AIBU to think £100 comp is not enough after courier damaged my mirror?

[Elizabella]

I bought a mirror from Laura Ashley in a private sale last month.I paid £200but becauseI didn't have a car available, I contracted AnyVan to pick my mirror up for £67 incl basic insurance.I left specific instructions on the booking about the mirror being unwrapped, fragile and needing careful handling. I booked the driver after reading his profile that said he had good ratings and blankets/strapping for furniture.I asked the seller to remind the driver to wrap the mirror etc which she did.

When it arrived at home, the driver set it down and drove off.I was very concerned as it is a large and heavy mirror and he brought it in carrying it one handed under his arm with no especial care and no evidence of wrapping.. I noticed a corner had been damaged with bits missing.I immediately texted the driver to ask him to stop and check the back of his van for any bits of the mirror. he came back with only one bit saying he could superglue it (impossible as it is a gilt mirror and bits of the corner are still missing) then he asked me not to make a claim then stood looking at me like a kicked spaniel to try to get sympathy.

I reported it toAnyVan with photos, receipt, testimony ofthesellerand they have said:

AnyVan acts as an agent within the booking which means we must mediate with the Transport Provider in an attempt to resolve the claim. Upon speaking to the Transport Provider and reviewing the evidence that has been provided, we would like to offer you a settlement of £100 to resolve the claim. This refund is in line with the terms and conditions for the basic compensation cover included in your booking and is stipulated within section 9.2(b) of the terms and conditions sent to you at the point of booking;

9.2 Basic Compensation Cover is included in the Price. This provides:
b.cover for up to a limit of £100 per individual item.

I wrote back and said that the mirror cost £200, the transportation was £67 and £100is not enough to either purchase another or to pay fo ra repair with transportation costs. AlsoLA are no longer trading so I could only get another from ebay and they go for £200+ WITHOUT the cost of transporting. Also quoted the bit of consumer law about reasonable care being taken when it clearly wasn't.

They came back and said they understand my points BUT "Upon placing the booking, you are offered the option to purchase additional comprehensive insurance cover, however, as the basic compensation cover was opted for, this would be the maximum offer we would be able to make.

Should you wish to accept the refund of £100 as the full and final settlement to the claim, please respond to this email with the following details and I shall refund this to you with the 3-5 days;'

AIBU to expect them to either bear the cost of repair or give mea proper refund? What would you do? Anyone know anything about consumer protection law in cases like these?

@Elizabella

Ohtherewearethen- yes, I do believe he was negligent and careless and did not take the precautions that he claimed he provided. It is about damage liability and negligence in provision of the service not insurance amount.

It’s a basic delivery service. You wanted someone to package your item for transport as well as deliver.

Fundamentally you didn’t do this the right way round.

I expect you could argue legalities but you shouldn’t.

If the seller wasn’t arranging transport or packaging that’s precisely because they didn’t want the responsibility of it arriving damaged. You passed that responsibility onto a driver for the full cost of £67 and didn’t pay for extra insurance.

It was a silly mistake and now you’re out of pocket.

As I said earlier, the driver described himself as experienced and 'fully equipped' which according toAnyVan's CS description means 'all goods will be blanket wrapped, strapped and protected to a sufficient standard for them to be transported safely' and there was NO evidence of any of this.

Surely you can see that blanket wrap wasn’t sufficient for such an item and you should have ensured it was properly protected?

i assumed that by blanket wrapped (and the courier knew what the item was when he accepted the job incl description/weight/height etc) that he would have sufficient materials to ensure that this didn't happen. Personally, I think that he damaged it when he was getting out of the van as he pivoted it on one corner which is where the damage occurred.

AND his quote wasn't the cheapest either.i accepted t because of his supposed recommendations, self-advertised 'expertise' and assumed that I would be dealing with a professional when what I got turned out to be an Eastern European 'man with a van'

But if you have ensured it was properly protected then it might not have been damaged. A blanket will do nothing to protect a delicate item.

You won’t accept that you have any fault in this, will you?

The damage is all on one corner where he bumped it down and pivoted it on its corner.

Did you get terms for the packing in writing?

^3.4 Additional Services
a. The Partners may supply additional services (which must be booked through AnyVan) which include but are not limited to; Comprehensive Insurance Cover (see clause 9), packing, disassembly and reassembly of goods, storage and enclosed transportation for vehicles. If you require additional services, these must be booked in accordance with these Terms (as set out in clause 3).^

When you wrote in your instructions:

This is the instruction I gave 'The mirror is unwrapped and has delicate mouldings on it. It is currently unwrapped. Please can you ensure that it is very well wrapped and strapped. I have photos of its condition currently. It is a baroque style so needs gentle handling. Thank you.'.

• what did the driver/AnyVan specifically agree to do in wrapping it?

Basically you’ve got no evidence the mirror wasn’t “blanket wrapped, strapped and protected” in the back of the van. He delivered it unwrapped - but that’s not to say it wasn’t wrapped in the van. The seller reminded him to wrap it - and perhaps he did. He’ll say he did, anyway.

If you knew it was delicate, you needed to make sure you’d signed up for and paid for the service you wanted.

Why should I? I paid for a service with a full description and instructions on the item upfront. I assumed that the person doing the job would be professional and that turned out to be not the case. My mistake was booking a. job with AnyVan as I have since found out that there are literally thousands of horror stories about them and their couriers. I acted in good faith and in the insurance it states that if the item is wrapped and subsequently becomes damaged that the company is not liable so wrapping it and it ending up getting broken would have meant that I wouldn't even entitled to basic compensation as it negates it.

I don’t think you need to be an expert to realise you need to wrap a mirror.....if you were happy to send it like that, why should he disagree with you? You knew what he was offering

NoSquirrels, I was in the street as he took it out and I could see that it hadn't been wrapped! The seller also stated that she had not seen him take any extra care or wrap anything despite being asked to by me AND her.

Yes, i knew 'what he was offering' and he didn't provide it!!

So you could see right into the van?

Yes, enough to see the mirror was not wrapped!

And for the last time, the driver should not describe himself as being 'fully equipped' and able to 'fully wrap and strap items so that they are able to be safely transported' if he is incapable of doing so.

So as soon as he drove up and opened the back doors you were there to see exactly what the layout of the van was?

I could see that the mirror was close to the back doors and not deep in the van which is why I was able to see it!

What does t&c part 6.1 k mean?

And yes, I was able to track his van so I could see how close he was to my home, hence waiting outside with the front door and front gate opened so that he could just carry it straight through.

So what did you say to him when he struck it off the door?

he didn't hit it on the door

I don’t think OP is going to admit this is her fault for not insuring the mirror properly

She’s just happy to pass the blame and not accept responsibility.

Apologies, so when did you say to him when he put it down? You said that’s when he caused the damage.

It is actually a question about consumer rights in law more than anything. I just want to be able to repair the mirror and not be out of pocket. Even if they paid £200back, it is highly unlikely that I would get another mirror like that for that price as they are no longer manufactured and sell for £200 plus on ebay without transport costs. The one thing that I WILL admit to and advise anyone else against is using AnyVan because a quick search on Google shows them to be an appalling company with shit reviews - something that I was unaware of prior to booking with them. Even people with full comp insurance have had their things trashed and had to fight to get money back from them! Why the hell should I accept blame for damage to an item that I did not cause???

@Elizabella

AND his quote wasn't the cheapest either.i accepted t because of his supposed recommendations, self-advertised 'expertise' and assumed that I would be dealing with a professional when what I got turned out to be an Eastern European 'man with a van'

for £67 you expect more than someone from an Eastern European country. Nice.