Parcelforce marked delivered, at a depot.

YorkieG

Apologies if this post is in the wrong section, and for the rather long post.

For the first time in about 6 years, Amazon did not provide a return label for an item that I wanted to return (A bulky item), and I didn’t have the time flexibility to arrange or wait for a Hermes pickup, so Parcel Farce was my next best thing as it’s from the local Post Office.

Dropped in on day 01, before last collection, Express 48, and upgraded for adequate insurance.

I was too busy to track it so left it, on day 03 (3 Days before my window for accepted return) I remembered and decided to track it, it was still sat at the Post Office where I dropped it, I was shocked, but not surprised. It was late in the day and I couldn’t call customer service till the following morning.

Day 04: I phoned around 09:00, a very helpful lady advised that she would contact the local collection depot to see what’s happening, and that I should expect a call from the local depot within 2 hours to let me know, all great.

3 hours went past and no one phoned, tracking number still showed parcel with zero activity, so I decided to call again later.

Not a very pleasant person this time, Mr. X, a poorly mannered ‘I know it all’  kind of ‘gentleman’ picked up, was immediately rude to the lady I spoke to first when I explained that she informed me that I’d get a call back and hence why I was calling, he more or less called the lady incompetent saying that ‘we don’t do call backs’, within the first 2 minutes of the call, his manners were clear and I was able to establish what kind of creature I was speaking to.

I remained calm and let him say his piece, basically lame excuses about Parcel Farce not collecting as often as they used to from Post Offices, I just explained that this has nothing to do with me, Express 48 should mean exactly that, who collects what, when, and from where, has nothing to do with me. The minute I received a receipt from the Post Office, the parcel became Parcelforce’s responsibility, to which he mumbled that ‘It doesn’t work this way’.

In the end, I asked him when should I expect my already late parcel to be delivered, he arrogantly pointed out that he’s ‘Not a driver’, that he’s ‘sat in a Call Centre somewhere in a certain county’, I pointed out that the parcel was late already, a day estimate would be helpful, he said he couldn’t predict.

I then told Mr X that whilst I understood that mistakes happen, and unforeseen cirumsctances arise, and that it’s not the end of the world if a parcel is late, his manners however are extremely poor for someone in a customer facing job, and that I would like to speak to his manager to discuss such behaviour.

He apologised for coming across this way, but not for speaking the way he did. Then he arrogantly said that he couldn’t pass me to his manager, and that he could arrange a call back if I wish (Something he initially denied was offered by Parcelforce), I answered no to his offer and insisted on speaking to his manager.

He kept repeating his offer, and I kept declining, eventually he said ‘My manager is actually sat here listening to this conversation’, to which I questioned the presence of such imaginary creature, but if that was the case, then surely the manager can easily be reached.

At that stage, Mr. X then cut me off.

I phoned again a couple hours later to see why the parcel hasn’t moved, this time I was informed that there was a note on the account saying that a driver enquired at the Post Office where I dropped it, and that the staff informed him/her that the parcel was handed to Royal Mail in error, and advised to contact either Amazon or the Post Office (Neither of which has anything to do with it at that stage).

I asked what time was that note logged, surprise surprise, 3/5 minutes after my phone call with Mr X ended.

I phoned the Post Office as I knew they would help, they said no one came to ask today, and that they followed procedures with my parcel like they do, I have no reason to doubt their statement.

I then phoned Parcel Farce again, just to be informed of the said ‘note’ from earlier, and to be told that it will appear one day at Amazon’s warehouse, but I could not, of course track it as it’s being shipped via Royal Mail and therefore won’t show on Parcel Force’s system.

Although the 2 last calls were not fruitful/helpful, the agents I spoke to conducted themselves in good manners, what you’d expect from someone doing their job, and I appreciated it.

I was too busy to keep chasing them up, so I left it, and decided to wait it out, as the claims’ window was 30 days.

No activity on the tracking number till day 07, the package appeared to have found its way to a sorting facility (Parcelforces’ own), geographically located on the opposite side of where it meant to be delivered (I know, sometimes they go South before they go North, but that’s the other side of the country, literally), I didn’t think much of it, just thought that’s what happens to ones that go missing before being processed/returned to sender.

