ukmail - woeful service

jingobingo

Quick tale of woe re. ukmail who also trade as businesspost. Item posted 16th Dec on 24 hour delivery (Christmas pressie) and yes i know that was when they had snow in the South East so yep, sure enough it took 5 days to get to local depot (in Scotland) thats understandable. What's not so understandable is that it has sat there since - currently over 2 WEEKS! Apparently this is due to the backlog caused by 8 weeks of bad weather, hmmm - there must have been some bad weather in early November that I've forgotten. Anyhow - poor customer coms, poor call centre info and a bit confused to be told that they are delivering new mail in first before attempting to clear the backlog. Also I'm "not allowed" to pick it up at the depot until they have attempted a delivery so its basically in storage until they get there act together.
Sounds like they run a business with no contingency whatsoever and when something goes wrong they have no processes or resources to get them out of it. Be warned if you are entrusting them with anything urgent or perishable - I'd be very, very cautious. Also, if the weather looks in any way poor I'd give them a wide berth and trust my parcels to a professional delivery company.

Vashda_Nerada

Your problem sounds pretty much like mine.
I've been waiting on a valuable item being delivered which was sent via their next day 12 noon service, it should have arrived on 21/12/10...needless to say I'm still waiting.
It's so infuriating because the package has just been sat at their depot since they picked it up, they haven't even attempted delivery.
I thought I'd get some joy on 31/12/10 as it had made it on to a delivery van but alas, it was not to be. My package sat on said van until this morning when it was loaded back in to the depot!!!

I've spent ages on the phone to this jokeshop, but their automated system cuts me off after 3 minutes in the queue. Tried the local depot too, nobody even picks up the phone there!
What a bunch of cowboys

jc808

same with parcelforce
utter crap

paddyrg

Unfashionable as it is to say, Royal Mail have been awesome with my post and packages despite the weather and Christmas rush hurdles.

jingobingo

Don't know about Parcelforce but pretty much every other delivery company has made a decent attempt at delivery even in the worst of the weather - which shows up ukmail's complete lack of service all the more marked.
Vashda - all the best for your delivery, I can totally empathise with you - it feels like they are holding our stuff hostage!

Vashda_Nerada

Jingobingo, that's exactly how I feel about this whole fiasco. 18 days and counting...Maybe I should look in to hiring the A-Team to go in there and free my stuff :undecided

Just been on the phone to UKFail for the umpteenth time. They said they were trying to clear the Scotland backlogs over the next 2 days but sadly my package is still in the depot today and I could expect delivery, "probably" Tuesday next week.

I'm so sick of this I asked if I could just go and pick it up but was told that I couldn't because it would be like, and I quote "trying to find a needle in a haystack". How the eck do they plan on delivering it then if they can't find it to simply hand it over to me at the depot?!

Worse than useless, they're just plain incompetent.

jingobingo

Latest update on parcel (bicycle) - they cant deliver it due to the backlog in Scotland so, get this, rather than deliver to my house 8 miles from the depot THEY ARE SENDING IT 400 MILES BACK TO LONDON!!!! The poor guy in the bike shop will have to receive it and RESEND it with them (and somehow they will then be able to deliver). As we say in Scotland 'Aye, right'...
How absolutely nuts is this? I have never heard anything like it before.....

garfield33

I don't think what I've had is 'woeful' (not yet anyway) but thought I'd resurrect this thread rather than start a new one - just want a whinge really.

I was expecting a parcel, and had an email from the website (a photo printer company) saying that it had been sent.
When I got in last night (Friday 13th), there was a card saying UKMail had tried to deliver the parcel - no one was in (well it was a work day).
I tried to rearrange on the UKMail website but it said I needed a printer, which I don't currently have, so phoned the number instead.
After speaking to the rep:
- They will only attempt redelivery on weekdays - I'm at work and can't take a day off to wait for a parcel.
- They will not leave it with a neighbour or a safe place (apparently this was specified by the sender, but they made no mention of this on their website)
- Therefore I can only collect it from the depot which is the other side of the city (not blaming them for that one! That's just geography).
- They only only hold it at the depot for 5 days, and for this they INCLUDE Saturdays and Sundays, and as they claim they tried to deliver it on Thursday 12th (I have no card for this) I have to get it by Tuesday 16th.
- Sods law my car is out of action at the moment - normally I'm happy to bus about places but I have never been to this side of town before and the parcel is quite big, unwieldy and it's not a good idea to attract attention to yourself when you don't know where you are! This is why I wanted it delivered!

If only they would be willing to redeliver next Saturday then I would be in

<whinge over>

MamaMoo_2

On the flip side, I've had 3 deliveries from these guys lately. Delivery is down for 8am to 8pm. Every delivery I've had, there's been a lovely bloke at my front door between 7:56am and 8:01am. He rings the doorbell, knocks the door, then waits for a minute. Can't fault him.

garfield33

Thanks MamaMoo, I know I am whinging and there are far, far worse things going on - if I was in then there would be no problem, it just seems to be very faffy because I wasn't!
The guy who wrote on my delivery card had very nice handwriting

wheezy57

I have had a similar experience over Christmas, Ordered something from John Lewis and it was duly sent with covering tracking system. The dopy postman delivered to wrong house and the person signed for it under the name of Brown. That is not my name. When I hadnt received anything for ten days I rang JL. They confirmed that it had been signed for by a Brown. Then I did my own detective work and knocked on the door of the house that had received the parcel. This house had the same number on his door as mine as he had got it out of skip and hadnt taken the number off. No says he. No I havent signed for anything. At the corner of my eye I could have sworn I saw his wife wearing the bloody dressing gown I had ordered but it didnt register at that time. JL did refund me for the full amount and said they would investigate and I would love to know what they actually did. All I am doing now is waiting for spring time to see if the towels are on their washing line that I ordered. You know when you get the feeling that this person is lying but cant actually prove anything. He is a bit flaky at the best of times. The towels incidentally were sold out when I tried to reorder!!!
So, my message is try and avoid UKMAIL at all costs..Christmas or not.