Big problem with Parcel Monkey

Rhino666

I sent a large item to France - paid for delivery through Parcel Monkey on 22nd April - item picked up on 24th April.


On 14th May there was a debit on my credit card for £47.75. No communication or recognisable identification, so I contact credit card and block the payment as unauthorised.


Finally got through to PM after a lot of attempts - there is a live chat if you are prepared to look/fight hard for it. They get back to me to say that the courier DX, used calibrated equipment to measure my parcel and have found it outside of my measurements and charged the extra. The extra is more than the original cost for the delivery and £400 insurance(£46.80). They say the decision is final.


I have a clear photo of the parcel which I will publish if needed but am confident in my measurements.


Anyone gone through anything similar? I know this is not right and would like to fight it.

pinkshoes

What does your contract say about if the parcel is found to be oversize?

Does the photo show dimensions? How big was it, and how big did DX find it to be?

Brooker_Dave

Rhino666 wrote: »

I have a clear photo of the parcel which I will publish if needed but am confident in my measurements.


Anyone gone through anything similar? I know this is not right and would like to fight it.

If you search this board you'll see that you're not the first.

I'd ask for a chargeback from the bank for unauthorised use and find a new parcel company.

It happened to me with Interparcel so it's quite a common problem.

KRDmum

Don't have much advice to give but I was turned away from the post office last week, because my parcel was 5mm too high on the Middle (raised air pocket), it was either that or pay extra, so I had to go home and repackage it, as it wasn't worth paying extra.
Hope you get it sorted in your favour

Rhino666

Hi Pinkshoes


When the order was placed I did agree that if found to be oversize I would be charged extra. I panicked when I saw the credit card claim because without any previous communication or obvious connection to a parcel delivered without a problem three weeks ago, I thought it was an unauthorised claim.


Here is PMs last communication....................
Stefan Hello,

I do understand that you refute the extra charges that were levied but the parcels dimensions/weight were not entered correctly, these have since been measured by calibrated measuring equipment via the couriers:
The stated dimensions were 170x30x30
The measured dimensions were 170x30x30 these give a volumetric weight of 48.85kg

We have to work based on available evidence, your statement of the parcel dimension vs. the data provided from the couriers calibrated parcel measuring system make this quite clear and unfortunately the charges must stand.

I know that is not what you want to hear, but the position is final I am afraid.

Kind regards,
Stefan
Monday 18th May 2015 at 15:05

---

As you can see, the measurements he has quoted are the same so he has it wrong. I am still waiting for a further reply to get the proper detail confirmed.


The photo I have does not have specific measurements next to it but hopefully I can prove my point somehow when they get back with their updated version of measurement. The parcel is also a little irregular in shape which makes volumetric measurement difficult.


Is the volumetric measurement done fairly or would it be calculated on the largest measurements of length, width and height?

martindow

What did you pay?

I've just put your dimensions in PM and used a weight of 15kg to France. The price came out at £42.99 +VAT = £51.59 and that's without increasing insurance from £20.

If anything they seem to have undercharged!

Rhino666

martindow wrote: »

What did you pay?

I've just put your dimensions in PM and used a weight of 15kg to France. The price came out at £42.99 +VAT = £51.59 and that's without increasing insurance from £20.

If anything they seem to have undercharged!

Martin


I thought I had made it clear in my post that the original cost PAID was £46.80. Obviously the extra charge of £47.75 is exactly that, an extra charge.
I did the same as you to recheck the price yesterday and clearly their prices have rocketed over the last 3 weeks!

fishybusiness

From their chat transcript...

The measured dimensions were 170x30x30 these give a volumetric weight of 48.85kg

According to their website, volumetric weight is calculated by multiplying all three dimensions together and dividing by 5000.

My calc gives a volumetric weight of 30.6 kg. They have stated 48.5kg.

Extract from their webpage

The volumetric weight of a parcel is it's depth x length x width in CM divided by 5000.

https://www.parcelmonkey.co.uk/calculating-volumetric-weight

What was your parcel weight btw?

Rhino666

Hi fishybusiness


This matter is looking more like a complete farce with every communication.


It seems that the issue was with weight rather than size - they actually agreed with me on the size.


The weight I put down was 16kg - overstating the weight by around 1kg to avoid such issues.


I think their volumetric figure of 48.85kg comes from scaling up to 0.5 cubic metre. Given my measurements, my parcel = 0.153 cubic metre and at a weight of 15kg, this gives the volumetric figure they supplied.


Reading between the lines, I think that PM have the wrong algorithm associated with their price calculator. Please exercise caution if using similar services on their website and watch out for extra charges applied long after the original transaction has been forgotten about.


Terrible service, poor or no communication. I'm going to make a formal complaint before closing my account with them.

fishybusiness

Even so, using your estimated 'overweight' and dimensions with their tariff calculator gives the price you were originally quoted.

Farce indeed!

RFW

As Dave Brooker has said it is not uncommon amongst couriers and third party sellers. I had a similar issue when they said I had put too much tape on a parcel, something which is impossible to confirm or deny six weeks after a parcel has been delivered. I didn't even get any evidence from the courier despite repeatedly asking for it.

If you are a private seller, ie not a business then complain to Trading Standards that you have been ripped off by a courier. Also dispute the transaction as mentioned.