Minor damage during freight - what's a reasonable outcome?

[dunndog]

Ok, so getting my pedantic hat on here, it's really an issue of principle I guess, but it's a fair enough issue i think..
I bought a bike and had it shipped from NSW to Melbourne. The bike, although second hand, was ridden a total of 500 meters (common story I know, but in this case true) and does not have a single mark on it, it actually still has small amounts of factory grease etc. on it (made up term hehe), basically I'm saying it's in absolute mint showroom condition. The seller wrapped it all up in a million miles of bubble wrap and then buried it in thick black adhesive wrap. It arrived today and the first thing I notice when the driver opened the back of the truck, grabbed it and slid it along the steel checkerplate floor to the back of the truck, was exactly that - it was unsecured, sliding around on a checkerplate floor. When I pulled it out and inspected it, I noticed the points where the qr skewer, the stem and the fork crown had been sliding around were worn through and scratched the crap out of them. Obviously this isn't going to affect performance in any way, and I'm not going to lose any sleep over it, but I did note 'damaged goods' when I signed for it and the company's claims dept. (big and well reputed, you know them) are calling me back tomorrow.
I'm just interested to hear from anyone who has made a claim before what sort of outcomes do they go for - are they super tight, are they going to politely tell me to piss off or are they generally pretty reasonable? I'm obviously not going to demand a new set of forks, but it's not unreasonable to expect compensation for damage to what is otherwise ( and would still be completely if not for them) a spotless machine?
It's a mint Remedy 8 by the way..
Possibly just venting a bit, but fuck 'em they damaged it. Show me the money. It's mostly pissing me off because of the way it arrived in the truck, I feel like they just gave zero fucks and deserve to cough up for it.
Surely we should expect better?!

 

[ozdavo]

Pics? To give us an idea of what exactly

scratched the crap out of them

means.

 

[cameron_15]

No bike box?

 

[v1llage1d1ot]

does thick black adhesive wrap mean duct tape?

 

[Lilley]

No bike box?

Hopefully you get some joy. If it wasn't packed in a bike box the courier company may say it was incorrectly packaged and put the responsibility onto your shipper.

Unfortunately while bubble wrap protects from impact and vibration it will wear very quickly. Also a bike out of a bike box won't stand up nicely and is going to be hard for a courier to secure in his truck.

 

[dunndog]

Hey, been busy, no pics yet.. No bike box, i know I know.. I stipulated many times to the seller to get a bike box, and as far as I knew he did, though reading over our texts he refers to the 'package' several times but not 'the box'.. he told me today when I called him about it that he posts things around the world all the time and has never had this issue.. I said that's why I stipulated (and we agreed) on a bike box.. that's a sore point between us atm.. that said, it was packaged very thick, the black stuff isn't duct tape it's black adhesive wrap, pretty thick and relatively hard wearing, and it was still a pretty reasonable shape and could easily be secured, atleast not just slapped in the truck like that.
To be honest i've chilled a bit with it now, but I still take issue with the courier co's lack of respect for an item and am gunna call them out on it and see what they have to say. If I get nothing so be it, if I get something bonus. The seller actually offered to chime in with a couple hundred if i need to replace anything, but I'm not going own that path.
Anyway, rant over, just wanna get out for a ride now!

 

[steve24]

I hear your pain. Recently bought a used bike which was couried to me in a box.
Opened the box to find frame/ fork/ bars etc all thrown in with zero love and a few new rub marks on the frame.

While i was far from happy about it and also couldn't understand how anyone would not put in a few bits of bubble wrap( it was packed by a bike shop i believe), i quickly moved on, put it together and went for a ride.

I think you may get something from the courier but is it worth it? Go look at your bike and think happy thoughts, it will help you live longer.....

 

[dunndog]

I think you may get something from the courier but is it worth it? Go look at your bike and think happy thoughts, it will help you live longer.....

Amen to that brother. That is exactly what I did. If I can screw them for something via a phone call tomorrow then great. If not, I still got a sweet ride for a silly price. All good.

 

[vtwiz]

I would have a pretty big gripe with the seller/shipper. You stipulated it should be in a box and really, it should have been whether you stipulate it or not . Who sends a bike to another state without a box? Ridiculous!
The fact that it was not in a box does make it harder for the courier company to properly store and secure it.
No, it doesn't detract from the performance of your bike and after one off you could do just as much damage but knowing that the bike was in mint condition when you bought it and now it's not through no fault of your own..............i'd be pretty peaved.

 

[Broken Bones89]

I hear your pain. Recently bought a used bike which was couried to me in a box.
Opened the box to find frame/ fork/ bars etc all thrown in with zero love and a few new rub marks on the frame.

While i was far from happy about it and also couldn't understand how anyone would not put in a few bits of bubble wrap( it was packed by a bike shop i believe), i quickly moved on, put it together and went for a ride.

I think you may get something from the courier but is it worth it? Go look at your bike and think happy thoughts, it will help you live longer.....

It's kind of hard to think happy thoughts looking at something that you expected to be immaculate but instead looks like it was attacked with an orbital sander...

Dunndog I don't blame you for being upset. I' would've been gutted and probably would've had a go at the moron driving the truck there and then. It's not bloody hard to secure something in the back of a truck. It's not rocket science.

