Rights over lost delivery?

[Tangled Metal]

Am I right in thinking my contract with the retailer is only fulfilled when I have the goods not when their courier has delivered it to someone other than me?

Basically after giving them a chance to track parcel b down to a neighbour and I retrieve it (preferred option) I can ask for a replacement or refund?

I need the replacement since it's for a holiday straight after Xmas so I can't wait 30 days if that's the procedure.

So can anyone confirm or deny whether I can insist on a replacement if not resolved after a few days?

[NUKe]

You are right until its delivered the argument is between the courier and the supplier, However you will need time for them to try and find it.
A solution to your requirement for something before your holiday would be to order again. And return which ever turns up second.
You don’t say who the company is? I have found with the big Cycle retailers and yes I think they have all lost something at some point, they have replaced stuff very quickly. The smaller ones never seem to suffer the same fate.

[pwa]

I once had a £169 saddle mis-delivered to a neighbour's house. As in, left on their doorstep even though they had gone to their Spanish villa for a few months. The courier had apparently had me sign for it! Which was news to me.

[mercalia]

I once had a £169 saddle mis-delivered to a neighbour's house. As in, left on their doorstep even though they had gone to their Spanish villa for a few months. The courier had apparently had me sign for it! Which was news to me.

the courier signing for you is quite common, even if they deliver to your hands! I think they do it to save time, as those poor so and sos have a hectic schdule and are often monitored ( some couriers you can track on the web how many stops and where they are at any moment)

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Couriers take pictures nowadays, good retailer will send replacement pronto if they want to deal with you in the future.

As far as the law is concerned, I would hazard a guess that undelivered to you means just that you never saw it so its undelivered.

Even signed for RM have started to leave parcels with no sig.
I accept them in my porch, that's pretty secure as if taken would be theft from a property, not likely.

Yes the retailer is liable (just checked) delivered to you, we are fobbed off by the courier etc .....................see your parcel man.........NO!

Contact retailer, if you paid for delivery time and you do not have it on time they will have to compensate too.

https://www.moneywise.co.uk/scams-rip-o ... go-missing

"Under the Consumer Rights Act, when you buy goods from an online retailer, they are responsible for the goods until you receive them. So if the courier loses the goods you ordered or they are damaged, the retailer is responsible for putting things right, not the courier."

Your contract with who.......the retailer....

[Tangled Metal]

It's non - cycling kit (ski jacket for a post Xmas holiday so time dependent). Should have been delivered yesterday but they delivered it somewhere Saturday when I was with a load of screaming kids and their parents at a kids birthday party. Cant be in two places at once to accept and sign for the parcel as DPD app says.

They deliver parcels and get a squiggle on their handheld unit but you can't see the name of signee so they put the name on the package as signatory. I really dislike that system.

I've got less than two weeks until Xmas then I've got problems. Norway at - 10°C without a ski jacket!

Basically can I insist they get a replacement to me? How long is reasonable to wait?

Timeline is they delivered on a Saturday which is down to them because due delivery was Monday. One hour after supposed delivery I called DPD and registered an issue with not receiving it. I got a claim number in an email within one hour of that. Then Monday I called the retailer having decided I didn't want to hang on the phone eating up my call allowance. Plus my contract is with retailer not DPD. The retailer contacted DPD who are still investigating so emailed me with that information. I'm planning on replying to the email or to b call them again today.

Do you think it is reasonable to ask them to send a replacement to reach me by the end of the week if they don't get an answer today?

[thirdcrank]

You are right until its delivered the argument is between the courier and the supplier, However you will need time for them to try and find it.
A solution to your requirement for something before your holiday would be to order again. And return which ever turns up second.
You don’t say who the company is? I have found with the big Cycle retailers and yes I think they have all lost something at some point, they have replaced stuff very quickly. The smaller ones never seem to suffer the same fate.

