A small victory for a small man against a megacorp!

[Globalti]

As some of you will have read on here, I Ebayed a bike but TNT wrecked it, causing around £425 worth of damage. I claimed from them and initially they dismissed my claim saying that the buyer had signed for it in good condition.

To cut short quite a long story I stuck to my guns and insisted on meeting their rep, who I left in no doubt (in the politest possible way) about my annoyance. He waffled on about terms and conditions but offered me £125. I told him I felt insulted that TNT thought they could fob me off with such a miserable sum. Today he has upped the offer to £195, which is what they would have compensated me (£15.00 kilo x 13 kilos) if the buyer had signed for the bike as damaged.

Mrs Gti was furious when I turned down the first offer but my retort was: "never accept the first offer!"

Today I feel vindicated and a little less peeved!

 

[Sara_H]

I don't understand. They caused £425 damage, they're paying you £195 and this is good news?

 

[02GF74]

sounds good to me, think of the potential carnage had the TNT exploded.

 

[biggs682]

tnt must be quite explosive when carried in parcels

 

[Globalti]

For TNT couriers to refuse to have anything to do with it then offer £125 then concede £195, I consider a small victory. What you don't know is how hard I had to work to get the miserable SOBs to agree even to pay anything.

 

[classic33]

For TNT couriers to refuse to have anything to do with it then offer £125 then concede £195, I consider a small victory. What you don't know is how hard I had to work to get the miserable SOBs to agree even to pay anything.

I've an idea, they just don't want to have to pay out.

 

[02GF74]

well done - I don't doubt it was harder than squezzing blood from a XTR chainset.

 

[4F]

I don't understand. They caused £425 damage, they're paying you £195 and this is good news?

Unless separate insurance was taken out they have a max limit per kilo. Getting them to accept and pay out when it was signed for without reservations is a major result I would say.

 

[Globalti]

Spot on. The first offer was £125 but you should never accept the first offer. They then moved to a backup plan of offering what they would have paid out if the buyer had signed for the bike as damaged - the Road Haulage Association's standard sum of £15 per kilo x 13 kilos.

Having been in the situation a few times where unhappy customers were seeking compensation from my company I recognised that I probably wouldn't be able to push them beyond that threshold without a hell of a lot more time and effort so I consider the account settled in moral terms at least.

What couriers don't tell you is that when you fill in the despatch note there is a box you can tick to insure the goods. I will do that next time.

 

[Drago]

TNTs terms and conditions do not affect your statutory rights. I'd have taken them the the small claims court and got the lot back.

 

[dan_bo]

Good on ya. We've had a few dealings with 'em squashing parcels and what have you- bunch of monkeys.

 

[Globalti]

TNTs terms and conditions do not affect your statutory rights. I'd have taken them the the small claims court and got the lot back.

I would have been tempted to try that but unfortunately I sent the package though my employer's account with TNT, a hitherto useful privilege that will now be denied to employees. So I was only able to summon the TNT rep and shame him into paying out thanks to the support I received from my purchasing director. Also having once successfully sued someone who dropped roofing slates on my motor bike, I know that court fees would gobble up about half of the award anyway.

 

[Drago]

Geberally speaking, although its not guaranteed, the loser pays the costs of the case. I only did it once. Filled out the small claims forms, sent a photocopy of the forms the the company concerned advising then they had 7 days to settle of I would submit the forms to the county court. On the 7th day I received a cheque...

This big firms know full well when they're on to a loser, but the rely on the punter not knowing this, or not being prepared to do anything about it beyond moaning. They'll happily listen to you moaning cos it costs them nothing and they know that 99% of people will sooner or later just give up.

 

[Over The Hill]

I have had a six month battle with Bensons Beds over a mattress and ended up putting a claim in through the courts. Day before the hearing they flapped around and settled (£85 more than item cost for court fees and my time) but that was five weeks ago and the cheque still has not turned up! So may end up back in court but I will keep going.

 

[Globalti]

Success depends on finding then communicating with the right person and setting them up to be able to give you the solution you need. You've got to decide how far you are prepared to go, what size of payment will mollify you and at what point your own time and energy are costing you enough to make further effort pointless. You've also got to recognise that your contact probably doesn't have the ability to make the decision and is himself in the awkward position of being the go-between. In this case if I had berated the rep he would simply have pulled the shutters down but I knew he was going back to his own boss and effectively negotiating on my behalf so I needed to treat him with care - after all, people do have their pride, even if they know they are in the wrong.

I suppose that's what's called negotiation?