On day 08, it was finally delivered, but not to Amazon, to a Parcelforce Depot, in the same county where Mr X said he was speaking from, signed for as delivered by (X Doe).

The following day, I opened a claim with Parcelforce to dispute the delivery.

Recalling the conversation with X, his arrogance and attitude, combined with what he said about a manager sitting next to him listening to our conversation, I believe that he himself was a manager, a first line customer service agent would NEVER speak to customers the way he spoke, I never experienced it with any other company.

On one hand, Mr X can’t be as important as he thinks he is, if he was a manager, he had to step in and take calls himself when he did at some point, so he can’t be ‘too high up’.

On the other hand, he managed to pull some strings to make the parcel end up in the other side of the country, and was arrogant/naive enough to sign it with an initial that matches his.

Parcel Farce is part of Royal Mail after all, and the parcel has my own address for returns, I don’t want my mail to start going missing if he decided to pull some more strings or ask for more favours.

Any thoughts on this? Any advice? Am I over thinking it? Customer service agents don’t speak to people like he did, and parcels don’t go missing for days then get ‘delivered’ to a depot, they get redirected. That’s why I’m a bit concerned.

Also, has anyone had a claim opened with them before? The submission deadline is 30 days from sending, but there’s no guidance explaining how long they will take to process/decide.

Thank you in advance.

LaDerniereSemaine

Amazon won't be signing for parcels individually so it's not really that weird to show it as signed for at the depot.

What do Amazon have to say about this?  You seem to have neglected to mention what their response to this is.

YorkieG

LaDerniereSemaine said:

Amazon won't be signing for parcels individually so it's not really that weird to show it as signed for at the depot.

What do Amazon have to say about this?  You seem to have neglected to mention what their response to this is.

Apologies for not mentioning Amazon. The return status showed 'Refund will be issued once we received your item', and now that it has not been returned within the accepted return window, it's no longer available to track the return.

Amazon has not provided the label, I purchased the service from Parcelforce via a Post Office Branch, paid for it.

Parcelforce tracking does not show that it was delivered to an Amazon facility, but delivered at a Parcelforce depot instead.

To give an idea:

Let’s say I live in Sheffield, paid to send the parcel to an Amazon processing centre in Manchester within 48 hours, Parcelforce instead delivered it at one of Parcelforce's own depots, in London, 8 days later.

I have never seen anything like this happen before, and that's why I can't explain it clearly.

custardy

Was your order tin foil?

"Parcel Farce is part of Royal Mail after all, and the parcel has my own address for returns, I don’t want my mail to start going missing if he decided to pull some more strings or ask for more favours"

Thats a lot of text to cover a basic issue.

Your conversation is between PF and you. If they haven't delivered to the address you put in the package then thats the issue
There maybe a returns hub set up which RM letters has for its traffic.

powerful_Rogue

I lost interest as soon as I saw 'Parcel Farce'.

Undervalued

YorkieG said:

Apologies if this post is in the wrong section, and for the rather long post.

For the first time in about 6 years, Amazon did not provide a return label for an item that I wanted to return (A bulky item), and I didn’t have the time flexibility to arrange or wait for a Hermes pickup, so Parcel Farce was my next best thing as it’s from the local Post Office.

Dropped in on day 01, before last collection, Express 48, and upgraded for adequate insurance.

I was too busy to track it so left it, on day 03 (3 Days before my window for accepted return) I remembered and decided to track it, it was still sat at the Post Office where I dropped it, I was shocked, but not surprised. It was late in the day and I couldn’t call customer service till the following morning.

Day 04: I phoned around 09:00, a very helpful lady advised that she would contact the local collection depot to see what’s happening, and that I should expect a call from the local depot within 2 hours to let me know, all great.

3 hours went past and no one phoned, tracking number still showed parcel with zero activity, so I decided to call again later.

