Cheap Parcel Delivery - official discussion 4 December 2012 at 2:59PM edited 9 December 2022 at 4:29PM in Ebay, auctions, car boot sales, post & parcels 1.3K replies 313.9K views

GTsIan

jaybeetoo wrote: »

It would help if you said where from and to.

Bournemouth to Devon.

xxorlsxx

DPD damaged a toilet we returned to Victoria plumbing, we tried to get a refund but were referred to their banned items listed, belive me when I say you literally can't send ANYTHING through them even packaging is on the list! Avoid!

martindow

xxorlsxx wrote: »

DPD damaged a toilet we returned to Victoria plumbing, we tried to get a refund but were referred to their banned items listed, belive me when I say you literally can't send ANYTHING through them even packaging is on the list! Avoid!

A toilet is a heavy and fragile item. How was it packaged by you?


You're right that DPD like most carriers have a long list of exclusions so you send at your own risk and have to pack defensively. You have no chance of successfully claiming from them, I'm afraid.



Did VP tell you how to return it? If they suggested DPD I would push back politely and ask for a refund even though it has broken in transit on the basis that you have carried out your side of the bargain.

Geoffrey_Coan

GTsIan wrote: »

Bournemouth to Devon.

I would try asking for a quote on shiply and anyvan, both offer 'man and a van' type services. I've used them a few times, and got good prices for moving breakable things like a toilet and some slabs of marble I sold on ebay.
Sometimes you can get great prices, sometimes you have to advise the couriers what kind of budget you are looking for and they can come down to match - I've had both experiences.


Geoffrey

martindow

soolin wrote: »

With Christmas fast approaching if anyone sees news of offers on parcel costs or of any of the warnings (as we have had in previous years) of some couriers starting to struggle with volume, do please post it up here.

With no responses to soolin's message it looks promising that carriers seem to be coping this year.

GTsIan

Geoffrey_Coan wrote: »

I would try asking for a quote on shiply and anyvan, both offer 'man and a van' type services. I've used them a few times, and got good prices for moving breakable things like a toilet and some slabs of marble I sold on ebay.
Sometimes you can get great prices, sometimes you have to advise the couriers what kind of budget you are looking for and they can come down to match - I've had both experiences.


Geoffrey

I ended up using Anyvan, apart from the collection being delayed due to a road accident, the service was spot on

joanneframe

I have a question about how the whole process works. I don't send a lot of stuff, only occasionally. But I do receive deliveries regularily. At the end of October I used DPD to send a parcel (gramaphone motor) within the UK. I knew them because a lot of my deliveries are through them. The price quoted, £7, was very reasonable for a 20Kg parcel,even with the additional cover for £100, compared with Royal Mail which was £30. I ordered the service on-line - the red DPD site took me to the blue DPD-local site, which in turn set up a contract with Parcel2Go. A week later I was advised the parcel hadn't been received by the gramophone company. A live chat with DPD-local opened an investigation that was to take 7-10 days. After repeatedly chasing my order was marked as lost, claim required, 5 weeks after I sent it. I didn't want to accept it had been lost. The motor had been left to me by my father who died earlier in the year. It was finally confirmed missing in mid December and I had to claim. Only I had to prove what it was worth, even though I had paid for additional insurance. A valuation from a gramphone specialist hasn't been accepted. I am asked to provide an ebay or amazon screenshot - difficult to do for a specific motor made in the 1920s.

DPD say my beef is with Parcel2Go, but DPD-local are the ones responding to my enquiries. The only tracking information on the DPD-local website was 'parcel on hold'', 2nd November (2 days after I sent it). Ideally I would like to find the parcel. A lot of you guys seem quite knowledgeable about the logistics of the industry - in that scenario who in the chain could have lost the parcel - marking it on hold would seem to me that it had arrived somewhere? Any ideas?

Howard_L

Can anyone suggest an alternative to Parcel2Go? I use Royal Mail for all my packages except where they exceed 2kg or the 90cm small packet size limit. I had few problems with parcel2go until recently

I am now having problem after problem with Parcel2Go and their partners. Out of the last 7 items I have sent 3 have outstanding problems and are yet to be delivered. Two of those I have as good as written off. .The "Talk to an adviser" button was difficult to find in early January when I reported an issue. Now it seems to have disappeared altogether. I'm very frustrated and the company is currently costing me a great deal of time and money.

I am in the unfortunate position of having to temporarily remove around 50 items, too large or heavy to ship by Royal Mail, from my online shop until I can find an alternative service so any advice is appreciated.

martindow

Howard_L wrote: »

Can anyone suggest an alternative to Parcel2Go? I use Royal Mail for all my packages except where they exceed 2kg or the 90cm small packet size limit. I had few problems with parcel2go until recently

I am now having problem after problem with Parcel2Go and their partners. Out of the last 7 items I have sent 3 have outstanding problems and are yet to be delivered. Two of those I have as good as written off. .The "Talk to an adviser" button was difficult to find in early January when I reported an issue. Now it seems to have disappeared altogether. I'm very frustrated and the company is currently costing me a great deal of time and money.

I am in the unfortunate position of having to temporarily remove around 50 items, too large or heavy to ship by Royal Mail, from my online shop until I can find an alternative service so any advice is appreciated.

Three out of seven is a very high rate of losses.



You need to look at your packaging and labelling. If the label comes off in transit it is good if you have your return address and/or the delivery address handwritten on the box.


The other possibility is that there is some local problem with the drop off shop or the local depot. Which company is carrying your parcels (P2G are just agents)? I would try a different company or drop off shop to see if that helps.

mgdavid

Howard_L wrote: »

Can anyone suggest an alternative to Parcel2Go? I use Royal Mail for all my packages except where they exceed 2kg or the 90cm small packet size limit. I had few problems with parcel2go until recently

I am now having problem after problem with Parcel2Go and their partners. Out of the last 7 items I have sent 3 have outstanding problems and are yet to be delivered. Two of those I have as good as written off. .The "Talk to an adviser" button was difficult to find in early January when I reported an issue. Now it seems to have disappeared altogether. I'm very frustrated and the company is currently costing me a great deal of time and money.

I am in the unfortunate position of having to temporarily remove around 50 items, too large or heavy to ship by Royal Mail, from my online shop until I can find an alternative service so any advice is appreciated.

P2Go are not a carrier just a broker. Which carrier are you choosing via P2G?
Best option would be to choose a carrier that hasn't been involved with any of your 3 problems and then deal with them direct.
DHL and UPS seem to have a better reputation than others like Yodel, DPD, Hermes etc. but will be a bit more expensive - you pays yer money and takes yer choice, you can always load a bit extra onto your shipping costs on ebay.