If they choose to use delivery company Y that's their choice. Company Y's contract is with Company X, not with you.

You are correct, this issue comes up all the time on consumer help sites. The seller tries to fob you off with 'you'll have to sort it out with the delivery company'. The advice is invariably what I have just said, it's the responsibility of the seller, the company you have the contract with, to sort it out.

Whether it is worth suing anyone is a different question.

Have you actually now got the item? Did have to travel to the post office to collect it?

Was the delivery company ParcelForce? They have form for this as far as I am concerned. Last year PForce were supposed to deliver an item to me. I happened to be standing on my front doorstep and saw the PForce van turn into my road and drive straight past my house without even slowing down and disappear up the road, never to be seen again. When I complained PForce told the seller that they had interviewed the driver who had produced his GPS log to show he'd been in my road and tried to be deliver but no-one was in. At the precise time I'd seen him drive by!. The driver was obviously lying.

[oldjimjen]

thanks for the reply and your answer accords with what I felt was the case, and you are correct about is it worth it - I'll push with a few emails and see what happens
the delivery company was DPD and in conversation with them their tracking thingy showed he had not come to the premises.
the claim that there was nobody at home is absurd - I was there all the time - 3 cars in the drive - front door open all the time - clearly the driver did not even drive past
I did travel to the PO and have collected it.
Let's see what happens and thanks again