Hermes have lost my guitar- Need advice please. Any lawyers here?

Hurling_Fruitmig

Hermes must have the mother of all warehouses given the sheer quantity of stuff that arrives there but never leaves. Either that or it’s built on some sort of tear in the space time continuum.

Dominic

It will turn up
but they are second only to a shower called UK Mail in being the worst possible choice

Danny1969

Hermes isn't really a courier company ... it's basically a network of housewife's delivering kit between school runs. Legally I don't think they are responsible for your loss although they should be . 
But as others have said it's early days for normal Hermes , let alone Hermes in these times. DPA sent the singer in my band a mic to try  (£650 ) she tried it and returned it via Hermes. For 2 weeks it was missing and looked like she would have to pay for it .. (minus their standard £20 cover) but it did turn up and all ended well 

CMW335

I had the exact same issue but with a 1960 telecaster refin I sold so £8k just lost in their system after several email and telephone conversations still no sign. Just over a week goes by and without warning van pulls up outside my house and it’s Hermes retuning the guitar to me... you can imagine the relief!!! I then had to resend it (this time with another courier) and thankfully got to the buyer this time round. Hope you get a similar positive outcome

monquixote

I was chatting to someone the other day who was saying his local bike shop had every single bike sent via Hermes since the lock down buying frenzy "lost" in the post. 

Funny that. 

It's perfectly acceptable for a courier to offer a cheap service in return for not offering any form of cover. 

When I post pedals I usually send first class signed which has £100 of cover. If the item is worth a bit more I have to think about if I want to stump up for special D to get the extra £500 quid cover.
Often I don't bother, but if it gets lost then it would be fruitless to say "you lost my £500 pedal. I want all my money back" because that was not the terms and conditions of the transaction. 

FelineGuitars

Sorry to hear of your troubles . I would never use Hermes or Yodel for anything I care about.

skunkwerx

Hermes delivered me a cheap £6 ring and a pack of socks first thing this morning.. Ordered it last night lol.. 

Considering its London, and the Rona times,  none of my orders have been delayed by the couriers I’ve used thus far, mainly Dpd. 

Though I have an outbound with Apc tomorrow for a fellow fretboarder. 

Its just been delays from the stores getting them out. Weird. 

Chuffola

https://www.ladbible.com/news/uk-hermes-lost-thousands-of-parcels-due-to-machine-misreading-postcodes-20200620?c=1592643454208&fbclid=IwAR2ONdKbjeU_001_I0vpqwBZugcLUDnUVddWYQUYaChP6hcna4WiP_7hSzY

Saw this on facebook

NickB

Small claims court is a remedy. Fire them a message on Twitter and Facebook with the consignment number and sue them for your loss.

sixstringsupplies

As Tony says one week during COVID climate is not long at all and in all likelihood it will turn up in the coming days. I'd give it a few extra days to turn up. They delivered something to me a few weeks ago at 9pm on a bank holiday monday. (5 days late after being sent on a 24 hour service).

However (and I know you don't want to hear it...)

https://www.myhermes.co.uk/help/carry-guide/ it says right there that you send musical instruments at your own risk and they won't compensate you for them. Where that leaves you legally,  I don't know.

 Bit worrying though because if you read that exhaustive list of items on the Hermes website it essentially means if you work for them and are well aware of these rules, you know a guitar is not covered, therefore perfect for an opportunist thief?

I hope it turns up for you/the buyer.

hollywoodrox

I would hesitate to use Hermes even though my local chap is brilliant , I often let him in for others in the building who are out. I usually use UPS for guitars and take out the insurance for the cost of the item or a bit more .

BloodEagle

If you booked it with packlink via eBay get ebay on the phone and explain the situation - I sent a pair of expensive shoes via Hermes via packlink/eBay which went missing - I politely explained to an eBay rep on the phone and they refunded me 

Adey

sixstringsupplies said:

https://www.myhermes.co.uk/help/carry-guide/ it says right there that you send musical instruments at your own risk and they won't compensate you for them. Where that leaves you legally,  I don't know.

If it doesn't turn up and they don't want to reimburse you then it may be worth investing the relatively small amount to do a small claims court action, where the judge may well tell them that that is an "unfair contract term"

If I were a philosopher I might well wonder if this was Schodingers Guitar.... You just don't know until it has been lost....

Having said all that, it'll probably turn up in a while..

