Transdirect - Don't trust them

[Mahoosive]

I recently enlisted the assistance of Transdirect to move a 50 inch full HD plasma television (Valued at $3000) from the Gold Coast to Canberra. I recommend that everybody avoid this pathetic excuse for a company.

The courier arrived by himself to move my 60kg TV down a flight of stairs all by himself. I helped out, as this task would have been impossible. I wonder what he would have done had I been an old lady, or otherwise incapable of helping. As we lifted the TV into the truck, the guy dropped it in the back, and left it unsecured, standing freely in the back of the truck. I instructed the guy to be more careful as it was a valuable TV that must remain upright at all times. He assured me it would be fine and that they "do this kind of thing all the time".

The TV arrived, again with a solo driver who asked my father (who has recently suffered a stroke) to help him get it out. Dad was unable so he stumbled with it himself. He thrust a piece of paper in my fathers face to sign and quickly left.

Upon opening the TV, it is obvious it had sustained a massive impact in the centre of the screen. The entire front panel is shattered, and the TV is unable to be repaired.

I rang and spoke to the least helpful human being I have ever encountered, T A. He told me I was in an "unfortunate position, where the warranty and insurance is void because I signed for it". But I didn't sign for it T? I became increasingly frustrated as he seemed unwilling to help, and he hung up on me.

I put in an insurance claim and T said that his company was a "no responsibility company", that I'd signed for it, and that insurance was void.

Do not ever use this company. I am $3000 out of pocket because my paralysed father was unable to unpack and remove a 60kg Television, plug it in and inspect it in the 30 seconds before the driver made his hasty exit.

The television was packaged as it was when i received it from the factory, so someone in this company is obviously aware of the damage they did, yet deliberately came avoided telling anyone in the hope noone would notice.

I hope noone else has to encouter his rudeness.


Legal proceedings are pending.

[Transdirect]

So as to avoid any further confusion, I will explain our company’s position in relation to the specific points you have raised.

1) Our courier service, as with most courier services, runs with one employee per truck. If you had contacted us at any stage, we would have happily brought this to your attention.
2) Under no circumstances is it the responsibility of the driver to remove the item from your premises, especially from the top of your stairs.
3) As clearly pointed out on our website and accepted by you during the booking process, if the item is above 40kg’s YOU MUST provide assistance to the driver to load and unload the item.
4) If you are unable to provide assistance, YOU MUST book the job with a Hydraulic Tail lift truck for each end the assistance is unavailable. This service incurs an additional charge.
5) During the booking process you have accepted the following conditions of the Transit Warranty:

Signing For Received Goods
All goods MUST be inspected for damage before the Receiver signs the Proof of Delivery form or PDA screen. By signing the goods as 'Received in good condition' you will void the Transit Warranty. Please make sure any Receiver is aware of this if you are booking as the Sender. If damage is evident, the receiver must write 'DAMAGED' on the Consignment note or PDA screen.

If at any stage you were unclear on the Transit Warranty Conditions, you should have contacted us through phone or email and we would have happily explained the reasons behind the conditions.
The main reason this is a necessary condition is there needs to be proof that the damage has been caused in Transit. Currently this is not possible.

6) If your father was unable to inspect the freight, then he should have refused to sign for the delivery as was his right to do so.

[Transdirect]

Our response continued.

7) To state that someone deliberately avoided telling you of any damage is an inappropriate claim to make on a public forum, and does not assist the credibility of your argument. The terms of the warranty clearly state that it is the receiver’s responsibility to check the goods for damage prior to signing for them. You cannot expect the carrier to cover your goods where there has been a complete failure on the part of the receiver to adhere to his contractual responsibilities. Failure to comply with contractual obligations voids your warranty and also the warranty that Transdirect holds with the carrier. Transdirect cannot bear responsibility for failures to adhere to contractual obligations.
8) It is your opinion that our representative was “the least helpful human you have ever encounted.”
It is our opinion that you misunderstood the conditions associated with the Transit Warranty, and subsequently a serious error was made which has resulted in your claim being denied. Our representative would have been unable to offer you any further service, as the conditions of the warranty are strict. This may not have been what you wanted to hear. You cannot seek to lay blame where clearly you have failed to comply with the clear and simple terms set out in the warranty.

9) As a company, to hear you have had this experience is very unfortunate and if you feel legal proceedings are necessary then that is your choice however I hope you can understand that our Transit Warranty is bound by these conditions and was accepted by you at the time of the booking. Whilst it is regrettable that your TV was damaged, due to you and your father’s actions, it cannot be that the goods were damaged in transit, as Transdirect has signed proof that the goods were received by your father in good condition. The only logical conclusion that can be drawn is that the goods were damaged after they were received by your father. Therefore any legal action you take is destined to fail due to the nature of the evidence available to Transdirect.
Further any comments that you make about Transdirect from this point on will be closely monitored and referred to our legal counsel. Any comments or statements by you that are found in any way to be defamatory or untrue that result in loss of business or damage to Transdirect’s reputation will be pursued to the full extent available at law.