 

[Mail Man]

I have made a few shipping claims in my time, but with corporate items that are palletized (I think that is a word). I know this may not be possible since it has passed but the normal procedure is sign the weigh bill as damaged and get the truck driver to mark it also. Then you send the images to the supplier and say this is how you received the items, show lots of photo's before, during and after the unwrapping of the pallet - box - package. Then one of two things will happen, if the supplier owns the trucking company he will probably pony up for the damage, sending you new items or discounting your invoice. If they are not affiliated with the shipping company they will blame the trucking company.

Once you have the person responsible (Supplier or trucking company) you can ask for compensation. Supplier will usually replace to keep good will, but the trucking company can do a number of things. They can give you some cash to smooth things over or they can pay for the item in its entirety, so you can buy a new one, but they can keep the item if they do this, or they can tell you to screw yourself.

I would not say this is all legal stand up in court stuff, but these are some of the policies I have come across over the last 10 years using various trucking companies.

In your case I am assuming it is a private sale with a third party shipper. If you have not got the weigh bill signed by the driver to say it was damaged in transit then you really have no leg to stand on. The seller will say damaged in transit and the driver will say I picked it up that way.

Good luck with any path you choose. Remember you always get more bees with honey.

 

[Mywifesirrational]

Having worked in the transport industry many years ago, I was always under the presumption that the sender needs to adequately pack (protect) the item within - several companies I worked for outline this in the contract you accept when you use their service.

It is not the delivery drivers job to ensure no damage occurs in the reasonable course of transporting the goods. Most drivers will at least attempt to ensure no damage occurs due to the hassles that occurs when something is damaged.

Was the delivery insured by chance? If so you have an avenue to seek compensation, but i wonder if they'll argue the sender did not take proper precautions.

I'd be angry too, not at the driver, but at the sender. It's a nice bike.

 

[merc-blue]

I had a claim with a company.
had a gasket sent which was sandwiched between two thick double reinforced cardboard plates which would probably have needed 40-60kgs to bend it. arrived in a V shape. had a sook. all I got was "it wasn't packed sufficiently" I argued that there is no guidelines on packaging and it was damaged through lack of care or intentional abuse (it had a do not bend sticker on it). they came back "it wasn't packed sufficiently".
Lawyer wrote them a letter, 3 days later they were processing an insurance claim.

they will try and bully you out of the claim, but bubble wrap the that black shrink wrap should be adequate if the company had nay reasonable level of care.

 

[user name]

From experience most freight companies will wriggle & squirm hoping you leave them alone and i think most people do just that.

The pain of receiving something nice and new and it being damaged is a bad pain, but ask yourself it thy bike to be ridden or polished??

 

[redbruce]

Hey, been busy, no pics yet.. No bike box, i know I know.. I stipulated many times to the seller to get a bike box, and as far as I knew he did, though reading over our texts he refers to the 'package' several times but not 'the box'.. he told me today when I called him about it that he posts things around the world all the time and has never had this issue.. I said that's why I stipulated (and we agreed) on a bike box.. that's a sore point between us atm.. that said, it was packaged very thick, the black stuff isn't duct tape it's black adhesive wrap, pretty thick and relatively hard wearing, and it was still a pretty reasonable shape and could easily be secured, atleast not just slapped in the truck like that.
To be honest i've chilled a bit with it now, but I still take issue with the courier co's lack of respect for an item and am gunna call them out on it and see what they have to say. If I get nothing so be it, if I get something bonus. The seller actually offered to chime in with a couple hundred if i need to replace anything, but I'm not going own that path.
Anyway, rant over, just wanna get out for a ride now!

Seller has failed to meet their contractual obligation. Your claim is with them.

 

[speedyjonzalas]

If the seller sent it in poor packaging then the blame lays entirely with them. Any freight company will weasel out of this sort of problem fairly easily because it wasnt their fault. Unless they packed it then its the sellers fault.

Think about it - if the bike was well packed and in a box would it have mattered that it was rolling around on the floor of the truck? Not at all, it would have most likely got there with not a mark on it (though the box may be beaten up).

If the seller has offered a small rebate I would take it as you wont get a thing from the freight company.

 

[AndySTi]

Hey, been busy, no pics yet.. No bike box, i know I know.. I stipulated many times to the seller to get a bike box, and as far as I knew he did, though reading over our texts he refers to the 'package' several times but not 'the box'.. he told me today when I called him about it that he posts things around the world all the time and has never had this issue.. I said that's why I stipulated (and we agreed) on a bike box.. that's a sore point between us atm.. that said, it was packaged very thick, the black stuff isn't duct tape it's black adhesive wrap, pretty thick and relatively hard wearing, and it was still a pretty reasonable shape and could easily be secured, atleast not just slapped in the truck like that.
To be honest i've chilled a bit with it now, but I still take issue with the courier co's lack of respect for an item and am gunna call them out on it and see what they have to say. If I get nothing so be it, if I get something bonus. The seller actually offered to chime in with a couple hundred if i need to replace anything, but I'm not going own that path.
Anyway, rant over, just wanna get out for a ride now!

Seller has failed to meet their contractual obligation. Your claim is with them.

^Privity, correct!

Do you have in writing, the seller explicitly promising to send the bike in a bike box? If so, then it is a term of the contract and failure to meet this term should give rise to a partial breach.