Reply With QuoteSounds terrible - but you're right it is becoming more common; CWC had about 300 go missing from one of the well known courier companies
Hi all
I thought I would share a recent experience with you in the hope that you don’t find yourself in a similar position.
I recently sold three watches on the sales corner as part of the ‘thinning my collection’ process.
Anyway - the first was a Casio protrek and the second a seiko pepsi turtle.
I posted these as I normally would using Hermes tracked and insured one on one day and the second the following day.
Both watches packed in generic small cardboard boxes and well wrapped in parcel tape. There was nothing on the labels to identify what the contents were and no stated value.
The following day I also posted a Suunto Ambit watch using the same process.
Now I always like to keep an eye on the tracking when posting items just so I know they have reached their new owners.
Anyway the first two watches were shown as dropped off at the store by me, and then collected by the driver, and then taken to the local delivery site.
And that’s how they stayed for a week with no further updates online.
I rang Hermes to chase things and received an email the following day saying that despite ‘an intensive’ investigation the items could not be found and I now have to complete claim forms for them both, which I am now in the process of doing.
The third watch (Suunto) arrived safely on the Sunday.
The reason for the post it to hopefully raise your awareness of the increase in theft which I am informed by the shop staff (who I know personally) Is becoming quite common and delivery drivers are regularly sacked for theft. It is clear from the tracking that it left point a and never reached point b which concerns me and I would have thought it quite easy to prove whether it ever made it to the delivery store or not.
If you refer to both of my sales posts you may be able to identify them if they are offered for sale elsewhere on the internet - I’ll certainly be keeping my eye open for them.
I am gutted that they were stolen and I have apologised to the buyers who have both been very patient and understanding about the situation. Both of whom have been fully refunded whilst I pursue my claim.
I have used Hermes for many years and had no issues but this has really made me nervous about using them again, especially for items such as watches.
Take care people it’s a crazy world out there, in crazy times
Mike 👍
Sounds terrible - but you're right it is becoming more common; CWC had about 300 go missing from one of the well known courier companies
You would have thought people would be trying to hold onto their jobs at this time!
Will the insurance cover the value of the watches?
I would never use Hermes to send anything valuable. Only recently, their tracking showed I had taken delivery of an item sent to me when it was not delivered, turns out it was delivered to someone un-related 80 miles away as their barcode system had a meltdown. You get the service you pay for, DPD are great around here, Hermes and Yodel are not...
Thank you for sharing and sorry to hear you’ve had that happen. I had something similar happen with DPD several years ago, except I was the buyer. All I received was an empty packet with the corner damaged.
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You would think so wouldn’t you.Originally Posted by Estoril-5
I suppose also this could be a One Off situation and I’m certainly not saying that all drivers are the same as that is certainly not the case and it only takes one or two to give the company a bad name.
I insured them for the sale value so fingers crossed they settle with that figure.
Mike 👍
The main reason I switched to using Hermes is because we have lost three of our local post offices in as many years so there are none locally.
The Hermes service is convenient as I can use the local cost cutter as a drop off.
As I said, the service has been good for me until now, but I think I’ll be thinking twice before using again, and will probably travel that bit further to the post office in future.
Mike 👍
AFAIK Hermes do not cover watches or jewellery so I hope I am wrong and you get paid out fully.
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It does say on the website that it only applies to watches and jewellery over £250
So fingers crossed
Mike 🤞
Sorry to read this. Parcels carriers are the pits of the Earth, yet Hermes look up to them from far-below in the deepest stygian gloom.
I used to sell hifi (mainly accessories) online, and had issues with all of the carriers except for Royal Mail, but Hermes were by a large margin the worst at every point of contact - stuff goes missing in the drop-off points, in-transit to the depots, in the depots (ESPECIALLY in the depots - "workers" there treat them as their personal Lucky Dip), in-transit outbound, and from customers properties. Contacting them is a nightmare, and they always find a way to wriggle-out of claims.
Hermes depots are legendary for the thieving and destruction that goes on, and they are the worst flytippers going - one customer sent me video from his CCTV of a decent sized parcel being thrown from the van window onto his lawn, and later a bloke in a white van who was doing a charity-bag pickup round is seen helping himself to it off the same lawn...! I even found some parcels for me from a component supplier at an address I'd moved from nearly a year earlier having been hidden behind the derelict shed at the far end of the garden! They'd got as far as the business name on a picklist and just despatched them to the "usual" address...
Don't expect a "your parcel is..." card through the door unless it's a new driver still making an effort. Admittedly those are common animals, because they're an awful employer by all accounts. But hey! They're cheap - and that's all that most Brits care about.
I could bore-on, but you get the picture: always avoid Herpes, er... Hermes...
Very bad news and extremely fishy that two parcels together have vanished. When I use Hermes (very, very rarely these days!) they ask for a line about the contents. I always just put "Watch Parts" or "Spares: Delicate" if I am posting watches.
My mate has just started temp working at a Hermes sorting depot on a night shift after a pretty brutal lay-off from his old firm. He said the security is.... nil. Warehouse doors open, loading bay doors open, delivery bay doors and gates open. You could literally walk in and out. Any member of staff with "light fingers" would be on a winner. :(
Sorry to hear about the OPs loss.
