Cheap Parcel Delivery Official Discussion

custardy

burnsguitarman wrote: »

I have waited in all day for a parcel to be collected by City Link, via Parcel Monkey. Needless to say Im still waiting!
I contacted City Link, who tried to contact the collecting depot (Manchester) but there is no reply, what do I do now? Do I contact Parcel Monkey, or City Link for a refund or should I send a dispute with paypal?

parcelmonkey,you aren't citylinks customer

sandiep

emweaver wrote: »

when this happened to me i contact parcel monkey and they refunded me. funnily that too was via citylink! i much prefer dhl so use parcel2go

Citylink now boast something like at 99% sucess rate, but that 99% I think only measures parcels that were collected. Therefore I think that their reliability rates exclude parcels like yours that are failed collections.

When do you book your parcel collections? If you are booking during the day that you wish them collected the booking company will be sending your request onto the driver in the van, who does have a right to reject it.

Also, in many areas the driver simply covers the route once a day, no nipping backwards and forwards, therefore, even though cut off for citylink maybe 11am or 12noon, if the driver has passed your location at 10am - he ain't going back for it. This tends to be the case more so in rural locations, smaller towns and on the outskirts of towns. Some of these drivers have huge geographical areas to cover and they simply don't have the flexibility to double back on themselves.

Also, things like drivers off sick mean that routes get reallocated amongst other drivers. One of the biggest problems can be when they are a driver or two short due to recruitment changes. (Citylink employee their drivers I think, they don't use subcontractors). It may just be that the normal driver that has covered your route has left, and the other drivers are struggling to cover it on top of their normal routes. I remember getting an email in January that said the Cardiff depot had only 40% of normal drivers in due to a severe sickness bug in the area.

Some depots have earlier cut offs than the parcel carrier company does as a whole. So although citylink may cut off at noon, the particular depot that covers your address could cut off as early as 9am or 10am. Again this will depend on factors like numbers of drivers, and the geography of the routes.

Unfortunately, the resellers/booking agents don't get given a definitive list of these situations from the carriers and depots, mainly because they can change on a daily basis, and it can't be incorporated into the booking.

But you do stand a better chance of getting a first time collection if you book before the end of the business day BEFORE you want collection, that way your job is listed on the drivers manifest as he starts his day, and isn't something that gets shoved into his route whilst he's travelling.

Hope this helps!

pufferfish_2

CL also do silly things with their routes which can't help with scheduling reliable collections.

For example, my nearest depot is 1 mile away from me but all my collections and deliveries are handled by another depot 20 miles away (and in a different postcode area). Not so good when I want to collect something from the depot.

I did try calling head office to make a suggestion but they weren't in the least interested.

custardy

pufferfish wrote: »

CL also do silly things with their routes which can't help with scheduling reliable collections.

For example, my nearest depot is 1 mile away from me but all my collections and deliveries are handled by another depot 20 miles away (and in a different postcode area). Not so good when I want to collect something from the depot.

I did try calling head office to make a suggestion but they weren't in the least interested.

that can happen with any courier and royal mail though,theres always cut off points and boundaries
i know of people who live right across from an RM depot,but their depot is 3 miles away

sandiep

As far as Interlink goes, Dumfries and Galloway, and the Scottish Borders are all English. This is because they're served from the Carlisle depot.

MsCrow

Hello
I have a parcel to send to the US and I need to have it tracked through (paypoo payment); the jacket I'm sending is worth about £115 so it need to be covered too. I'm confused about Airsure and International Signed For. I'm thinking ISF is properly signed at delivery? Hmmm. Is there a cheaper/better way to send a box weighing 800g?
Thanks

sandiep

Any of the RM products are a bit pants when it comes to international tracking, their tracking isn't real tracking. Most of the couriers price on weight and volume for USA as it's an air service, so if you can get it packed quite small and it's quite light, then one of the parcel couriers may well be not that much more expensive.

MsCrow

Thanks, could you point me in the direction of a cheap and reliable one? Otherwise I'll need to send RM so could someone confirm which to use - AS or ISF? I'm reticent to pack it too small. I have a medium RM box to pack it nicely. It's an expensive jacket which went for a fair price so I don't want to upset the buyer with a crushed and wrinkled jacket.

custardy

airsure would be your preferred choice out of the two RM services

MsCrow

Thanks Custardy; any other method you would advocate? I was reading a bit of a debate about signatures with the RM services on the ebay board. Bit confused now.