Refurbishment service by post, can the vendor disclaim responsibility for return shipping?

Question

There is a vendor offering a service to refurbish and paint brake calipers. These items can sometimes have high value, several thousand pounds on the second-hand market.

The vendor's terms and conditions state:

While our warranty does not cover for damage caused during transit, all shipped products (not including paint kits) are entitled to £100 basic shipping cover before additional shipping insurance purchases are assigned to invoices. The way in which this £100 or more is claimed is as follows: Loss: If a parcel is lost in transit before being delivered and signed for, your total cover amount will be put towards the replacement of the affected units. Anything outside the cost of these parts must be covered by the customer.

Can the vendor actually disclaim responsibility for loss during transit by their courier, unless the buyer purchases additional insurance through them? I know that under distance selling regulations, the seller is responsible until the item has been delivered to the recipient, but in this case a service is being carried out to the recipient's own property, which is then being shipped - what regulations apply here?

Answer 1

Risk in shipping is subject to contract

The International Chamber of Commerce has developed standardised terms detailing the usual points at which transfer of freight cost, title and risk pass from the shipper to the receiver. Your particular situation is non-standard but that’s fine - carriage is by the service provider as is risk up to £100 (except for paint where the risk is all on you).