I think that the re-order is the best practical solution. I think the legal position is here:

29 Passing of risk
(1) A sales contract is to be treated as including the following provisions as terms.
(2) The goods remain at the trader’s risk until they come into the physical possession of—
(a) the consumer, or
(b) a person identified by the consumer to take possession of the goods.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/201 ... 29/enacted

I take that to mean that ulimately, you are entitled to the goods or your money back unless they deliver them to you personally or your own nominated representative. That could take a while to sort out and it's not unreasonable that it might. Buying a replacement sorts out your immediate need without compromising your rights over the missing delivery.

[mjr]

Basically can I insist they get a replacement to me? How long is reasonable to wait?

It depends what the terms were when you bought it.

In your place, I'd probably be cancelling the order and making plans to visit a real shop in a nearby city that holds stock in my size.

[backnotes]

I can't tell from this in the OP - "giving them a chance to track parcel b down to a neighbour and I retrieve it" if you know from the courier that the parcel was left with a neighbour, but just don't know which one?

One possibility is not a physical neighbour, but a keyboard neighbour. I recently had an eBay parcel that was delivered to the same number house in a nearby postcode that ended in K rather than L - they seemed to use "number + postcode" to uniquely identify the address, and someone had mis-keyed the postcode so it went to the right number house in the wrong (nearby) road.

Hope it turns up.

[Tangled Metal]

I put the claim in with DPD straight after getting the email saying the parcel d delivered. The retailer has taken over dealing with DPD through their procedures which put a 3-5 day investigation timescale. At the latest that's Friday.

So by Friday the retailer will know what the courier has found out. This could be that they've located the parcel or they haven't.

If the parcel is located they'll try to collect it and deliver it to me at the correct address. If they are unable to collect it then the same action happens as if they couldn't locate it.

If they can't locate and collect the parcel the courier authorises the retailer to put in a claim for the costs. The retailer then sends it a replacement item to me. I have asked them to place it to one side.

This item is a well specified ski jacket that's half the price of similar specified ski jackets twice the price. It has been sold direct from the brand and retailers. However it has been selling fast and the brand shop only has small left. Other retailers are selling out too. I know only of one other retailer operating under a retail name that's got stock but the others with stock are on ebay with a name like Nick2018 or similar.

So basically I'm either stuck in the system, having to buy a second then refund the first after the holiday or buy from the other retailer for £10 more and refund after Friday.

I think I'll take a chance on sticking with this retailer. I'll either get the original package or a new package sent out Friday. If that goes wrong I'm looking at wearing my normal outdoors jackets and sort it all out in the new year.

Whatever happens it's one more thing to worry about before Xmas and our holiday. I've got a very busy time of it as it is without chasing retailers. I do think the law is on my side it's just time that isn't.

Thanks for your advice everyone.

[Tangled Metal]

I can't tell from this in the OP - "giving them a chance to track parcel b down to a neighbour and I retrieve it" if you know from the courier that the parcel was left with a neighbour, but just don't know which one?

One possibility is not a physical neighbour, but a keyboard neighbour. I recently had an eBay parcel that was delivered to the same number house in a nearby postcode that ended in K rather than L - they seemed to use "number + postcode" to uniquely identify the address, and someone had mis-keyed the postcode so it went to the right number house in the wrong (nearby) road.

Hope it turns up.

When I reported it to DPD (I shouldn't have but it was Saturday and I wanted to get the ball rolling) the lady on the phone checked the GPS to see if the driver was in the right area. He was right at the location, my general area / street. The order acknowledgement has my correct address. So they know the driver was on my street and could have made the delivery if I'd been in.

The delivery was scheduled for Monday anyway and their app and website both said that they're trying to n delivery Saturday because their driver is in the area but don't worry if you're not in they'll deliver Monday if not.

When you get notified that DPD has the parcel you get the option to change the delivery options. One option is to change delivery to a neighbour but you have to specify the house number. I chose not to do that which means there is no acceptable representative except someone at my delivery address. So that means the contract hasn't been met. If I had nominated a neighbour then it could have been met. That's not relevant.

So basically they have been to my house but I wasn't in (my son's birthday party at another venue). That should have meant the parcel goes back to depot but they obviously tried a few doors and left it with someone. As often in the modern age I don't know my neighbours well enough to try knocking on doors asking if they've got my parcel. However the three households most likely to be in have taken parcels in for me in the past. All three of them have knocked on my door with it before I had the chance to go and get it. In all part cases a note had been put through my door. No note, no neighbour knocking on my door. I cannot go around asking for my parcel unless I find out where it has been delivered. Even then they could just say it hadn't been delivered.

