Can I Claim Against A Removal Company That Failed To Turn Up On Moving Day?

[kelfoan]

Is it possible to claim a refund and compensation for costs incurred as a result of a removal company failing to honour an agreed house move on the date agreed. I was advised by the company (with less than 24 hours before the agreed move date that they could not do the move ,they said one of the staff was off sick) As a result I had to reschedule the move and take time off work to accommodate the new date. I have written to the company . they have apologised and offered just £100 . However this seems to be a derisory amount considering the stress and inconvenience their cancellation caused. I am thinking of replying to reject the offer and then would take to a small claims court If i was to pursue a claim, under what Act could i claim for breach of contract? Thanks

[bobbinwales]

You had a reply here if its the same move of yours/your parents
https://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Law/Question1842082.html
Did the contract include any provision for cancellation

[bobbinwales]

You need to decide whats acceptable compo for your family. As they did the move but a few days late you cant expect the full cost back, but would you accept £250? £500?

[kelfoan]

I wrote to the company. They acknowledged that the move was agreed for 24/06 (so i have this agreement in writing now) they replied and just offered £100.
I have drafted a reply letter where i refer you to their Terms and conditions: Delays in transit; 10.2- you state that IF WE DO NOT KEEP TO AN AGREED WRITTEN TIMESCALE AND ANY DELAY IS WITHIN OUR REASONABLE CONTROL WE WILL PAY YOUR REASONABLE EXPENSES.."

This in no way covers the loss of earnings for having to reschedule the move. Nor does it make up for the distress and anxiety caused to my parents at the time. I originally requested £800 (£500 for the cost of the move, based on the refund for the move. My rationale was that their T&C's state I would have to pay 100% charge if I cancelled within 24 hours, so surely it is reasonable for them to do the same)£200 loss of earnings and £100 for stress and anxiety caused by their actions.)
I am about to reply to tell them i am rejecting the offer. I would probably accept a higher amount if the came back to me but i am prepared to go to small claims court but wanted to be clear on exactly what part of the law it would come under

[Hymie]

If you were to take the case to the small claims court, you would need to show your losses, normally a court will not award monies for stress and anxiety. Bear in mind that you are not guaranteed to be awarded the court fees even if you win the case – which would be £50 for a claim up to £300. And you won’t get paid for the time preparing your case and attending the case.

Had the move involved a property chain, there would likely be many possible knock on effects, at which a monetary value could be applied. But as you were moving to your parent’s home there would possibly be loss of access to the person who was moving into your home. They would need to make a claim against you for this, and you could then add this to your claim against the removal firm.

But if you are saying that you actually had no direct additional monetary costs as a result of the delayed move, only that you had to take a day off work for the move, I doubt the court would find in your favour for the following reasons:-

The court would view that you would have lost your personal time for the day of the move (let’s say it was a Saturday), but as the move did not take place you had most of that day to yourself.
Now you lost your time on the day the move took place (which happened to be a work day, for which you did not get paid). But let’s say you did not have most of the Saturday of the cancelled move to yourself, but went to work – then your losses would be negligible.

For this reason I think you would be lucky to have the court award you 100% of your lost wages for a day, because you had most of the original move day free. Although the removal firm’s t&c require you to pay 100% of the fee if cancelled within 24 hours – there is no such term requiring them to pay you if they cancel the move within 24 hours (or any other time period for that matter) – you cannot unilaterally change the contract, even if you think such a change would be fair.

So although I very much sympathise with the situation you were placed in due to the failure of the removal firm, your provable monetary loses are minimal, and even if you were to win a small claims case, it would be a pyrrhic victory given the time involved.

[bobbinwales]

I agree with hymie (on this rare occasion!)....the best I think you can hope for is to give the impression you've taken legal advice to consider
a small claims court application and maybe even post on socoal media/go to the press, but in the interests of compromise you'll accept £200, £300 max ( you decide how far to push it) if they agree within 7 days