Refund due to delivery problems?

1

Hi,

I ordered on Friday for Monday delivery. It hasn’t arrived (via DPD) and they are impossible to contact. They’ve sent me an email claiming that I’ve changed the delivery address (which I haven’t) and saying that it’ll be tomorrow that it will be delivered, but this is no different to their email saying it would be delivered this AM.

I’ve called them and have now been on hold for 30 mins so far. All I’ve got from them so far is a recorded message saying that ‘due to technical difficulties’ their tracking systems have had a major fault and they’ve lost track of a number of items. - I can guess where my delivery has gone!

Please can I get a refund and can you request that DPD return the package to you instead of (at some future date) promising to deliver it.

I’ll be happy to reorder if you can provide a different carrier - half my morning has been spent trying to track down this delivery!

2

I’ve finally got through to DPD. They’re not at all sure where the package is. There only reason for not delivering it today is that there’s a ‘backlog’ at the depot, but they can’t say for sure whether the package as been lost there or due to their technical problems.

Anyway, I was able to request that they mark it for ‘return to sender’. They’ve done that on their system, so now its up to them to see if they can find it to return it.

Please can you confirm that I will get a full refund?

3

Hi Richard, we’ve received your emails, don’t worry we will get it all sorted for you. Unfortunately though since you have requested a return to sender you will be refunded the value of your order, minus admin and processing fees. The average admin and processing fee is £14 - we make no profit on this, it’s just what we’re charged by our couriers to send and retrieve your parcel. Sorry about that, just want you to be aware.

If you ever have problems with delivery in the future it’s always best to email us first as opposed to DPD. However we will get to the bottom of your enquiry to find out where your parcel has got to.

4

Well, I’d be surprised if DPD have an ability to charge for it, they’re the ones that have failed to deliver and aren’t sure where the package is!

I’m expecting a complete refund on that basis.

Had the package arrived and I refused to accept it, or did a return to sender at that point I’d understand it, but not in the situation where he delivery has not even been attempted.

5

Hi, please can you confirm whether there will be a full refund or not - I’ve not had a reply to my emails.

If there will be a charge for a return, then please direct DPD to make the delivery as planned - i.e. today. I know that is a ridiculous request. but…

Since the package is ‘lost in the backlog at the depot’ as an explanation of why they didn’t deliver, then charging me £14 for the failure to deliver is also ridiculous.

Please clarify as a priority so I know where I stand on this.

6

Blockquote Unfortunately though since you have requested a return to sender you will be refunded the value of your order, minus admin and processing fees.

How does this fit with distance selling regulations under which the customer can refuse delivery and not be charged postage or return fees?

7

Absolutely, their response is disgraceful and not entirely legal.

For instance, I purchased on the basis of ‘next working day delivery’. When they failed on that, the ‘contract’ between us becomes questionable.

Also, the ‘return to sender’ (in a formal sense) is not accurate. They did not make an attempt to deliver it, but themselves admitted it was ‘lost in a backlog at the depot’, and as a result of ‘significant system failure that has caused a number of packages to be lost’. My request to them to return the package to the sender was in light of this and not a clear case of ‘return to sender’ where I may have changed my mind.

Since Huel want to charge me because of their failure to deliver, I have since contacted the courier to attempt to deliver the package and they have confirmed that they will. Lets see if the lost package shows up - albeit a day late. So, don’t worry Huel, you won’t have to spend any of your precious ‘admin and processing’ resources. However, I am curious how you will handle the situation if the package fails to show up and we will have to believe the couriers statement that they have indeed lost the package!

In the event that it does show up, how much will I have to pay for the ‘admin and processing’ to extract an apology from you for the failed delivery, the time, etc.

Also, and for the record, the reason that we’re having this discussion in public is that Huel have not replied to either of my emails, nor have they made any attempt to sort out the problem with their subcontractor. So in case anyone is wondering if I’m just an irate customer (which I am), the dialogue (and lack of response) here is what you can expect if/when you transact with these people.

I am stunned at the customer service here - the customer is not the ‘enemy’ - you have failed to deliver as promised, when I reported it to you, you didn’t have the grace to apologise, merely an empty promise ‘to get it sorted for you’, by which you meant you were going to charge £14 with no other proposed resolution, other than to blame me for causing the issue (which I did not, you did!).

I like your brand values (which you are failing to live up to), I don’t know if I’d like your product (though I see good reviews), but with this customer service and ‘charge the customer, even when we screwed up’, no matter how much investment you have, you are doomed to fail when someone with decent customer service decides to compete with you. I dislike Amazon and do all I can to support British companies, but I can see how and why they win!

I don’t expect a response - that would be naïve of me given your inability to respond so far, but take note, you will either deliver what I have paid for or you will give a full refund. I will make sure that you cannot slide away from your responsibility to provide the product and service for which you have taken money.