The signature on their system will be the squiggle because you can not write your signature on a handheld's little touchscreen. The driver has not recorded the name of the signatory if there was even one. They just put my name as the signatory which n they got from the address label.

[mjr]

I cannot go around asking for my parcel unless I find out where it has been delivered. Even then they could just say it hadn't been delivered.

If it's important to you, why the heck not go around asking? Maybe take the chance to deliver the greetings cards, too. They could say it's not been delivered but that seems unlikely unless you live in Fraudville.

But I suspect they've delivered it to another postcode or something similarly daft. Might have been a great price but is this worth it? We can say as much as we like that this stuff shouldn't happen, but it often does.

[thirdcrank]

Have you checked obvious "safe" places around your house? It sounds as though the courier has definitely been there, and if they had left it with a neighbour, I'd have assumed they'd have left a card for you saying which one.

(I'd make a difference here between the legal niceties and the main objective which is locating your parcel.)

[Cunobelin]

I once had a £169 saddle mis-delivered to a neighbour's house. As in, left on their doorstep even though they had gone to their Spanish villa for a few months. The courier had apparently had me sign for it! Which was news to me.

Similar.... I signed for a parcel that was never delivered, they even had my "signature" on their little electric machine.. ..... shame I was at work with a number of witnesses at the time. Took a couple of weeks to get my refund though.

T'other was Amazon. They occasionally allow you to track the vehicle. So occasionally looked at progress as it left Southampton and trundled round Portsmouth then my email bleeped to tell me that they had just attempted delivery and I was not there, so would have to collect it from their depot.... now I have heard of parcels being thrown over fences, but throwing it 5 miles across the Harbour is a little excessive

Quick screenshot and cancellation citing their dishonesty .... immediate refund

[Tangled Metal]

Two points, one it's not really the type of neighbourhood where people give greeting cards or have much to do with each other. TBH the only contact is a nod of passing on the street and to collect or have over parcels we've taken in for others. I've never lost a parcel that's been given to a neighbour before. I've collected it because there's a card telling me who got it or the neighbour brings it over. If they delivered it to a neighbour that was in I would have it.

There was no note telling me it was given to a neighbour. If that was what they did then you have to question why no note?

The nearest neighbours bring parcels round. Once or twice couriers dropped parcels with some house further down the street. I got a note both times. One brought it to us the other case I knocked on the door. Both cases a note was left.

So as I see it, if the courier delivered to a neighbour it was not agreed or requested so not my issue because it hasn't been delivered according to my contract with the retailer.

If the courier did deliver to a neighbour surely procedures are to leave a note telling me who has it.

DPD has a system where once the parcel is in their hands they inform the recipient who has the option of changing the delivery. Either neighbour (you have to select a house number, it's not whoever is there), safe place or drop off place like Halfords. They don't do random changes to delivery like others do. Or at least that's been my recent experience of them. They used to I think.

Whatever the situation DPD has not made a delivery as I arranged with the retailer. I did not modify the delivery to me and did not agree delivery anywhere else. It is up to DPD to sort out and the retailer to keep me informed.

You're right that the goal is to have a suitable jacket for a ski holiday. To that end I have been assured that Friday is the latest that DPD will take to investigate and make a decision what to do. 3-5 days from Saturday when they were informed of the issue. The retailer will get informed to claim the cost of the lost delivery Friday at the latest. If this happens they have put one replacement jacket to the side in case. It'll be with me Tuesday at the latest (which is the best day for deliveries in our house).

As part of their investigations the courier is trying to trace and collect the package apparently to deliver it on to me. If that happens it means I'll have the parcel before Friday. Even better. I don't hold out for that.

If I don't get told when I'll get a ski jacket on Friday I'll buy one elsewhere then get a refund from the retailer.

I don't think I'll have any issue with that. If they later track and deliver the jacket I can return it for refund.