Parker

I’ll be honest - I haven’t read all the responses to your thread. But I have lots of experience in this. I have always managed to get paid out on losses - even when everyone says I don’t have a leg to stand on. The main thing is to be persistent. I always argue that the contract is for them to take my item from A to B. If they fail to do so, then they’ve broken that contract. Just keep banging that drum and get on to social media. Eventually (May take a few weeks) they will concede (May need a couple of threats to Small Claims too.

lukedlb

Hermes from the uk to Italy always, no matter what they say, take two weeks to get here. Give it time. 

JezWynd

monquixote said:

I was chatting to someone the other day who was saying his local bike shop had every single bike sent via Hermes since the lock down buying frenzy "lost" in the post. 

Funny that. 

It's perfectly acceptable for a courier to offer a cheap service in return for not offering any form of cover. 

When I post pedals I usually send first class signed which has £100 of cover. If the item is worth a bit more I have to think about if I want to stump up for special D to get the extra £500 quid cover.
Often I don't bother, but if it gets lost then it would be fruitless to say "you lost my £500 pedal. I want all my money back" because that was not the terms and conditions of the transaction. 

1st Class Signed For gives you £50 of cover. I almost always use this service no matter what the value for small items. (touch wood) Never lost an item so far.

As others have said, don't despair, it is very likely to turn up.

Hullboy

Parker said:

I’ll be honest - I haven’t read all the responses to your thread. But I have lots of experience in this. I have always managed to get paid out on losses - even when everyone says I don’t have a leg to stand on. The main thing is to be persistent. I always argue that the contract is for them to take my item from A to B. If they fail to do so, then they’ve broken that contract. Just keep banging that drum and get on to social media. Eventually (May take a few weeks) they will concede (May need a couple of threats to Small Claims too.

Thanks. Yes I’m considering lodging a money claim through small claims court. The item was sold on eBay and I used their book a courier service, Packlink, to book a delivery with Hermes. All Hermes are doing is passing the buck onto Packlink. How long should I keep pestering them before I threaten to take them to court? Packlink have lodged an investigation but they’ve said to give them 30 days. 

Adey

If you want to take someone to court, but aren't really sure who to sue for money, take all parties to court. You can name more than one party. If no-one decides they want to try and settle before court, then the judge will decide who is liable. It doesn't cost much if you have a fair wedge invested...

sev112

Parker said:

I’ll be honest - I haven’t read all the responses to your thread. But I have lots of experience in this. I have always managed to get paid out on losses - even when everyone says I don’t have a leg to stand on. The main thing is to be persistent. I always argue that the contract is for them to take my item from A to B. If they fail to do so, then they’ve broken that contract. Just keep banging that drum and get on to social media. Eventually (May take a few weeks) they will concede (May need a couple of threats to Small Claims too.

This.^
Wait a bit longer.  

Then tell them you are going to small claims court, for breach of contract, which was to safely deliver your guitar to the aged location. 

at the same time, and as part of the same claim, make a parallel claim under tort.  If they try to say they have small print in your contract, they still have a professional duty of care, which they have breached and you have suffered loss - the 3 required component parts of a successful tort claim.

then, if relevant, make noises about potential mis-selling of insurance products, if relevant in your case.

was a very successful strategy for me recently.  After a months worth of faff emails back and forth, I gave them a weeks notice of going to court, and then had full value recompense within 1 hour. 

danny_777

Alegree said:

Adey said:

They can't say "we are allowed to lose your parcel without compensating you because it's a musical instrument".

If your parcel doesn't turn up (and it probably will) I dont think saying "we don't compensate people if we lose their guitar" holds any water...

Yes they can, it's an contractually binding exemption clause. All their liable for is their failure of service, not consequential losses. Unfair? Very. Legal? Sadly so. 

That's not consequential loss. Consequential loss would be, for example, if you lost income from being unable to perform a gig, or complete an onward sale, because the guitar did not arrive. I.e. the further losses were a CONSEQUENCE of Hermes' loss. It is remote, and usually excluded. This sort of loss most often arises where parts or tools are delayed, or sales are screwed up through, for example, cargoes being lost at sea. You can claim for the value of the cargo, but not additional losses you've suffered.

Loss of the actual package is direct loss.

If you want the actual law on this google some discussion of Hadley v Baxendale [1854] EWHC .