Not a very pleasant person this time, Mr. X, a poorly mannered ‘I know it all’  kind of ‘gentleman’ picked up, was immediately rude to the lady I spoke to first when I explained that she informed me that I’d get a call back and hence why I was calling, he more or less called the lady incompetent saying that ‘we don’t do call backs’, within the first 2 minutes of the call, his manners were clear and I was able to establish what kind of creature I was speaking to.

I remained calm and let him say his piece, basically lame excuses about Parcel Farce not collecting as often as they used to from Post Offices, I just explained that this has nothing to do with me, Express 48 should mean exactly that, who collects what, when, and from where, has nothing to do with me. The minute I received a receipt from the Post Office, the parcel became Parcelforce’s responsibility, to which he mumbled that ‘It doesn’t work this way’.

In the end, I asked him when should I expect my already late parcel to be delivered, he arrogantly pointed out that he’s ‘Not a driver’, that he’s ‘sat in a Call Centre somewhere in a certain county’, I pointed out that the parcel was late already, a day estimate would be helpful, he said he couldn’t predict.

I then told Mr X that whilst I understood that mistakes happen, and unforeseen cirumsctances arise, and that it’s not the end of the world if a parcel is late, his manners however are extremely poor for someone in a customer facing job, and that I would like to speak to his manager to discuss such behaviour.

He apologised for coming across this way, but not for speaking the way he did. Then he arrogantly said that he couldn’t pass me to his manager, and that he could arrange a call back if I wish (Something he initially denied was offered by Parcelforce), I answered no to his offer and insisted on speaking to his manager.

He kept repeating his offer, and I kept declining, eventually he said ‘My manager is actually sat here listening to this conversation’, to which I questioned the presence of such imaginary creature, but if that was the case, then surely the manager can easily be reached.

At that stage, Mr. X then cut me off.

I phoned again a couple hours later to see why the parcel hasn’t moved, this time I was informed that there was a note on the account saying that a driver enquired at the Post Office where I dropped it, and that the staff informed him/her that the parcel was handed to Royal Mail in error, and advised to contact either Amazon or the Post Office (Neither of which has anything to do with it at that stage).

I asked what time was that note logged, surprise surprise, 3/5 minutes after my phone call with Mr X ended.

I phoned the Post Office as I knew they would help, they said no one came to ask today, and that they followed procedures with my parcel like they do, I have no reason to doubt their statement.

I then phoned Parcel Farce again, just to be informed of the said ‘note’ from earlier, and to be told that it will appear one day at Amazon’s warehouse, but I could not, of course track it as it’s being shipped via Royal Mail and therefore won’t show on Parcel Force’s system.

Although the 2 last calls were not fruitful/helpful, the agents I spoke to conducted themselves in good manners, what you’d expect from someone doing their job, and I appreciated it.

I was too busy to keep chasing them up, so I left it, and decided to wait it out, as the claims’ window was 30 days.

No activity on the tracking number till day 07, the package appeared to have found its way to a sorting facility (Parcelforces’ own), geographically located on the opposite side of where it meant to be delivered (I know, sometimes they go South before they go North, but that’s the other side of the country, literally), I didn’t think much of it, just thought that’s what happens to ones that go missing before being processed/returned to sender.

On day 08, it was finally delivered, but not to Amazon, to a Parcelforce Depot, in the same county where Mr X said he was speaking from, signed for as delivered by (X Doe).

The following day, I opened a claim with Parcelforce to dispute the delivery.

Recalling the conversation with X, his arrogance and attitude, combined with what he said about a manager sitting next to him listening to our conversation, I believe that he himself was a manager, a first line customer service agent would NEVER speak to customers the way he spoke, I never experienced it with any other company.

On one hand, Mr X can’t be as important as he thinks he is, if he was a manager, he had to step in and take calls himself when he did at some point, so he can’t be ‘too high up’.

On the other hand, he managed to pull some strings to make the parcel end up in the other side of the country, and was arrogant/naive enough to sign it with an initial that matches his.

Parcel Farce is part of Royal Mail after all, and the parcel has my own address for returns, I don’t want my mail to start going missing if he decided to pull some more strings or ask for more favours.

