Hermes have misplace my parcel within their rugby hub

[Darren104]

Hi ya all, i have uploaded this edited letter for advice and what you think are my chances of getting a replacement or compensation for the loss of a parcel containing a mobile phone. It was arranged via Interparcel and booked with the courier Hermes. I did not take out any optional transit cover, but do i still have rights as they have lost it or its been stolen from there sorting hub. I have all the tracking information showing it was last scanned and in there safe hands at this Rugby Hub. Any help will be really appreciated. Thank you.

[Amethyst]

Unable to open file - could you do an image file or doc file pls.

Are they offering you the £20 compensation that comes as standard ?

It it does seem quite clear that for items over £20 value additional cover should be taken out.


Hermes terms

Unless you have taken out our Full Cover, the following limits apply to our liability to you under a Contract:
8.2	Our liability for each instance of Loss or Damage or anything else other than Late Delivery is limited to whichever is lesser of:
8.2.1	£20; or
8.2.2	the cost of repairing the damaged Goods, or the value of the of the lost or damaged Goods (as we shall reasonably determine up to a maximum of the price you paid or were paid for the Goods).
8.3	Our liability for Late Delivery is limited to refunding the Charges.
8.4	When you submit an Order, you may take out our Full Cover. If you do so the limit of our liability to you for Loss or Damage will be varied to whichever is the lesser of:
8.4.1	the level of your Full Cover per Parcel; or
8.4.2	the cost of repairing the damaged Goods, or the value of the lost or damaged Goods, (as we shall reasonably determine up to a maximum of the price you paid or were paid for the Goods).

And Interparcel terms

TRANSIT COVER
4.2 Some services include an inclusive amount of Transit Cover as standard, but not all. This is highlighted during the booking process and confirmed once the order is placed. Cover/additional cover can be purchased.

[Darren104]

ok will upload in a different format

[Amethyst]

It's okay I've switched computers to one that actually opens files !... sorry xx

Okay here

[xxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxx







November, 2018.



xxxxxxx

Capitol House

Capitol Close,

Morley,

Leeds,

West Yorkshire,

LS27 0WH.



Dear Sir,



With reference to my Missing parcel at Hermes Hub Rugby.



RECEIPT NUMBER xxxxxxxxxx

BAR CODE xxxxxxxx

RECIPIENT

xxxxxxxxx



On the 4^th November, 2018 I ordered and prepaid for a small parcel to be delivered to the above recipients address through Interparcel.com. The parcel weighed 1kg and was dropped off at the parcel shop on 5^th November, 2018 and collected by Hermes on 6^th November 2018.



The parcel was received and scanned on 7^th November, 2018, at your national sorting Hub In Rugby.



Please find enclosed copies of Hermes tracking results and Interparcel Tracking results, which specifies that the parcel is at the Rugby Hub and was in your care under the Tracking headings “WE HAVE YOUR PARCEL AND WE GOT IT”



On around the 12^th November 2018, I could see from the on-line tracking information, that the parcel had been at the Rugby Hub for several days which caused me concern.



I decided to contact Interparcel via there on-line customer chat and email.



After several emails going backwards and forwards there final response was the following...




Dear D,

Regarding your above order, Hermes have advised the following,

“I can see that this parcel was last tracked at Hub on 07/11/2018. Unfortunately, due to the time-scale since this last scan, we would now deem this item as lost.“




xxxxxxxxxxx

Customer Service Advisor

Interparcel.com




With regard to compensation for the loss, I have since spoke to Interparcel Customer Services , who have confirmed that there was not a refund policy in place with them, and that i should contact the courier.



I contacted yourself xxxxxxx, but instead of dealing with my issue you decided to pass it onto xxxxxxxx, Hermes Customer Relations, Department, who in turn. past it on to xxxxxxxxx, Customer Relations Advisor.

Please find enclosed a copy of all the email transcripts, including the following final response, dated 21^st November, 2018, from xxxxxxxxx....



“I am following up your complaint on behalf of my colleague xxxxxxxx.

I am sorry to advise despite a search within the Hub your mobile phone has not been located.”



xxxxxxx in her own words and admission has stated, the parcel cannot be located within the Rugby Hub. That statement suggestions the parcel is still located somewhere in the hub and there needs to be a more thorough search conducted to find it..



To reiterate, the parcel is still in the hub located somewhere or it has been misplaced, for which you need to seriously acknowledge and accept responsibility for



I paid Hermes for a service, you have failed me as a customer, to take care, and take the responsibility or my parcelled possessions, to which you are completely held accountable for.



Your very poor service hascaused so much upset and distress to me and my family, as well as it taking up a large amount of time that I have had to spent in pursuing this case.

I give you 14 days notice, from the date of this letter, to find and return my mobile phone, issue me with a new replacement or give me the full value of its worth in compensation plus the full refund of the Courier service costs.



Please note, without any further notice, if you choose to ignore my request and fail to issue me with a satisfactory response, I will have no alternative but to purse the matter through the small claims court, which will incur you further costs and interest.



I trust you will co-operate in this matter.





Yours faithfully,

[Amethyst]

The Consumer Rights Act would ensure you get back the price you paid for the service ( as it wasn't performed etc) - however the contents of the parcel and their value are your responsibility to ensure are covered against loss and damage if above the standard amount ( in myhermes case £20 ). https://international.myhermes.co.uk...tre/answer/66#

[Darren104]

It has not been lost it cannot be located and is still in their hub somewhere

[R0b]

I think you would need to argue with Interparcel that the limitation of liability to £20 is unfair so much so that it creates a significant imbalance between the parties.