[DG58]

"Further any comments that you make about Transdirect from this point on will be closely monitored and referred to our legal counsel. Any comments or statements by you that are found in any way to be defamatory or untrue that result in loss of business or damage to Transdirect’s reputation will be pursued to the full extent available at law".

I think you will find that by saying that, you yourself is doing more damage to your company then the OP.

what you're saying is that you're simply relying on a technicality that the father signed for the goods, but that still doesn't mean that you did the right thing by this customer, and you're now saying that it was damaged after it was delivered, i don't believe that.

[Transdirect]

The main point is that the Transit Warranty is offered free of charge to our clients as an additional service, but it comes with strict conditions.
These conditions are accepted by our clients at the time of a booking and they MUST be adhered to.

[kadee]

Never have I met a delivery driver, from AP courier to furniture truck, who will wait while you inspect all goods.

I am interested to know...what should the father have done if unable to inspect the goods there and then?

Had he refused to sign what would have happened then?

Could he have signed but written 'without prejudice' or some such thing?

[computerflyer]

Transdirect,

> Any comments or statements .... found in any way to be defamatory .... that result in loss of business or damage to Transdirect’s reputation will be pursued to the full extent available at law.

I suggest you consider suing yourselves, as your post will probably lose you business. I doubt there is anything inaccurate or misleading about your practices, or T&C, or the ambit words that protect you, so perhaps you need not sue? Accuracy is a valid defence. The rest of us understand you well.

[G00GS]

Well said, computerflyer and Kadee...

I would also like to know how well it would go down with the driver if you refused to sign because you are unable to properly check the goods.

It is from Transdirects own reply that will make me steer well clear of them...

[dusty_rusty_2000]

The delivery driver is clearly at fault here. If he had done his job properly, he would have investigated who the receiver was, rather than simply thrusting a deliver docket at the first person he found. This gentleman could have been an elderly neighbour or just a passer-by and as it turns out, a very sick man recovering from a stroke that may not have full brain function and diminished responsibilities.

"Any comments or statements by you that are found in any way to be defamatory or untrue that result in loss of business or damage to Transdirect’s reputation will be pursued to the full extent available at law."

The arrogance of this statement is enough for me to put your company on my "do not use" list". Transdirect ranks right up there with Tiger Airlines and Big Pond so don't go blaming the OP for defaming your company: you are doing a great job of it yourself.

[Thing]

Interesting information in this thread...
Should I ever use a transport company in similar circumstances they wont get a signature until the item is fully inspected & with electrical equipment that would mean until it is set up & seen to be in proper working order.

I wonder what the driver will be doing whilst people spend 10-20 mins setting up their TV's, computers, etc to test them I'm sure he will be patiently waiting & fully understand that everything must be fully tested before signing...

Although it wont be with a Transdirect driver either, its wrong when companies use the law to avoid their responsibilities for their own reckless behaviour.

[alassinsane]

I agree with Thing.
I really can't imagine a driver waiting around for me to set everything up and test it.
I'll definately steer clear of this company, their response doesn't fill me with confidence that they give two hoots about the complaint.

[Mahoosive]

Dear Transdirect,

It appears that you are currently unaware that as a customer, I had written my own Terms and Conditions. Unfortunately it seems you weren't aware of this when you took my money to transport my goods. Had you called me and asked me if there were any specific terms and conditions to take my money I would have happily shared them with you.

It seems you are unhappy with my service as a customer. Under my terms and conditions (which you were free to ask me about at any time) it clearly states that when your company costs me $3000, that I reserve the right to be dissatisfied with said service, and share the details of the sub standard service on a public forum so as to ensure others don't suffer similar losses. Now that you are threatening me with deformation, I feel it necessary to inform you that I am a non-responsible entity, and I feel the need to terminate this conversation and switch off my phone so as to avoid any further questions which I will most likely be unable to answer.

Although my insurance company would pay for any deformation damages, (which is I guess, the reason I pay insurance premiums) I feel that I would be better off ignoring you. Remember, truth is a defense to deformation.

Next time I will be sure to inform my father that should any packages come which he is unable to inspect before the courier makes a hasty exit, to inform the driver to reload the package on the truck and transport it 1200kms from whence it came (which I suspect would be another fee for which I would be responsible).

[computerflyer]

Mahoosive,

Good on you - well written.

[kadee]

I too would never again use Transdirect after they left a laptop on my rarely used upstairs balcony to swelter in the weather without anyone knowing it had even been delivered. This despite the con-note being marked NO UNATTENDED DELIVERY!

Wonder how long it will take this company to demand NGE remove their customer's complaints under threat of legal action!

[DG58]

Mahoosive, this is a very good post and so true with every customer out there.

It's just amazing how Transdirect by issuing a threat caused themselves 10 folds more in damage to their reputation then any unhappy customer could.