Couriers and signing for deliveries

[Genus]

I was waiting in for a macbook and the courier managed (for 2 weeks on the trot) to attempt and fail to deliver it. When I eventually got irate at a lovely lady at the depot (she really was lovely) it finally showed up. Excuse? The delivery driver didn't seem to understand the concept that in a tenement block, it is customary to ring the buzzer of the flat you are delivering to rather than trying the front door, seeing it locked and then running away.

 

However I've never had a problem with interflora. They've never failed me yet. Always on time and never a "failed" delivery.

[Brian]

There are in general two types of delivery company; there are those where the whole network is owned by the main organisation and then there are the franchise operations where local depots are a franchise. In general the former are pretty good with the latter being, politely, of variable quality.

[Shez]

I think a problem that will always be faced in any organisation of more than a few people is that the person who accepts the delivery (parcel room / receptionist / temp etc.) is not the end user and wouldn't necessarily know whether the contents were damaged or that they should be signed for as such. Perhaps some internal training is called for.

I'm not sure that many neighbours would want to open your parcel and inspect it before signing either.

[dunk_1984]

I took delivery of a few hundred square meters of starcloth this week, TNT'd to us by the hire company. You expect me to check that all works (the unit isn't that big) I know the content was there. Surely in some situations it is just not practical to check the delivery?

[Rob_Beech]

I think the difference is often the supplier.

 

Regularly I'll order large items from large electrical wholesale suppliers that we all use. There will be items missing, or too many of one and not enough of the other. Or items damaged. Even if I've signed it as all present and correct, if I find it isn't then I can still call tem and the problem will be rectified. It's unlikely they'll want to risk losing future business.

[nothingatall666]

surely if a delivery is delivered to a neighbor then this isn't exactly delivering?

the neighbor could decided to keep the lovely new sehnn's or 100 rolls of LX tape, what if there's a hatred between the 2 households? there has to be something against passing the delivery on to the neighbour?

[Genus]

surely if a delivery is delivered to a neighbor then this isn't exactly delivering?

the neighbor could decided to keep the lovely new sehnn's or 100 rolls of LX tape, what if there's a hatred between the 2 households? there has to be something against passing the delivery on to the neighbour?

 

Living in a flat and not knowing anyone else in the building, I agree entirely. However I *think* they're not supposed to deliver to neighbours unless they've been told (by the customer) that it's alright.

 

Also, a friend of mine lives and has his business in quite a rural location where it's always the same driver, and they seem to know each other to an extent that the driver will happily put the delivery somewhere safe outside and tootle away. I suppose this wouldn't be a problem if you could actually get to know your delivery drivers. More likely I suppose if you order a lot of stuff.

[paulears]

The thing that seems to be the question nobody has asked, is what exactly is the signature provided for?

 

To prove the consignment arrived within the prescribed timescale

To show who was present and accepted it when delivered

To say the consignment was received in good condition

 

I'd suggest the last one is the least important to the delivery company. In many cases, when investigated, I understand that damage is mainly caused by poor packing, not well packed equipment damaged by the transit 'normal' conditions. In large organisations it is rare to be able to deliver directly to the person or even the department who ordered it. So it gets signed for at the goods in point, and eventually unpacked and inspected somewhere else, a day or so later. More common is the delivery being reported as missing, when the signature gets looked at and people see who signed for it so they can investigate internally.

 

So the real issue is simply is it signed for. If it's signed for, then it is there, and an identity can be established - two of the three. If it's not signed for, it can't be left - which makes sense. If somebody signs for it but scribbles NOT INSPECTED or NOT OPENED, then again, two of the three still get met. If it is found damaged when unpacked, then this is a separate issue. If an insurance company is involved, or even worse, the police - then a signature that says it was not inspected does mean something - simply that somebody accepted delivery, but wasn't able to inspect it. It doesn't matter what the courier's wording actually is - the box states words to the effect that I have inspected the contents and a happy chap - and if your signature says "No I haven't" then it just nullifies the acceptance. I'm no lawyer, but surely in court, the process would work like this:

 

"You open and inspected the contents"

"No I didn't"

"Prove it"

"I wrote it on the pad/paper!"

"So you did. Next case"

 

So a 'modified/ signature would seem just as good as no signature at all from the courier's perspective, but more secure to the consignee. Previous posters are quite correct in stating that a modified signature has no legal standing, which is exactly the point. The courier has to prove you inspected it and accepted it - that is what a valid signature would do.

