Parcel shop loses parcel, their terms limit any loss to £100
Discussion
somejohn said:
They are absolutely right in that their terms and conditions do limit them to £100, an I've no doubt I agreed to that when taking up an account with them.
There y'go, then.somejohn said:
The problem is, the missing parcel contents was worth really rather a lot more than that (nearly double), and they know this.
That's the risk you accepted when you got a higher-value parcel sent to them, despite that lower claim limit.It's exactly the same as the risk you take when you post something worth more than the default claim limit, without taking extra insurance.
somejohn said:
What follows is several returns to be told that they still couldn't find it, and an investigation by their head office which cumulated today in an email:
They don't agree to settle unless that was your demand, they are offering to settle for that amount.their customer service said:
We can now confirm that we agree to settle your claim for £100.00 as this is the maximum liability listed in our Terms and Conditions for lost or damaged parcels.
You don't have to accept that offer, commercial terms do not limit your statutory rights and there is consumer protection against unfair contract terms.
What is your loss? If it is significantly higher then it is worth pushing back. Providing you've already provided evidence of the value/loss. Then the next step would be to send them a letter before action rejecting their offer and demanding the full value. If the total loss is less than what it would cost them to defend you should be successful. If not, the total loss is much hight then take professional advice on unfair contracts.
4x4Tyke said:
kiethton said:
Don't know how it would work but how did you pay for the item, if by Credit Card you may be able to issue a chargeback, a bit s
tty for the retailer you bought it from though I'll concede.
A very bad idea in this situation.tty for the retailer you bought it from though I'll concede.kiethton said:
4x4Tyke said:
kiethton said:
Don't know how it would work but how did you pay for the item, if by Credit Card you may be able to issue a chargeback, a bit stty for the retailer you bought it from though I'll concede.
A very bad idea in this situation.tty for the retailer you bought it from though I'll concede.I think you're stuffed. There's an outside chance that if you escalated this to your CC company, you might get a refund from them. That may also depend on whether your CC has any fringe insurance benefits* that are designed to make you use your card more often.
* above and beyond the normal CC protections
* above and beyond the normal CC protections
You're into the realms of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and whether any exclusion or limitation of liability by the parcel shop is reasonable or not. There's all manner of case law on that - the starting point is the list of factors in the schedule to the Act - but each tends to be so fact-specific that there's a limit to what you can extrapolate from them.
Unless there's a very significant difference between the value of the parcel and the £100 limit of liability that the parcel shop is purporting to rely on, it's unlikely to be worth fighting over unless you're willing to do the donkey work yourself and pursue a county court claim. Anything sub-£10K is presumed to be a "small claim", the relevance of which is that you can't generally recover any solicitors' costs, even if the claim succeeds.
You could always try checking whether you have legal expenses cover which might respond.
Unless there's a very significant difference between the value of the parcel and the £100 limit of liability that the parcel shop is purporting to rely on, it's unlikely to be worth fighting over unless you're willing to do the donkey work yourself and pursue a county court claim. Anything sub-£10K is presumed to be a "small claim", the relevance of which is that you can't generally recover any solicitors' costs, even if the claim succeeds.
You could always try checking whether you have legal expenses cover which might respond.
Lurking Lawyer said:
You're into the realms of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and whether any exclusion or limitation of liability by the parcel shop is reasonable or not. There's all manner of case law on that - the starting point is the list of factors in the schedule to the Act - but each tends to be so fact-specific that there's a limit to what you can extrapolate from them.
First thought was that limiting liability for deliveries in this way is very common, but this was a different, custodial situation. It would depend on the case law, I would imagine, and possibly whether the limitation had been sufficiently brought to the consumer's attention. But it all comes down to the money: £100 offered, < £200 loss, small claims claim fee £35 (refundable if successful), other expenses (possibly not refundable)... Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff