| With the best will in the world we all know that accidents happen. When you send a parcel through a courier they will of course do their best not to damage parcels whilst in transit but the parcels are man handled in vans and depots and may travel thousands of miles across the world, so it’s inevitable a parcel is going to be dropped or damaged from time to time.
If this does happen to you, firstly contact either the online re-seller or courier directly, depending on how you booked your delivery. A lot of couriers only offer £50 standard compensation for items lost or damaged in transit, so if you are sending valuable items then you will probably want to look for a courier that will offer enhanced compensation. The other alternative is to arrange your own insurance cover for the item/s.
Couriers will not usually accept liability for any loss that is an indirect result of the damage or loss of the parcel . For example they will not make any payments for loss income or personal expenses incurred from the loss so it would usually be fruitless arguing that you had to take a day off work to sort out the loss.
Any compensation payable for loss or damage will be limited to the repair costs of the actual item/s damaged or, if they are lost or damaged beyond repair, their replacement cost, taking account of depreciation for wear and tear. Naturally any compensation will be restricted to any limits that the courier has laid out. VAT paid will be re-imbursed in appropriate cases.
Once you have contacted the Courier directly or the online re-seller, you will be required to fill in a claim form. These can usually be done online but give as much detail as you can on the damage sustained and supply any receipts or photographic evidence that you have to support your claim.
Check the terms and conditions with your courier since they will have restrictions on when and how a claim can be made. For example all claims for compensation through Parcelforce for loss or damage must be received within the following timescales measured from the date of Despatch:
30 days for all UK services
15 days for globalexpress
30 days for irelandexpress and globalpriority
With items covered under the enhanced compensation the Courier may ask an independent agent to replace the item . No courier will accept liability for damage if an item has not been packed using recommended packing material, ie. Bubblewrap, peanut nuggets etc. or if insufficient packaging has been used to protect fragile items.
In summary, enhanced compensation can be extremely worthwhile to cover you if your valuable item is lost or damaged but make sure that you understand the terms and conditions of the compensation scheme. A reputable re-seller such as parcel2ship.co.uk will help you get things sorted if you have any problems but if you have bought directly from the courier then you will need to liaise directly with them and that can be a difficult experience.
Blog urls:
http://uk-couriers.blogspot.com/
http://parcel2shipcouk.wordpress.com/
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For more information about send a parcel follow this website www.parcel2ship.co.uk |
