I recently ordered a £400 phone from online company Gearbest and it was dispatched using Yodel’s insured delivery service.
Yodel’s website advised that the tracked parcel was left “in a safe place inside the building”, but when I got home from work there was no sign of it. I contacted Yodel, which told me it had been delivered to number 44. I live at 48. My neighbours at 44 had no knowledge of it.
Yodel then said it had been left in a building with a black door, which describes two out of three buildings on the street. It promised that the driver would return to show me the exact place but he never turned up.
Gearbest is reluctant to pay out the insurance since the parcel is showing as delivered on Yodel’s tracking system. AS, London
Yodel says the delivery instructions authorised it to leave the parcel in a safe place, and that it did so. The fact that no one seems sure where that safe place is seems to strike it as irrelevant.
“In instances like this Yodel has to advise customers to contact the retailer, as that is legally who their contract is with and who is best placed to resolve the situation,” says a spokesperson. “We have carried out a full investigation and are working with the retailer to ensure that the situation is resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.”
Under the Consumer Rights Act it is the retailer’s responsibility to ensure that goods are safely delivered, but if the online tracker shows that they have been while you remain empty-handed it’s your word against the courier’s.
Yodel’s decision to liaise with Gearbest after The Observer intervened means you eventually received a full refund.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
