Like hundreds of other hatching egg producers I send eggs to customers by Special Delivery. Last month a parcel went astray and arrived with the buyer a week late so I said I would apply for compensation. I paid £7.55 for it to be delivered the next day before 1.00pm.
The Royal Mail letter explains that hatching eggs are considered to be "live animals" and therefore prohibited items not eligible for compensation if not delivered on time.
In a polite exchange with a person at their Customer Service centre I was told that , "if the eggs were for eating then compensation would be paid but as these are deemed live animals no compensation would be paid".
Is a hatching egg alive or dead? The embryo is in a state of suspended animation until it is put in an incubator or under a hen so it must be alive.
However a fertile egg sent by Special Delivery destined for scrambling, boiling or poaching is deemed "dead" by the Royal mail. Another corporate wheeze to avoid paying compensation for poor service?
Surely a fertilised egg is not a live animal, breathing with a heart beat it is more like a seed that does not start to grow unless it is given the right conditions, warmth, light and moisture. The birds egg does not come out of its suspended animation until it gets the right conditions and its cells start to devide. I would appeal, it will cost them more to keep writing you letters.
ReplyDeleteTrevor