I always use Royal Mail for sending watches out, I would never trust a service like Hermes or Yodel, they may be cheaper and (arguably) more convenient but the quality of service is way below Royal Mail.
Really sorry to hear of OPs problem, that's always a real disappointment.
Likewise as above. I only ever use RMSD, and if over £2500 it's either road trip time, or use a specialist insurer (typically MBE).
Road trips are best - always great to see new parts of the country, and to meet people as daft on watches as I am :-)
This happens here in Holland on more occasional basis aswell nowadays.
I only use them to deliver low value items but to be honest most of those have actually been delivered! One item was damaged but it was very cheap and eventually they did refund the postage cost (T+C's didnt cover the value of the item and I had accepted this when I posted it).
I sent a watch (G Shock) to the Ebay GSP with them recently and it got "lost" for a week however did appear at the GSP about 10 days late and to the buyer thereafter as sent so there is hope that yours may turn up! They never did explain what the delay was/what happened to it during that time either... I always put a generic description of the contents to reduce the attractiveness of whatever it is I am sending!
On the other hand, receiving from them in London is nightmare. I have NEVER received a calling card from them when I was out, you can't collect things from anywhere. The last delivery I happened to be in and so I received the item but the one before that was allegedly left a totally different front door and so disappeared. Eventually they did admit liability though.
When I lived in Norwich though, they were great. The delivery man left a mobile number, once I text him an hour after I missed him and he dropped round to deliver the parcel to me on his way home!
Reminds me, I will have a game of Yodel roulette later this week as something I ordered has been dispatched with them despite no mention of Yodel on their website. Usually they are just as bad as Hermes delivering here.
I've never sent via Hermes but have had several cock-ups and severe delays with deliveries, including them dropping stuff off at Number Three, Flat One, where I'm at Number One Flat Three - reading seemed to be beyond their driver. Friends too in the Highlands, have also had numerous deliveries botched by the company, which is a shame as they'd just moved their nursery business to them.
They may be in the news today, for creating 10,000 jobs, but they will be treated as contractors - and as the OP has sadly found, to whom are they accountable? I hope you manage to get it sorted!
Personally I would try to avoid.
Too late to say it now but Hermes are an absolute shower.
They actually lost a package of thirty odd magazines on their way to me.
I've been told that "lost" stuff appears in auction shortly after.
Cheers,
Neil.
Not that it is of any help but I would rather have my testicles slowly cut off with a sharpened lolly stick than use Hermes.
Finger crossed OP ,and I hope you receive restitution.
Have to say that I prefer a F2F deal if at all possible but on those occassions when I have to post I always use RM.
I have not bought or sold that many watches but did swop photo gear from Canon to Sony to Fuji to Nikon over a five year period and bought/sold well over 100 bodies and lenses within this time.
I once had a boxed-up Nikon 500f4 left in the treehouse in my garden by Hermes.
Literally anyone walking by, and who could carry about 10kg of lens plus big box, could have snaffled it. Luckily, no-one did. It did though reinforce my thinking not to use Hermes for deliveries myself.
Last edited by gc52; 21st July 2020 at 15:54.
I'm sorry to hear about this and hope it's resolved . I've never used Hermes only Royal mail and touch wood, have never had an issue like this . I guess it can happen anywhere with any delivery service with a few bad eggs.
As you rightly state - if it left and point A and didn't receive at point B then who ever had it from point A is responsible - that means the driver . It's not rocket science.
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Your first and fatal error was using Hermes, there is no worse courier company in the UK and I speak from extensive experience.
I too have used Royal mail for the vast amount of stuff Ive posted with no issues whatsoever.I have used others on occasion,the last was DPD for an overseas delivery and also ok,but I was nervous tbh!.
Thankfully Im at a place in my collection where all mine will now only be f2f transactions due to their value.
I have heard bad things re Hermes.
Yes, this fact was demonstrated on a consumer issues program on (iirc) C4 earlier in the year: many parcels they were selling-off had easily-visible addresses still on them!
In effect, Hermes takes your money, refuses your claim, and then rewards itself for its grotesque inefficiency and dishonesty by selling your goods.
Oh b@gger. I just posted 3.5kg of my honey in jars via Hermes today because RM goes into silly costs above 2kg. I hope they don’t have sticky fingers. I only used them as the packaging was delivered using Hermes so I thought it worth a punt.
Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 21st July 2020 at 16:22.
I must be lucky, i used them hundreds of times over the years with zero thefts, missing or damaged parcels.
I wouldn’t trust myherpes with anything. In fact I avoid merchants that use them to deliver as it’s too much hassle tracing, reporting and undoing the mess they cause.
Other opinions are available.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
The OP has no proof that they were stolen. I’ve had parcels go missing with Royal Mail, DPD and Hermes.
It’s just one of those things, it can happen. I had a DPD parcel go missing, refunded the buyer and got paid out by DPD. Three months later, the tracking went live again and the buyer received it within a week.
When dealing with tens of thousands of parcels weekly, sone are bound to fall through the cracks, the OP was just unfortunate.
