Complaint over missing parcel

[Namechanged4obviousreasons]

Hi,

I wondered if someone could advise if this is right. I ordered a Christmas present and was told delivery would be 3-5 days, when I’d be home. It turned up after 24 hours whilst I was at work. I arrived home to find no parcel and after complaining to the seller, they opened an investigation. I’ve waited several weeks for a response which is that the delivery company state it was delivered and have a photo of it left outside my house. They claim this is sufficient and my complaint is closed.

The item in question is over £100 so this is a huge amount of money to lose. I live on a massively busy road and in my opinion, leaving it outside was not a safe place. I’ve escalated to a manager as a formal complaint and they claim it was safe as it wouldn’t have been immediately in view of the road as it was partly tucked behind a wall. This does not mean that my parcel couldn’t be stolen or that the driver could have photographed it and taken it back. I only have their word on this.

Either way, I’m out of pocket, my son didn’t get his present and I cannot afford to buy it again. The seller says they won’t refund and the delivery company say the same. I can’t understand this as reading the T’s and C’s now (hindsight is a wonderful thing), it does say parcels may be delivered to a safe place but I didn’t ask for this. I just expected delivery when I’d be home and thought as it was over £100, they’d never just leave it. How is this my fault? I never ask for my parcels to be left outside and yet they do this and it’s then my fault if it goes missing.

I purchased through PayPal and have raised a dispute but then read that as they have a tracking link, it will automatically be found in favour of the seller. I’m so upset. We can’t buy things on the high street as shops have closed and now we’re not safe to buy online either. This just feels totally wrong.

Thank you @prh47bridge I will quote this to them. I’ve had a reply back from them via my PayPal dispute and it basically says the same as their emails that Consumer Law states their obligation is to deliver and as the courier has a photo of it being dumped outside my house, this is deemed acceptable. They said if I believe it has been stolen, I’m to contact the Police but how does that help me to get a refund or at least a replacement?

To be clear, there was nothing on the website when I ordered that allowed me to have it delivered to a shop or locker to collect. I believed when I ordered that I would have broken up for Christmas and would be home. They delivered next day instead and I was therefore at work. I still didn’t expect they would leave goods worth this amount.

I have tried saying that Consumer Law (from what I’d read) stated that they needed to physically deliver it to me and I hadn’t received it. I also stated that the decision to dump outside was not mine, nor did I have any input on this being a ‘safe place’. It seems I’m just getting a standard reply every time now. I will escalate for PayPal to decide but it seems this will be an automatic decision in favour of the seller as they have tracking details.

Can you say which company?

Well sometimes PayPal might refund you out of their own pocket, ie the funds are sent to you from PayPal directly instead of the transaction being reversed from the retailer’s pocket. It might depend on the value of the item? I remember something like this being in place when I used to sell online years ago, as the seller has proof of the item being shipped which was all PayPal’s policy required at the time.

With my missing parcel, PayPal asked me to sign an affidavit. However the order was around £400 - I wasn’t offered a refund by PayPal, they just said tracking states delivered and case closed. So I went to my bank who sorted it.

@Namechanged4obviousreasons you need to stop engaging with the delivery element as it's not your problem. As far as you are concerned the parcel was not delivered.

Write to the seller along these lines (from the consumer advice website)

"Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you’re responsible for making sure my order is delivered to me at my address or to an agreed alternative safe place. I did not agree to my order being left in an alternative place and I have not received it.”

If you’re asking for redelivery, add:

“I am now setting a deadline for delivery of and ask you to deliver the item within that deadline.”

You’ll need to choose a deadline for redelivery which is appropriate to what you’re ordering.

If you’re asking for a refund, add:

“I expect a full refund without undue delay.”

They have responded again via PayPal to say that their T’s and C’s state that they can deliver to a safe place and as I agreed to that, their obligation to me ends as they’ve done that. Looking at the T’s and C’s, it does seem to say that.

I am going to escalate to PayPal now but not holding out much hope. I will ask my bank as I paid via PayPal using a debit card, but don’t know whether using PayPal in between, means they cannot do anything.

The company is Pro:Direct Soccer and the delivery agent is UPS. I won’t be using either again. In fact, this has put me off from ordering online at all.

Don’t waste your time with the delivery company, PayPal or your bank. @prh47bridge is correct - it is the retailer’s responsibility so they are giving you information that directly contradicts the law in this area. Quote the legislation that @prh47bridge recommended and tell them that otherwise you will take the claim to the small claims court. My DP did this successfully recently with a council pothole claim that hadn’t been paid and it is a very straightforward process. You can reclaim the (small) fee as part of the claim as the PP said.
I hate it when companies try to wriggle out of their responsibilities

T&Cs do not override the law though

This happened to me before Christmas too. The carrier way Royal Mail. There was a photo of my doorstep with no parcel in the photo and no parcel when I got home.

I kept on and on with the company (Nordic Socks) who ignored me until I left a Trust Pilot review.

Then they said they would take it up with Royal Mail and then they ignored me again so I did another trust pilot review.

They then said that it had gone missing after it was delivered and I kept saying OK, but that's. It my fault, I didn't leave it there.

It made it worse that I'd paid for postage!

Anyway, I just kept going really and eventually they resent the item.

I’ve had a few occasions where a nominated safe place is ignored in favour of leaving stuff on the doorstep. It’s not right on the street but still a place that could attract the opportune passer by style thief. My safe place is over rear gate and it’s suitable for most things as they can go either over or under the side/rear gate.

We were in having breakfast one Saturday 2 years ago and did not hear a knock at the door. They left a parcel with trainers in the side passageway. I checked my email about an hour later - parcel photo showed where it had been, it was gone. Phenomenal amount of fuss, disputing where safe place was etc. Could we fill in a form, basically stating we were not lying. The DH is a lawyer and said he thought we had sufficient evidence and did not need to fill in the intrusive form. We told them we wouldn’t. They sent a few reminders, we replied to one with their photo of where they put it and what our instructions were. Next thing we knew they sent us some more trainers.

On another occasion, wine gift was left outside front door. The delivery person had marked it handed to resident, proof of age but the photo just showed it outside house. It was M and S - they sent another consignment.

I hope you can resolve it OP 💕

@Namechanged4obviousreasons - As others have said, their Ts&Cs cannot override the law. In any event, unless I have misunderstood, you didn't specify a safe place. Leaving it outside your house definitely does not count as leaving it in a safe place unless you specifically told them that it was.

Thanks @prh47bridge no, I definitely didn’t specify any safe place. I have copied the information you gave me into the PayPal dispute which has now been escalated for them to deal with. If they don’t find in my favour, I will take it to the Small Claims. I just needed to understand what the law said, to enable me to fight it. I really appreciate your help 😊

Their reviews on THIS SITE are very poor. Other sites give mixed feedback. Seems like customer service is poor.

Honestly OP small claims is really easy. Took me 15 mins to do one and the company caved in and just paid it all including the fee