8

Perhaps I’ve missed something here. Your delivery was due on Monday, but by 2pm on Monday you had already asked DPD to return it to sender. Despite there still being many hours let in the day for it to arrive? At this point it was your choice to have it returned to us, hence the charge. I think clarity on this point will clear it up. However the answer below based on my deduction above.

In this situation usually we will concurrently a) track down the parcel b) probably resend a package from our end to make sure it gets to you. However due to us being out of stock as of Monday this won’t be able to happen. Tracking down the parcel will be the most important thing here.

Obviously sorry that your emails haven’t been responded to, Monday is typically a hectic day of catch up. However, since we have gone out of stock this has worsened. We never ignore emails and your experience here is not typical. I’m also confused but you emailed us at around midday yesterday and posted here just before 2pm, which hasn’t given us enough time to respond via email.

This is not a customer service platform and I am not part of the customer services team, but manage the community. The forum is a place to discuss nutrition, experiences with Huel, different ways to use Huel and more. Although I would never ignore customer services enquiries there’s always a chance that in the process you → me → customer service → me → you, because that is not what this platform is for. I’m just trying to explain what will happen when we respond to you. I’m sorry that my pro-activeness has caused you so much frustration or confusion.

EDIT: Your package is due for delivery today between 10:29 and 11:29.

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9

Yes, but as I’ve said, that was after speaking to DPD and them saying that it wasn’t going to be delivered because it was ‘lost in a backlog at the depot’. So, irrespective of how many hours were left in the day, they had already stated it would not be delivered and that they didn’t know where it was. Given that information it is entirely reasonable for me to conclude that since they couldn’t deliver it that they should return it to you if/when they found it.

Thank you form the apology, though it isn’t ‘obvious’ that an apology is being made until… well, until its actually made. Though, if you could extend the apology to the actual problem rather than the fact that emails haven’t been replied to since midday yesterday that might be a nice gesture! (don’t worry about having to, that was a rhetorical request and I don’t for a moment expect you to lower yourself to an apology).

Clearly. Can you let me know who is? That might be a useful point of info on your website too, it’ll save others making the same mistake as myself.

I am frustrated but not confused. Please don’t try back-handed insults to customers, it doesn’t play well. Not to the recipient or others who are genuinely asking for help - remember, this didn’t start because I wanted to pick a fight, it started because the packages was not delivered, was ‘lost’ and I was asking for help but I was just told I would be charged for it.

Yes, I have received an email from DPD to that effect. Glad that they found it.

10

Thoughts from a newbie.
I am fortunate in that I have had no complaints re delivery thus far. DPD have been spot on (phew!). However, should a future consignment go astray via DPD I would simply notify the team at Huel and await their response. If the team did not get straight back to me I would assume they were busy and would respond ASAP.
IMO a little patience is preferable to wading straight in with a sledgehammer.

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11

From the faq section on the Huel website,

’ Not answered your question and need to contact us?

There are several ways to contact us. You can email us at team@huel.com, use our online contact form here, call us on 01296 678516 or post a message on our forum.

Our UK office hours are 9am to 5pm (Mon-Fri).

It does say ’ or post a message on our forum '. But that’s for general questions and stuff rather than customer service stuff.

Other staff members do sometimes come on the forum but not always so it’s just best to email them and be patient or try phoning them up.

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12

At this point it was your choice to have it returned to us, hence the charge. I think clarity on this point will clear it up. However the answer below based on my deduction above.

Again, this proposed charge is in contravention of distance selling regulations.

13

Thanks for raising, there are a few exceptions and this is why this charge could be applied. (It’s worth noting that Richard’s parcel has arrived safely with him, but with a one day delay)

  • Distance seller regulations don’t apply to perishable goods.
  • In addition, the consumer isn’t entitled to the cost of the return (but they are entitled to the full order value including the outbound delivery cost, but we don’t have an outbound delivery charge that we apply to Huelers in the UK mainland excluding highlands and islands).

Money Saving Expert is an authority on this and might help explain further:

1. Almost all goods bought online can be cancelled. Unlike buying in-store, buy online and you do have an absolute right to cancel. The key exceptions, though, are personalised and perishable goods.
2. You’ve up to 28 days after DELIVERY to return goods. That’s 14 days to cancel and 14 days after cancellation to return.
3. The refund is for the goods AND delivery charge. Though if you chose faster delivery you only get the basic cost back.
4. You aren’t entitled to the cost of sending the goods back. So beware if ordering from elsewhere in the European Union as returning them can be expensive.
5. If goods are faulty you are then entitled to reasonable costs of return back. In this case theConsumer Rights Act comes into play.

I hope this helps.

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