parcel2go

[JSR]

The dropping of the compensation level speaks volumes about the company.

If they were confident that your order would be delivered promptly, undamaged, and not get lost, then they could keep the compensation level high becaused they'd never have to pay out on it.

However, if they don't care about your parcel and they suspect that there's a high chance that it WILL get lost or damaged, then they would keep the compensation level low so that they won't have to pay out much when (not "if") you put in a claim.

In my eyes, the lowering of the compensation level says "here is a company that has a lot of claims because their parcels are always getting lost or damaged". In one cost-cutting move, they've damaged their reputation because I certainly wouldn't use a courier company that's expecting my parcel to get lost or damaged.

[sarahjayne]

Had a bit of hassle with parcel to ship this week - I normally use parcel to go to send stuff from my mum's in Wales to me in Galway. Up until now have had no problems but it does take a week to arrive and I have to have my phone number on it as it's always a different company that delivers.
Love the parcel to go dialogue - the deny, deny, deny handbook for customer service comes to mind. And "sorry you feel like that" - classic.
My other half runs a courier and haulage service in Dublin and 3rd party companies have really squeezed his business in the last 18 months - he can't get business 2 business courier rates from the likes of DHL at the prices offered by online booking services & there has been a huge surge in van man operations advertising non licenced haulage.
With regards to insurance - he recently had a driver take a pallet from the ferry in Dublin Port to deliver to Donegal, now due to an error on his driver's part the load tipped in the van en route, it was all shrink wrapped and secure but it did tip. He had to return it and pay for its return to England, where it was checked (and was fine) and then sent again and redelivered. This was all at the expense of his business, cos he reckons that he gets " just in time" and business from companies who stand by their reputation, on the strength of his companies reputation and that the customer that comes to you on price will leave you on price. He has to guarantee his ability to deliver on time, anytime - so it might cost you more but he's at the end of the phone almost 24/7 - as that's what he has to do to keep the business going.
So I guess there's room for all types of delivery services - just like you have a myriad of choices in restaurants - we pays our money and takes our chance
(Although funny enough, all of my courier disasters - 4 spring to mind - have been with UPS, perhaps it's just an Irish thing though)

[JSR]

I had my first poor experience with couriers this week.

In the past, I've always used the DHL@HOME service through P4D and it's always been perfect. Quick collection, quick delivery, everything as smooth as silk.

These days, DHL's domestic service has been taken over by Yodel and, boy, does it show.

On Tuesday, I booked a pick up for Wednesday using Yodel's 24 Hour service. I wanted the package delivered before the long weekend and, although there was plenty of time, I chose to pay more for the 24 hour service just to be safe.

It comes to Wednesday and there's no sign of Yodel to pick up the package. P4D's website says that they could pick up any time before 5.30, or even late into the evening, so there's no point contacting them until after 7pm. 7pm comes and goes, so I go to their website. There's little I can do beyond either cancelling the shipment, or having them rebook it for a Thursday collection. Well, there's still time, so I get them to rebook it.

Then comes Thursday, and there's still no sign of Yodel. 5.30pm comes, 7pm comes, no sign of a collection. There's nothing I can do now but cancel the shipment. It's already too late to use a different courier because the parcel won't get there before the long weekend.

P4D are quick with the refund, but they don't seem to be bothered that they've lost the sale. Nor do they seem bothered that the poor performance of Yodel reflects badly on them. They just refund and send an email that sounds like a stock one they send out all the time.

Of course, I can't use Yodel now in the future. Taking over 48 hours to pick up a parcel you want delivering in 24 hours is plainly ridiculous. If they can't be bothered to collect a parcel, how much faith do we have that they could be bothered to deliver it at the other end?

What used to be a great service by DHL has been trashed by Yodel.

I guess in the future, I'll have no choice but to use the more expensive business-crippling services like Parcel Force or the Royal Mail themselves. That's presuming my customers will pay the extra postage costs, which I doubt.

[Ian M]

Jonathan, I had exactly the same as you just a couple of weeks ago with Yodel. DHL was very good but, Yodel is nothing like DHL were & I think one of the problems is that they are using self employed people who just can't be bothered. I've started to use Parcel Force now & I know they cost more but, like they say you only get what you pay for.

[JSR]

Jonathan, I had exactly the same as you just a couple of weeks ago with Yodel. DHL was very good but, Yodel is nothing like DHL were & I think one of the problems is that they are using self employed people who just can't be bothered. I've started to use Parcel Force now & I know they cost more but, like they say you only get what you pay for.

