NZ Post missing parcel claim rejected.

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GSManiac

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# 252804 12-Jul-2019 12:14

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Sent some Tim tams in the post to a friend for her birthday. The parcel went missing.
NZ Post won’t allow me claim based on their terms of carriage.

Which states you can only send at your own risk ...

Perishable items: any item that may spoil or decay, or has an expiry date of less than 6 months from the date of sending ie Food: donuts, mushrooms, bread, meat/poultry and fish.

I wouldn’t say Tim Tams spoil or decay and they certainly have a longer best before date than 6 months

Anyone had similar issues or care to weigh in?

Thanks.

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279 posts

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# 2275244 12-Jul-2019 12:17

Interesting as surely you are claiming for missing items and not because it arrived spoiled. But based on your statement alone, it looks like they are doing a blanket approach as to since its food then whether it gets delivered or not then its not covered.

xpd

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# 2275246 12-Jul-2019 12:20

I'd go back to them and say that I'm not concerned about the financial side of it, I just honestly want to know where the item ended up. Just say it was an empty packet, therefore no perishable items were in the package, therefore youre within your rights to query its location.

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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# 2275247 12-Jul-2019 12:20

Tim Tams are perishable, but they also have a shelf life longer than 6 months, so their terms do not absolve them of guilt. Also, they lost the item, it didn't go bad in transit, so their T&C are irrlevant IMO.

The old Carriage of Goods Act 1979 has been repealed, the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 should be your starting point.

MadEngineer

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# 2275257 12-Jul-2019 12:47

As a side comment, if your packaging doesn’t save an item from the roughest careless handling then it’s straight away deemed insufficient.

mattwnz

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# 2275287 12-Jul-2019 13:59

Under the CGA for services, if you paid for a service, don't they have to provide that service? Eg deliver something you paid to be delivered. Did you at least get a refund on freight? My interpretation of their perishable items list, is fresher types of food, which can spoil within a few days, and is probably there so that the smell and decay of spoiled food in the postal system. Biscuits can potentially last for years in sealed packs.

You should also check to see if the biscuits have a 'useby date' in them, which means they are potentially unsafe to eat after that date. A 'best before' date doesn't mean that they have perished enough after 6 months not to be still safe to eat. Infact things can last for years past their best before date, especially if they are sealed. I was recently sent a chocolate bar by the manufacturer in the post which would be similar to tim tams, and surely the manufacturer sending me that isn't a breach of their terms?

I don;t however see how it has anything to do with them being lost. If something was deteriorating and smelly, then I can see that as a problem for the courier, but that would never happen with longer life packaged foods unless they got damaged and wet in transit

tehgerbil

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# 2275337 12-Jul-2019 14:21

Is it worth chasing up for $4 for a pack of TimTams? Or is there more here?

GSManiac

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# 2275338 12-Jul-2019 14:22

There was multiple Tim tams. About $30 worth.

mattwnz

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# 2275339 12-Jul-2019 14:22

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I would say it is likely more the principle than the cost.

loceff13

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# 2275385 12-Jul-2019 14:57

mattwnz:

Under the CGA for services, if you paid for a service, don't they have to provide that service? Eg deliver something you paid to be delivered. Did you at least get a refund on freight? My interpretation of their perishable items list, is fresher types of food, which can spoil within a few days, and is probably there so that the smell and decay of spoiled food in the postal system. Biscuits can potentially last for years in sealed packs.

You should also check to see if the biscuits have a 'useby date' in them, which means they are potentially unsafe to eat after that date. A 'best before' date doesn't mean that they have perished enough after 6 months not to be still safe to eat. Infact things can last for years past their best before date, especially if they are sealed. I was recently sent a chocolate bar by the manufacturer in the post which would be similar to tim tams, and surely the manufacturer sending me that isn't a breach of their terms?

I don;t however see how it has anything to do with them being lost. If something was deteriorating and smelly, then I can see that as a problem for the courier, but that would never happen with longer life packaged foods unless they got damaged and wet in transit

They could also be covering their ass for heat damage to items.

Journeyman

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# 2275402 12-Jul-2019 16:02

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I'd say some NZ Post employees "accidentally" opened the package and got a bit hungry. But maybe that's just the cynic in me.

Bung

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# 2275516 12-Jul-2019 22:23

There are other "usual suspects" that follow posties or couriers.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/393399/online-shoppers-voice-fears-after-theft-of-couriered-parcels

1024kb

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# 2275518 12-Jul-2019 22:28

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NZ Post take very little responsibility for their service delivery. If an item is delivered late, no matter how much extra you paid to absolutely ensure its' ultra-urgent arrival, the response is "we do apologise but there's nothing more we can do". Uhmm, yes there is. Whether you're prepared to do anything is another story.

If you've paid for tracking, it's actually quite hard to lose an item in their system. Well, for them it is. Seems to be a different story for us, who find it remarkably easy to achieve parcel loss.

With their defeatist approach to the rapidly-changing environment that they operate in, I think a new marketing slogan is due - "NZ Post, committing business suicide"

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lNomNoml

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# 2275525 12-Jul-2019 23:00

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GSManiac: There was multiple Tim tams. About $30 worth.

The post lady had a really good snack that day :D

MadEngineer

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# 2275530 12-Jul-2019 23:36

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tehgerbil:

Is it worth chasing up for $4 for a pack of TimTams?

Does Dolly Parton sleep on her back?

surfisup1000

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# 2275532 12-Jul-2019 23:44

SirHumphreyAppleby:

Tim Tams are perishable, but they also have a shelf life longer than 6 months, so their terms do not absolve them of guilt. Also, they lost the item, it didn't go bad in transit, so their T&C are irrlevant IMO.

The old Carriage of Goods Act 1979 has been repealed, the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 should be your starting point.

Does the law take into account the expiry date on perishable items?

Seems like a loophole if it does not.

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