[Brian]

I suspect there are two issues here...

 

1) What the couriers terms and condition say

2) What would stand up in court

 

...having a quick look online at various T&Cs, many of them try to limit the couriers liability to zero. If a judge would find that reasonable is a different thing. Also, how can a set of T&Cs which you never have the option to read, be enforced?

[Bobbsy]

...and, moving on from the sensible posts by Paul and brian...

 

It's worth noting that the contract with the delivery company is almost always with the shipper, not with the person receiving the goods. Therefore, if there's a problem with the delivery, I'd always take it up with the company that sent me the stuff, not the courier.

 

Any decent company will look after their customer.

 

As for signing "not inspected" that's what I always used to do and never had a problem. The concept of "reasonable" does indeed apply in court and it's simply not reasonable to check that a star cloth--or a hundred boxes of electronic gear--or even a single radio mic if you don't have a receiver handy--is in perfect condition while the driver waits. If that was enforced, no driver could expect to do more than one or two stops per day.

 

Bob

[Colin]

When signing for stuff at work our policy is to check the box make sure there is no damage to the box (signs of being dropped holes etc). If all seems ok make sure you are signing for the correct number of boxes. If there are signs of either of the above we will check the items throughly before signing. The items within the box are later checked off against the delivery note.

 

If the contents is missing/damaged out of a good looking box we will then take it up with the suppiler, whenever this system has been followed we have not yet come up against a problem. (Recieving approx 5-20 packages a day)

[Rob_Beech]

As with lots of things, if someone wants to purposely cause issues, then they will.

 

If a courier driver (one of those fortunate fellows they employ temporarily up to Christmas) wants to steal a few mobile phones then they'll get away with it.

 

At the end of the day, they just need to pretend to deliver it, and sign something.

 

The consignment weight of my radio mics was the same when it went out for delivery, but was clearly different when it arrived.

[Tomo]

The part that worries me most is that the driver rarely does any of the packing.

I've seen one delivery of a large, heavy, glass-doored equipment rack arrive in a myriad of tiny fragments.

 

It had obviously not been secured to anything at all in the back of the truck, and had been sliding around getting more and more smashed up as he drove along.

 

Had the rack been a little bit heavier or had sharper corners, it could easy have smashed out of the side or back of the truck and caused a serious traffic incident.

 

It took a very long time to clear up the mess - we even had to lend him a dustpan and brush to try to get most of the fragments off the floor.

I suspect that most of the other parcels in the back were destroyed as well.

 

Oddly, he still tried to get us to sign for it as properly delivered and was upset that we delayed him so long!

 

The majority of drivers simply back up to the dock and go for a cuppa, then grab the paperwork and drive off.

Most of them never even glance into the back until they get to the first drop - and find a pile of broken glass and bent metal.

 

So I'm always wary of these delivery companies when driving - seen quite a few curtainsiders with stuff apparently 'sticking out', and far too many vans where the doors don't quite seem to be fully closed anymore.

[Guest lightnix]

Any decent courier (or supplier, for that matter) will have a procedure in place to deal with damaged deliveries and will allow you to report damaged goods, within a limited time scale. Any packaging damage should be inspected right away and photographed, prior to opening, as should any damage to the contents. Contact the courier immediately, e-mail the pics and tell them that you wish to make a claim. Copy the pics to the sender, so that they can have a go from their end. The courier will probably ask to pick the gear up, to take away for inspection (possibly by their insurers) and eventual return.

 

I had some demo kit arrive in a battered state a few months ago*. I signed for it, pointing out the packaging damage to the driver (who's a regular on the route and a decent bloke). I photographed the damaged box and bent luminaire casings - they appeared to have been dropped on their corner from a great height - then did the above.

 

The internals were fine - so we submitted a claim for a refund on the delivery charge, the cost of new casings and their delivery, plus a consideration for my time to do the rebuild. The courier, having inspected the damage, didn't dispute the claim and sent us a cheque for £450 a couple of weeks later (followed shortly by the kit), which more or less covered our costs - although not the inconvenience.

 

*One thing I've noticed: Kit which gets sent to the wrong address, often suffers the most "accidental" damage - at least with one big name courier

[Bobbsy]

Moderation: Ooops! Should have noticed this earlier but, as interesting as this topic is, really it belongs more in "The Office" than with "General Technical Chat".

 

Moved! Party on, dudes!