I think you're right, Ian.

The irony is that the item arrived at the customer this morning via Royal Mail (posted yesterday). Even if I had given Yodel another chance and if they had picked it up yesterday, no way on Earth would they deliver before Wednesday because of the weekend and Bank Holidays.

I should probably have sent via Royal Mail back on Tuesday and saved myself all the hassle. I think, in the future, I shall revise my use of couriers and, despite the extra cost, use Royal Mail at least up to 4Kg and then look at Parcel Force.

The primary issue with Parcel Force is that their prices increase with every 5Kg. Last year I sent several boxes ~25Kg via DHL for little more than £12 but, in the future, I'll have to pay Parcel Force over £30. That's a huge difference to find and I suspect that might kill the order before it starts. Oh well. Rather that than have Yodel treat both the parcel and the sender and the recipient like sewerage.

[Ian M]

We are not the courier we are the 3rd party so the services which we offer are non-guaranteed

Jonathan, have you ever heard that before? because it is what they all say when something goes wrong with the service you have bought. It really does make me wonder how many times some of these companies have had to answer to Trading Standards. I know what you mean on having to pay more but, I've been lucky in that my customers understand the situation & are willing to pay that bit extra. Someone told me that the self employed couriers get just £1 per parcel they deliver or pick up. You have to ask yourself 'how far would you go out of your way to earn just an extra £1?'

[bms]

Last year I sent several boxes ~25Kg via DHL for little more than £12 but, in the future, I'll have to pay Parcel Force over £30.

£30 for ParcelForce to take a 25kg package??? We use Parcelforce and offer a 3rd party collection for the same price as you were paying with DHL and that's for 30kg (to standard UK mainland addresses)

[JSR]

Jonathan, have you ever heard that before? because it is what they all say when something goes wrong with the service you have bought. It really does make me wonder how many times some of these companies have had to answer to Trading Standards. I know what you mean on having to pay more but, I've been lucky in that my customers understand the situation & are willing to pay that bit extra. Someone told me that the self employed couriers get just £1 per parcel they deliver or pick up. You have to ask yourself 'how far would you go out of your way to earn just an extra £1?'

I think it's an example of "too many Chiefs, not enough Indians". Any business can get better rates with a courier if they can guarantee sending a vast number of parcels each week. The likes of P4D, parcel2go, and the millions of others that have cropped up do just this to get low prices. They just act as the agent.

The trouble arises with the likes of Yodel because Yodel are effectively agents, also. They're not a courier either - they just use others, as you've discovered. We pay £xxxx to P4D or similar who cream off their payment, they pay Yodel or similar who take a huge chunk, and then a tiny dribble gets to the poor s*d that has to do the work.

When we used to use DHL, we only had one agent to deal with - in my case, P4D. Now that Yodel has replaced DHL Domestic with independent "man with a van" (the HDNL), we have two agents - P4D and Yodel. More people act as agents, less people do the actual job of delivering. No wonder prices go up while services go down.

What's needed is for an independent courier company to work direct with small businesses and end users, and cut out both sets of agents. Trouble is, as soon as such an entity gets big enough - someone like Yodel would come along and buy them out.

£30 for ParcelForce to take a 25kg package??? We use Parcelforce and offer a 3rd party collection for the same price as you were paying with DHL and that's for 30kg (to standard UK mainland addresses)

Martin, I'm just quoting the prices Parcel Force has on their website, see below:



Those prices are before VAT that needs to be added for us small businesses, so 30Kg is £42 whereas before I was paying DHL via P4D £10.79. At those kinds of prices, I may as well pay my mate to take them in his car. :rolleyes:

So, right now, I've no idea how I'm going to ship any order that weighs over 10Kg and anything up to 8Kg is cheaper by regular Royal Mail (which is getting more expensive every time RM's boss changes his socks).

[smitch6]

with ppl like parcel force if you send a lot of parcels like BMS you can have an account and a deal with them and the prices come down dramatically.
but for us ppl who send 1 every now and again they don't do deals
so we have to go to 3rd party companies who are just after the money

[bms]

with ppl like parcel force if you send a lot of parcels like BMS you can have an account and a deal with them and the prices come down dramatically.
but for us ppl who send 1 every now and again they don't do deals
so we have to go to 3rd party companies who are just after the money

As I've offered before, we can broker a collection and delivery to your customers using Parcelforce at £10 vat per package (up to 30kg to UK mainland addresses (usual surcharges apply to certain areas) on a next day service.