Who is responsible for an item if it is broken during shipment and the shipping company has denied the claim?

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Who is responsible for an item if it is broken during shipment and the shipping company has denied the claim?

I bought a sofa on-line and it was shipped to me across the country. It was broken during shipment. The business that I purchased it from agreed to put in a claim with the shipping company and after 9 months, the shipping company denied the claim because the business took too long to respond to questions by the shipping company. I feel that the business should pay for this item to be fixed, but they said that they are not responsible for it once it leaves their store. They hired the shipping company, not me. I had no say in how it was shipped.

Asked on December 16, 2011 under Business Law, Massachusetts

Answers:

FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

Either the shiping company or the company that shipped the sofa would be responsible for payment of the sofa to be fixed, not you since you timely advised the shipper of the product that it was received by you in damaged condition.

I would call the shipper of the sofa advising its representative that the damage issue needs to get resolved sooner rather than later and follow up with that call with a written letter memorializing the conversation. Keep a copy of the letter for future use.

From what you have written, it seems that the shipping company mishandled the sofa in transport and it ultimately should be responsible for its repair. 


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