Any thoughts on this? Any advice? Am I over thinking it? Customer service agents don’t speak to people like he did, and parcels don’t go missing for days then get ‘delivered’ to a depot, they get redirected. That’s why I’m a bit concerned.

Also, has anyone had a claim opened with them before? The submission deadline is 30 days from sending, but there’s no guidance explaining how long they will take to process/decide.

Thank you in advance.

Unless there is a recording on the "conversations" you claim to have had with the Parcelforce man, which you can obtain under the GDBP, all of this is a load of irrelevant hot air. He will no doubt deny being rude / abrasive / condescending or whatever and who is to say you were not equally or more unpleasant to him? Even if there is a recording that reasonably confirms your account, it will result in minor disciplinary action at the most. It doesn't sort out the issue of your parcel.

Unless you booked this service, completely independently of Amazon, you are not a client of Parcelforce and have no contract with them (did you?). If you didn't then your claim is with Amazon.

If you did buy this service directly from Parcelforce then yes, you have a claim against them. However, if you want it resolved reasonably swiftly then write a concise account of the actual problem and leave out the unprovable emotive elements!

YorkieG

custardy said:

Was your order tin foil?

"Parcel Farce is part of Royal Mail after all, and the parcel has my own address for returns, I don’t want my mail to start going missing if he decided to pull some more strings or ask for more favours"

Thats a lot of text to cover a basic issue.

Your conversation is between PF and you. If they haven't delivered to the address you put in the package then thats the issue
There maybe a returns hub set up which RM letters has for its traffic.

They have not delivered to the intended, valid address that is on the parcel, no.

They have instead delivered it to one of their own depots, according to their own tracking system anyway.

I have no issues with Royal Mail, but I am concerned that MR Nobody that I spoke to, who managed to pull the parcel to his depot, might attempt to delay/redirect my mail somewhere else in retaliation, as he seems to have done with the parcel.

Doing so would be a criminal offence I believe, but things 'go missing' if someone wanted them to in Royal Mail, and Parcelforce.

YorkieG

powerful_Rogue said:

I lost interest as soon as I saw 'Parcel Farce'.

Either my sarcasm caused that, or the joke of a courier. Apologies if it's my sarcasm

Thrugelmir

Perhaps Amazon rejected the package as was not returned in the prescribed manner. The package will then be sent to a  particular Parcel Force depot for handling and processing. 

YorkieG

Undervalued said:Unless there is a recording on the "conversations" you claim to have had with the Parcelforce man, which you can obtain under the GDBP, all of this is a load of irrelevant hot air. He will no doubt deny being rude / abrasive / condescending or whatever and who is to say you were not equally or more unpleasant to him? Even if there is a recording that reasonably confirms your account, it will result in minor disciplinary action at the most. It doesn't sort out the issue of your parcel.

Unless you booked this service, completely independently of Amazon, you are not a client of Parcelforce and have no contract with them (did you?). If you didn't then your claim is with Amazon.

If you did buy this service directly from Parcelforce then yes, you have a claim against them. However, if you want it resolved reasonably swiftly then write a concise account of the actual problem and leave out the unprovable emotive elements!

I paid for the service, Amazon is only a recipient in this case, they did not provide the return label, only the address, which has been verified at the Post Office.

I have not included anything to do with the conversation within my claim, as you said, it is irrelevant. I do hope that the recording is still available, I did not cross any lines, only pointed out how rude he was, that I thought he lacked the basic manners a role like his requires and requested to speak to his manager.

The interesting part for me is where the parcel ended, and when. After 7 days of inactivity, it suddenly appeared in a Parcelforce depot, hundreds of miles away from where it's supposed to be delivered, and yet it was marked to be 'delivered', not redirected to where it should have gone.

YorkieG

Thrugelmir said:

Perhaps Amazon rejected the package as was not returned in the prescribed manner. The package will then be sent to a  particular Parcel Force depot for handling and processing. 

The tracking history for the consignment does not, at any stage, mention Amazon's address.

Amazon did not receive the parcel, simply because Parcelforce never attempted to deliver it, and that's according to their own tracking system.