Evri says it will bin my precious baby items... can I get them back? CRANE ON THE CASE
- Have you had a problem with a company? E: helen.crane@thisismoney.co.uk
I'm a new mum, and in the process of selling my flat in London to move closer to my family in Norfolk.
To de-clutter ahead of viewings, I packed up a box of my daughter's baby clothes and other keepsakes and sent them to my mum in Norfolk, using the courier Evri.
It was due to arrive within four days, but did not. After two weeks, I contacted Evri. It told me the parcel had been damaged and would be disposed of.
Most things in the parcel weren't breakable, so I don't understand how every single thing within it, tens of items, could be so badly damaged that it couldn't be sent on to me - short of being set on fire.
I have told Evri that if anything at all can be recovered, I would travel anywhere to retrieve it, but it won't tell me where the box is in its network.
Evri advised me to fill out a compensation form, but the items are worth nothing - although they mean everything to me. I don't want money, I just want my baby's things, whatever condition they are in. Can you help? E.H, London
Delivery disappointment: This new mum lost sentimental items from her daughter's birth when she sent them in the post with the courier, Evri
Share this article
Helen Crane of This is Money replies: I was sorry to hear you had lost these precious items.
Your daughter was born prematurely, but is now happy and healthy - as I saw in the cute photograph you sent me.
The box you sent included tiny pieces of clothing she wore when she was fighting for her life in hospital, and these clearly represent something significant to you.
You told me you felt silly for sending them in the post, but in between putting your flat on the market and planning a move across the country, it seemed like the easiest solution at the time.
It took you two weeks to contact Evri after your mum didn't receive the parcel, as there were well-publicised delays at the time and you thought it had simply got held up.
But after a while, you knew something had gone awry, and told me you had sleepless nights beating yourself up for trusting Evri with your daughter's things.
The courier, formerly known as Hermes, was named the worst parcel firm for customer service for the third year running - though the others are admittedly not much better.
At first, you were simply told it had 'sustained some form of damage' and Evri 'had to dispose of the parcel'.
You asked for more information on what happened, but said no one at Evri would give any information.
You even told the firm you would drive to the depot and trawl through boxes yourself if that was what was needed.
For weeks, customer service staff kept telling you to fill out a compensation claim form.
In your case, though, you didn't care about the cash as, monetarily, the items were worth very little. 'The whole package was worth nothing in financial terms and everything in human terms,' you told me.
Besides, Evri usually only offers £20 to customers who are sending items to another person if the package is lost or destroyed - unless they have paid extra for insurance cover. It is worth doing this if you are sending something valuable in the post.
If a parcel you've ordered from a company goes missing, the retailer should replace the item or offer a refund.
One of the most frustrating things was that you couldn't get an answer about what had actually happened to your package - and that is what you asked me to do.
By this point it had been a couple of months since you sent it, and I was worried it might already have been thrown away - but I decided to try and get to the bottom of it with Evri anyway.
I was surprised and delighted to be told that Evri did still have your things in its possession, and it was able to get them on their way to you. So what happened?
You had wrapped your box in a black bin liner to make sure it was waterproof, and stuck the address label on this.
The bin liner had then come apart from the package, meaning it didn't have an address.
Evri said the two items then moved through its network separately, and this is what it had meant when it said your parcel was damaged.
Evri said: 'We're so sorry for E.H's experience on this occasion, and we understand how important and sentimental these items are to her and her family.
'We're thrilled that we've been able to reunite her with all of her daughter's items, and in addition, we've also offered a goodwill gesture, which can be donated to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at King's Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which we know is a cause close to E.H's heart.'
These things are bound to happen in a stuffed delivery van or a busy warehouse.
However, given that Evri clearly was able to reunite your address label with your items, I'm dismayed its solution before I got involved was to throw your box in the bin - especially as it was obvious to anyone that these were irreplaceable items.
The courier has also paid you a goodwill gesture, which you will donate to the neonatal intensive care unit where you gave birth to your daughter.