In my view, the parcel was in the custody and care of Interparcel (through their instructed agent, Hermes) and they had a duty to take reasonable care and skill. Hermes should, or ought to have, taken steps to ensure that the parcel was transferred through its delivery network and deliver it to the end customer, which it failed to do and for whatever reason, that parcel is considered to have been lost having not been located. Interparcel is therefore liable for the acts and omissions of its agents acting in the course of its business.

The limitation of liability clause shifts the balance of risk to the consumer whereas I would argue that Interparcel are in a better position to bear that risk either through the obtaining of insurance itself as a form of protection or by flowing the risk downstream to the couriers it uses i.e. recovering the value of the parcel's contents. It shouldn't be up to the consumer to have to take on additional financial burdens to cover themselves. Had there been the option to negotiate these terms, it would be unlikely that a consumer would accept the cap of £20. At the very least, a consumer would expect to be covered for the contents of what is being delivered.

I appreciate there will be arguments that suggest the prices are low to so as to be competitive but I don't think that is acceptable. The Competition and Market Authority's guidance on unfair contract terms also says that the trader should not make the consumer its insurer. In other words, it would be expected that businesses have appropriate insurance in place to protect themselves for such eventualities, rather than rely on the consumer to insure the thing themselves.

Out of curiosity, when you went through the order process, did you have to put in a description of the parcel's contents and a value of it?

[Darren104]

Yes i put the description and value when booking the delivery. Should i be pursing Interparcel or Hermes for the loss as i thought it would be Hermes as they are the ones that were responsible for the item. I have now also reported the matter to Warwickshire Police

[R0b]

It would appear that the contract is between you and Interparcel and not Hermes as explained in clause 1.2 of their T&Cs:

1.2 The carriage of items is undertaken by the Carrier and we do not carry the items ourselves. However, your contract for the carriage of items remains between you and Interparcel, we manage all aspects of the interaction with the Carrier on your behalf (including, for example, the placing of the order itself and any service complaints you may have).

I wonder whether there is an argument to be had that by knowing the value of the parcel's contents prior to accepting the order, that is further suggestion that the limitation of £20 compensation is all the more unreasonable. The terms and conditions are silent on what happens if they paid you compensation for the lost parcel but it was subsequently found, I would imagine that they would do what Royal Mail do and auction the item off, retaining the proceeds having discharged their liability.

As I mentioned above, I think you need to be tailoring your letter around the limitation of liability being an unfair contract term if you want to have any chance of recovering more than the £20 cap. What is the market value of the mobile phone, is it significant?

Of course you should be aware that any argument of an unfair contract term is decided by the court so there is no guarantee that you would be successful.

[Darren104]

It it a waste of time sending this uploaded letter to Hermes or is it worth a punt. The Mobile phone is worth at least £200. I did not take out the optional transit cover but paid the extra for it to be signed for, never thought for a minute it would be lost or stolen at the Hermes Rugby sorting Hub.

[R0b]

As I said above, you ha e no contract with Hermes, the contract is with Interparcel. It is likely that Interparcel have an account with Hermes which they make use of to provide that service to you and then apply a margin on top of their own incurred costs.

I would say that your proposed letter isn't that bad but could be improved to make it more succinct. You've also omitted from the letter the contents of parcel as well as its value - presumably you have evidence of its value?

Can I ask what is the purpose of the letter? Is it intended as a letter before action or is it simply a chase up? I'm not sure why you are trying to argue with them that it's not lost rather its located somewhere in their hub. They've admitted that they would deem the parcel as lost so what more do you want?

Also, it is irrelevant that Interparcel didnt have a refund policy in place with Hermes, that's really not your problem its theirs.you contracted with Interparcel to deliver the parcel and so responsibility lies at their doorstep.

[Darren104]

Yes i know how much its worth and what it was sold for on ebay. The purpose of the letter is to give them 14 days notice, from the date of the letter, to find and return my mobile phone, issue me with a new replacement or give me the full value of its worth in compensation plus the full refund of the Courier service costs. and if they choose to ignore my request and fail to issue me with a satisfactory response, I will have no alternative but to purse the matter through the small claims court, which will incur you further costs and interest.

Obviously the letter now has to be amended for the purpose of sending it to Interparcel rather than Hermes.

[Darren104]

Here is a letter i have sent to interparcel. All help and advice appreciated thank you in advance. INTERPACEL LEGALBEAGLE.docx

[Darren104]

Thought i would update my post for you guys in case you encounter a similar issue. . Despite letters and my offer of mediation Interparcel ignored me. I submitted a money online claim just before Christmas. The claim was for for a brand new mobile phone plus court costs, admin time, sleepless nights, postage expenses and the 8% interest on line against Interparcel as the contract was with them, Hermes was their client.
The claim was because they breached the Consumer Rights Act 2015, failing to take care of my goods with reasonable care and skill and they openly admitted the parcel had been lost. They did not respond or put up a defence, so i have now requested a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against them. The court will contact me in 14 days.

[ITCSUK]

Thought i would update my post for you guys in case you encounter a similar issue. . Despite letters and my offer of mediation Interparcel ignored me. I submitted a money online claim just before Christmas. The claim was for for a brand new mobile phone plus court costs, admin time, sleepless nights, postage expenses and the 8% interest on line against Interparcel as the contract was with them, Hermes was their client.
The claim was because they breached the Consumer Rights Act 2015, failing to take care of my goods with reasonable care and skill and they openly admitted the parcel had been lost. They did not respond or put up a defence, so i have now requested a County Court Judgment (CCJ) against them. The court will contact me in 14 days.

Hi did you get anywhere with this? Im most interested as I have the same thing albeit with Parcels2go, Hermes lost parcel. I to don't believe that i should carry the burden of taking out Insurance because of neglect on their part and not fulfilling the contract. Did the claim come to anything?