DHL - Unbelievably bad

bombardier · 12 May 2008 at 2:39PM

Last month I had a yellow card from DHL - the German retailer I had bought from had not notified me that the I should expect delivery, but that's just one of those things.

I ring the automated redelivery line and arrange delivery for three days later as that's more convenient. Nothing turns up after I stay in all day long, but with a weekend coming next there was nothing I could do. I phone the next week and am told it has been returned to the sender in Germany, and that any complaint I have has to be raised with the sender, who will have to raise it with DHL.

Now the retailer say they have contacted DHL but they have not had a reply. The guy I spoke to at DHL admitted that there was a problem with the automated system but that doesn't help me at all.

The sender have told me that they can send the item back to me but I'll have to pay again - no way, this is DHLs fault.

Last Friday I have another yellow card, for a package from Germany. As it turns out, it's something I ordered with Amazon France so a different package. I call DHL to ask if they can redeliver to my office today (I wasn't going to trust the automated system again so spoke to CS). She took the address and my phone number and said no problem. 2pm and nothing so thought I'd check online to see if it was out for delivery. It says delivery was attempted at 1.29, but I've been here ALL day. I phone the local depot and the rude operator tells me that they can't even see on their system the full postcode of the address the delivery was attempted to - this doesn't help me as both postcodes begin with the same 5 characters, but I know it's been attempted at the original address, not my requested new address.

Main CS tell me that they can't redeliver a parcel from Germany, the depot say that's a load of bunkum and that they can, when asked why they didn't then, I am met with nothing but a 'phone back after 5'.

I am left with having no parcel (twice), paid for both of them already and little help from DHL. The best suggestion from the depot was for me to drive up and pick it up. Right, so I have to take time off work, and spend money on petrol to drive up and do their job for them? I don't think so.

I am so sick of the service levels we receive in this country.

RedOnRed · 12 May 2008 at 7:29PM

I used DHL to send christmas presents to Australia and have to say that they were faultless. The item got there in just a few days and I could track it right through to delivery.

MothballsWallet · 12 May 2008 at 9:14PM

The last time I used DHL was to deliver something to Mrs MbW in Russia - they took it from Milton Keynes (where I was working) to Birmingham to Brussels to Moscow to Samara then back to Moscow and then on to Mrs MbW's city of birth. Still got there within the time frame they'd quoted me though.