I appreciate what you are saying and yes I’m sure some will fall through the cracks but
Twice in as many days... that’s rather unlucky...
Mike 👍
This ^ I actively avoid retailers that use Hermes, they are the absolute worst, too many lost items with not a toss given by them, and no way of speaking to somebody at the depot.
They told me a coffee table was “posted through my letterbox”
I would never ever use anything other than Royal Mail Special Delivery.
Hermes and Yodel would be at the very bottom of the never use pile.
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They really are bad, but sometimes you don't have any other option than to use them, and sometimes I don't blame their couriers for telling porkies.
Why did I have to use them ? - I was selling some rare collectible Zippo's. They had never been filled, but still the Royal Mail told me they would destroy them if found in the postal system and they would not refund if they were destroyed. Hermes send everything by road, hence why they will carry lighters.
Couriers telling porkies - I was living in NE Scotland at the time. Hermes tracking showed the items as having been collected despite the fact that I had just eyeballed them in the village shop. Turns out that my local Hermes courier hadn't been within 20 miles of my village for days, and he quite rightly wasn't going to spend more on diesel than the pittance he is paid to collect the items.
I'd use anyone but Hermes, but sometimes you're stuck between a rock
DON'T USE HERMES. EVER.
Some knuckle dragging scroat that worked for that den of thieves stole my wife's Omega constellation on its way to STS. I got £250 compensation.
That was years ago.
Several months ago, I purchased a precharge air rifle from a certain forum and the Eedgit I bought it off sent it via Hermes, it never got to me - £300 lighter, seller denying any culpability.
Tertiary Police investigation later, file closed because Hermes refused to talk to the Police about the matter - I was speechless and they got away with it! Lol
I repeat: Don't use Hermes!
Sorry to hear this OP, I hope it all gets resolved.
I had to use Hermes a few weeks ago as I was sending a portable battery pack, which RM don't allow. The entire process with Hermes was exceptionally long winded and the local drop off points to me had issues with printing. Can't see myself using them again, especially after reading this thread.
Hermes is yet another example of running a business and paying as little as possible to the folks who make it work. Pay peanuts and you get monkeys, its a race to the bottom with these firms.
I’m reluctant to buy stuff that’s posted to me with a courier service other than Royal Mail, they aren’t perfect but they’re a whole lot easier to deal with.
I actively ask that when I buy something and it looks like myhermes will be used that it isn't. I will never use them to send anything even if they're half the price of others.
Our local driver is a lovely lady named Roz (I've offered her directions before) but the rest of the company will never have any contact with me. I had things go missing around 18 months ago and nothing was done about it, even after complaints and online chasing.
I posted a sound bar with Hermes and it turned up with the end smashed when I filled in all their compensation forms they got out of paying by saying the parcel was 4 inches too long never used them again, another thing to look out for is eBay sellers Saying they will post an item by Royal Mail then sending it by herpes to save themselves some money
Ive never had any problems with Hermes to be fair. Then only issue Ive had with watches going missing was with Amazon. Id bought a grovana for about £180, package was dropped off had the box but no watch inside. I phoned Amazon and they sent a replacement which arrived the next day. A a simple phone call. Very impressive.
Although Royal Mail Special Delivery only insures up to £2500, I have NEVER had anything go missing.
Whether it be a watch link or a £15,000 watch. I wouldn't use any other service.
I have used hermes in the past for bulkier low value items without issue. I know royal mail are far from perfect but it's RMSD every time with me for watches and never had an issue.
Only loss I've had was with RMSD.
FTFY
Just a slight contrast to some of the above comments, shortly before the OP posted yesterday, I dropped off some shorts I sold on Ebay to a ParcelShop to be sent via Hermes standard delivery to another London address. They were signed for just before lunchtime today by the recipient.
On Monday before work, I dropped off a parcel at my local delivery office to be sent to a TZ member in Scotland, via Royal Mail Tracked 24 delivery. They then sat exactly where they were posted (at the actual local delivery office!) for 36 hours with no scan or movement until 8pm yesterday evening when it made its way to Scotland arriving a day late. Slightly ironic given the above comments!
I will still only use RM for fragile items and those worth £00's mind.
Did you chase it up and what was the result ?
Context?
Was it because it was lost in the post or was it because it was pilfered?
After a lot of hassle I received a refund.
No idea, just didn't arrive. Maybe lost because it was pilfered.
I received a parcel today from TK Maxx with a large 6"x6" L shape cut in the rear of the plastic envelope. Empty watch box. no green dial Victorinox watch inside. Well Pissed ! Hermes.......
Sent a watch from The Netherlands to the UK last summer for service. Used the Dutch postal service (PostNL) with insurance. Unfortunately they apparently partner with Hermes in the UK. Watch made it to the UK and disappeared never to turn up. Got most of my money back because it was insured, but my beautiful and hard to replace 60s Seiko Silverwave gone :-(
You know you can pay online and get RM to collect your SD for about £0.70 per item
I have found DHL by far the best with regular trackable updates throughout the delivery.
This is to receive items, I have never used them to post something myself.
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