Home Delivery Network - warning!

melissarca

I've had an absolute nightmare with HDNL, where I've now been waiting 5 whole days for a bin that still hasn't turned up.
The first day it was meant to arrive (Thursday), I got an email from Made (who I'd ordered a bin from), stating that my item would be delivered 'on or before Thursday 25th November, and I also got a text from Made stating that my item would arrive between 12-3pm - which I thought was a great service. How wrong I was.

I waited in all day Thursday, except it was still marked as 'in the depot' from 11.59am. When I called them at 6.30, customer services stated that the scanners weren't working and that my item hadn't left the depot that day. I was assured that my item would be delivered the next day.

I waited in all day Friday, only for the parcel to have left the depot and then to be marked back at the depot at 6pm. When I called and asked why this had happened, they said that the driver couldn't find us and that there had been a problem when he put it into his sat nav. We have a very simple address and postcode that can be easily found by typing into google maps. Plus, no other delivery company has ever had any problems with finding us.
I also asked why the driver hadn't called me if he hadn't been able to find me - she said that the drivers only have their own phones and many don't bother calling as they'd have to pay for the call themselves.
I was assured that my item would go out for delivery on Monday with new, more detailed delivery instructions.

I decided to do a little detective work and called the Wembley depot, which I presumed would be the depot for my delivery. I had never been told this HDNL, and I have since been alternating between calling the depot and calling the main customer service line.

I waited in all day Monday, only for the item to be marked as 'in the depot' at 9.05pm. When I called customer services, again they said that the item would definitely come out the next day.

I waited in all day Tuesday, only for the item to be 'in the depot' again all day. When I called and asked to speak to a supervisor at HDNL, they said that all the monday deliveries had had to go out Tuesday due to the weather - whereas, it only started snowing on Tuesday in London and there hadn't been any adverse conditions whatsoever on Monday.

I had by now got Made involved, who couldn't understand why they couldn't find our address as "we can easily find you on google maps". I emailed them even more detailed instructions on how to find us, and she assured me that she would make sure that HDNL got these new instructions.

I waited in all today (wednesday) and the parcel did go out on a delivery and I was given a set time - between 2.30-5.30pm. I've just called the Wembley depot again, and they advised me that it was a different driver and he couldn't find us either. When I asked her why he hadn't been able to find us on his sat nav, she replied that the drivers don't have sat navs at all.

I've now been told that because the item has gone out twice, it won't come out to me again. I've requested a re-delivery for tomorrow but I'm really losing all hope (and the will to live) with this ever arriving. The worst thing is, I'd already ordered another two items from Made.com, and I found out from HDNL that another package is due for delivery from Amazon, which is a christmas present.

I'm convinced that Home Delivery Network must be providing the cheapest delivery service for all of these companies - but at a price. With no mobiles, sat navs or any kind of project management when things do go wrong, it's clear that the customer is the one left in the lurch here.

doober

GET A GRIP!!! hardly a bloody nightmare.I used to work for HDNL and it was one of the hardest jobs i have done, delivering 140 parcels a day is not easy, plus you had to deal with the idiot customers who order next day delivery items which have to be signed for then go out for the day.
In my opinion they are far superior to royal mail and parcelforce, who are just a shambles.

sad_dog_lady

hdn have just delivered my daughters new laptop, and had to drive through very very bad country roads, we are very deep in snow here, so i think they are amazing. :j:T:T

loztiggy

we ordered something through ebay and HDN were the carrier, it was a 48hr service and should have been with us tuesday, still no sign, but then again even if your local area is free of snow (ours is very deep but ups have been milling about delivering all day) areas there the packages are might not be, so try to be as patient as possible. everybody is trying their best in the snow. they are real people operating these vehicles at the end of the day. i couldnt do it.

jessicamb

I have a parcel sat in the depot since 1 Dec and isn't moving anywhere. When I called them to ask about when it will be delivered they couldn't say. I appreciate the bad weather has probably screwed things up for them but if they dont get back on top of things asap they are going to be swamped. Now have the joy of trying to get it redelivered to a different address.

aheaton46

doober wrote: »

GET A GRIP!!! hardly a bloody nightmare.I used to work for HDNL and it was one of the hardest jobs i have done, delivering 140 parcels a day is not easy, plus you had to deal with the idiot customers who order next day delivery items which have to be signed for then go out for the day.
In my opinion they are far superior to royal mail and parcelforce, who are just a shambles.

It is irrelevant to the customers how hard you worked. They have paid for a service and expect to receive it. If HDNL are not capable of dealing with the volumes they get, they shouldn't be taking on contracts.

I think the volume of complaints on the internet would suggest HDNL offer by far the worst service of any courier, with Parcelforce trailing some way behind.

pisces_pixie

Booked HDNL via Interparcel for collection on 22/11. Package was collected ok and tracking indicates was placed on the van for delivery . This is were tracking ends. I'm now resigned to the fact that the package has been lost after numerous telephone calls to both Interparcel and HDNL. Luckily my ebay customer was very understanding and accepted a full refund.

HDNL offer very poor customer service and been unhelpful in trying to rectify or locate. Currently in process of making compensation claim . Wish I'd read reviews before using their service

Esoog

Best thing to do is;

write to HDN head office stating your troubles, tell them you are sending a copy to Watchdog (do so too) and also to the company you ordered from (ie Amazon).

That's the only way they might actually up their game, a site like Amazon prides itself on customer service - 100s of letters complaining about crappy HDN might make them think again

pompeyfaith

A good company can be verified by whether or not they are contactable via phone, this route will in 90% of cases resolve any issues, as hdnl are virtually impossible to contact on the telephone that does not hold much hope for them.

lindos90

I know there has been some bad weather, but ive had a parcel in our local office (according to Amazon tracking) since 3rd of december (its the 11th now!).

I managed to find the local depot number and gave them a call to see if I could collect (saving them and me time), however they said its probably on a shrink wrapped pallet that they may get round to opening sometime next week, but they may not even be able to deliver next week!

The snow has really slowed things up, and with people buying online for presents, its going to get busier!

Please get some more staff in HDN, and get some of the backlog cleared please!:)