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'Home delivery' to home/flat or building?

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DiamondEcho
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'Home delivery' to home/flat or building?

#221787

Postby DiamondEcho » May 15th, 2019, 12:42 pm

I live in a flat in a house made up of 5 flats. My flat is 1st floor, 2 flights of stairs up, relatively simple for London.
We've had quite a few deliveries recently, from groceries to furniture. Different drivers seem to consider their responsibility varies, a couple have brought the goods up the stairs and into our home, others bring the packages inside the building's front door (downstairs) and no further.

Yesterday I (politely) asked one such delivery-man who'd stopped inside downstairs if he would bring the package up to our home, but he declined, suggesting that delivery inside the front door downstairs was the end of his responsibility. Fortunately I was home and managed to carry it up, though my wife said she isn't sure she could have managed it alone.

The retailers, and our orders have come from various, do not seem very precise on what/where 'delivery' entails. Has anyone else faced this, what should one reasonably expect?

ps. We have another delivery due in an hour or two, it's large and we paid additionally for a '2 man delivery'. This is the only occasion where we have been clearly told in advance that it will be brought into our home to the room of our choosing. I don't think that alone justifies the different approaches though, as a couple of weeks ago I had a heavy delivery (4 cases of glass bottles of beer!), and without asking the driver brought those up and into our hallway.

UncleEbenezer
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Re: 'Home delivery' to home/flat or building?

#221870

Postby UncleEbenezer » May 15th, 2019, 6:38 pm

I've tackled this - and started to take notice of delivery terms - since I've been living on a hillside with 44 steps up from the road to my front door. Don't want to end up with Laurel&Hardy deliveries!

My impression is that delivery folks are familiar with issues that may arise, and make their terms clear. They'll spell out whether they bring it in to where it's needed, or left kerbside. Thus when ordering something I couldn't bring up the steps on my own (like the new washing machine), I know I need to ensure I get delivery into the house. That can limit your options with some things.

If you're ordering from a one-man-band/family business, it might be more informal. Thus when I bought a new futon I told the shop's proprietor about the steps, and he said no problem.

When they depart from the terms on their website, it'll be in your favour: someone prepared to bring it up when it's not in their terms to do so. Just don't rely on it unless you've discussed it in advance. Give a tip when it's well-earned!

kempiejon
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Re: 'Home delivery' to home/flat or building?

#221995

Postby kempiejon » May 16th, 2019, 9:03 am

I had a bed and a sofa delivered, by separate firms, to the required rooms, the grocery man offers to bring it to the kitchen - I decline, postie often just leaves it at the front door if I'm not in, more occasionally with neighbours. The fridge was left in the middle of the kitchen as the delivery guys couldn't get it into the space as it was too small - I have slotted it in nicely thank you. I had some scaffolding boards delivered, the delivery stated to be unloaded at the nearest kerbside but the fella bought it round to the back gate, that was really helpful.

DiamondEcho
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Re: 'Home delivery' to home/flat or building?

#221999

Postby DiamondEcho » May 16th, 2019, 9:20 am

@UncleEb - Thanks for that, it does seem a bit of a grey area perhaps open to being interpreted by the lazy or those running late.
Yours seems something of a parallel situation to mine. They could bring a delivery to the boundary of the house and any attached grounds but not across it, ie not within the property as a whole. But in my case it'd be like there are a number of houses on your plot, say a terrace of six across a sloping lawn area with some steps up from the road, and they stop just inside the common street entrance for all of them and take it no further, despite having ordered with my house number. They'd have delivered to the terrace of houses, but not my home.

And there is another ramification if I have to take it from the common external boundary into my home, what if having brought it into my home I find it's damaged. Since they've conveyed it part-way, as would I have, it's no longer clear-cut where liability might lie.

Re: the order yesterday. It was a 2-man delivery, by a courier company rather than the retailer itself. In that case I'd paid additional for 2-man delivery to the room. Good job as it weighed 40Kgs.
Tomorrow I'm due to have an office chair delivered, I'll recheck the vendor's site though expect it to be as vague as others (for 1-man delivery) as to where they expect to deliver to. If it's not clear I'll ask the company today.

richfool
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Re: 'Home delivery' to home/flat or building?

#222031

Postby richfool » May 16th, 2019, 10:34 am

Yes, we have similar issues. Large item deliveries are usually OK., as it is made clear whether the delivery will be into the flat itself.

It is usually packages delivered by a third party carrier where the issues arise. Some will ring the main entry bell and upon us letting them in they bring the package to our flat door on the first floor (which is fine).

However some carriers just leave the package in the entry lobby downstairs (accessible to many people), either when we are out, or even after we have let them into the building. It is these that annoy me. I have even been tempted to contact the supplier to ask where the item is as it hasn't been delivered, - because I haven't received it or signed for it.


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