Can you help with a bizarre situation I find myself in? I bought a projector online, but it was not suitable so I sent it back. The parcel firm UPS had delivered it, so it seemed sensible to get UPS to return it. How wrong I was.
I completed the online booking form, selecting the boxes to show that there was a lithium ion battery in the projector, and paid the fee.
The driver collected it but, after a few days, it became clear it was stuck at UPS’s Tamworth depot.
Despite there being no mention or warnings during the booking process, I have since discovered that this was because the battery is classified as a dangerous item.
I have been told that I either have to collect it, or UPS will dispose of it and charge me. Tamworth is a three-hour drive away. The projector is worth £899, but it is going to cost me £450 in lost pay, petrol and so on to collect it, plus the £28 I paid UPS to return it.
It seems UPS will only accept packages with these batteries from authorised accounts, but why wasn’t I warned?
CP, by email
Your letter has highlighted a growing consumer issue that retailers and parcels carriers are going to have to address as so many products contain big batteries.
To the lay person it made no sense that UPS would not return a parcel that it had delivered. It told me that it can only carry lithium batteries (of more than 100Wh) that are properly packaged and labelled, and, crucially, certified.
Fearing that your £899 projector was going to be destroyed, you left home at 5am last week, drove to Tamworth, and on to Cardiff to get it back – a round trip of 440 miles.
UPS has agreed to pay you £100 to cover (some of) your expenses, and return the £28 – which to me doesn’t feel enough.
It has failed to address your complaint that you were able to book the return delivery and click the box to say it contained a battery without any of this being mentioned.
It seems anyone returning an item like this needs to get the retailer to organise collection, and be aware of this potential problem, which must affect lots of online purchase returns.
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