PAYMENT DISPUTES

I sent a parcel that’s been damaged or lost. What can I do?

The rules are slightly different when you use a courier, as your contract is with the courier firm and it’s their responsibility to deliver the goods safely into the possession of the recipient. You may be able to get compensation from the courier, but it’s not guaranteed.

S49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that a service is to be performed with reasonable care and skill. This means if the goods go missing, or the courier has not followed the delivery instructions, the courier firm needs to find the missing parcel. Everything is tracked with courier firms, so the onus is on them to resolve it and find the missing parcel if it does not come into the physical possession of the recipient.

The way each courier handles missing parcels varies. In each case, you will need to contact the company and fill out a claims form. You can open claim forms through the courier’s website or through the customer service team. Sadly, you may be faced with a chatbot on the website.

However, you should be aware that each firm has a timeframe for when you can report a claim, so you should do it as soon as you can – ideally within 24 hours of the expected delivery date of the parcel.

To get any compensation from a firm, you will need proof of posting. This could be a receipt or certificate of posting if the parcel was sent at the Post Office, or a confirmation email or receipt from a parcel company.

If you receive the item back and it is damaged, you can use the packaging with the postmark on it. You will also need to know:

• The name and address of the sender and recipient
• The amount paid to send it
• Where and when the item was sent
• Any reference number or barcode number
• Parcel contents

If you are claiming for damage or loss, you will also need to provide a description of the packaging and condition of the item, so take photos if you can. If your present was valuable, you will need to provide proof of value such as a receipt, bank statement, repair quotes or PayPal records.

If the item was just put in a post box and lost in the post, you won’t usually have proof of posting – this means you can’t get compensation.

Even with all this, you are still not guaranteed compensation. When it comes to couriers, the best thing you should do is pay for insurance for the parcel to cover the value of the item. If you have insurance, you will be able to recoup your losses, but if you don’t, you may be in for a battle.

Royal Mail offers compensation on lost or damaged parcels, and how much you get depends on the postage service you use. For both first and second class – along with signed for parcels – it can be up to £20. For special delivery guaranteed by 1pm you could get up to £750, and for special delivery guaranteed by 9am, it is up to £50.

I have returned goods to a retailer by courier and it’s been lost. Nobody will take any responsibility. What can I do?

This is a common problem, particularly with high-value goods such as trainers and mobile phones with retailers and courier firms passing the buck. A retailer will usually provide a returns label or a website link to their returns policy and engage a courier firm for returns.

Under The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (usually referred to as The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013), you have a 14-day cooling-off period to change your mind, 14 days on receipt to notify the retailer and another 14 days on top to return. This applies to goods that are not bespoke such as trainers.

A retailer will usually give instructions for you to return goods. A policy often used is to generate a return label, drop it off at a service point in a convenience store where it’s scanned in and you may or may not get a receipt.

Convenience stores often say you will get a receipt by email but this isn’t always the case, leaving you high and dry if the goods go missing in transit so don’t rely on it. I recommend you always follow the policy courier firms use when they deliver goods to you, and take a photo of the goods at the point of handover and insist on a receipt. This is your proof if you need to dispute lost goods in transit.

S49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including a term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill. The retailer will push back in these cases when goods are lost in transit saying it’s not their fault and the responsibility lies with the courier, which is blatantly untrue. They engaged the courier firm to safely return the goods and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies. You need to push hard on this and cite ‘breach of contract’ under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to get a full refund, as first and second attempts are often flatly rejected.

If you hit a brick wall, simply raise a chargeback with your bank or credit card provider and cite ‘breach of contract’ under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 to dispute the transaction. You need to push hard on chargebacks as they are also often rejected on the first attempt.

I paid an additional charge for a time-specific delivery which arrived late. What are my rights?

We often order goods online with a time-specific delivery for birthdays and Christmas presents and put our faith in firms and couriers to deliver on time and if you regularly do your supermarket shop online, you will have had a delivery turn up late at least once. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but when it does it can be frustrating – particularly if you end up having to wait around for hours.

However, did you know you can get some money back if your delivery is late? If you have paid for ‘special delivery’ of if your order arrives ‘later than agreed’, you can claim back the delivery costs as the service wasn’t delivered.

S49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 states, “Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including a term that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill.”

A late delivery is considered a ‘breach of contract’ under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 as you paid for a time-specific delivery as part of the contract you entered into. You can request a refund of the delivery charge as the time-specific part of the contract constitutes a breach and has not been fulfilled.

If this happens to you, I recommend you contact the customer service team to request a refund. Be nice about it as you are more likely to elicit a better outcome that way given the value involved. This will likely be a gift voucher or a credit note as a goodwill gesture.

I paid for a service that was then not provided. What are my rights?

This will affect us all at some point in our lives, and many traders are becoming more militant on these disputes. I am inclined to think the reasons for this is increased fraud and retailers using tried and tested responses to fob consumers off to save money.

When we pay for a service, we rightly expect to get what we pay for – whether it’s buying a watch or paying for vet services. These disputes can be tricky to resolve, particularly with vets when they say they administered a drug to your pet and you insist they didn’t. Vets know we are a nation of pet lovers, and unscrupulous vets will take advantage of our emotional attachment to our beloved pets who are a part of our family.

Record keeping is crucial for consumers and traders, with disputed bills often being passed to debt collectors risking a County Court Judgement (CCJ) for non-payment. So, if you are in dispute with a vet, you can submit a Data Subject Access Request to retrieve all records and look at the Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons [add link to Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons – Professionals 

You can find a standard Data Subject Access Request template online.

The RCVS regulates veterinary surgeons in accordance with the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 to protect the public interest and to safeguard animal health and welfare. Paragraph 2.5 within the Code of Professional Conduct states, “Veterinary surgeons must keep clear, accurate and detailed clinical and client records.”

This puts the ball in the vet’s court to prove they did what they said they did. If they can’t prove it, you can cite ‘breach of contract’ under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and say you paid for a service that was not carried out with due care and skill.

Don’t be afraid to stand your ground on these disputes if you think you have been unfairly charged and follow the complaints process. If you reach an impasse, you can report the vet to the RCVS and Trading Standards to investigate the practice. Even the threat of doing so may elicit a swift response to close the case in your favour, as a vet will not want to risk adverse media and a potential risk to their livelihood.