Can they deliver? Unwrapping the truth about dodgy deliveries

Of all the carriers that deliver to us, we find Royal Mail or Parcel Force give the least cause for concern. The packages are usually in sound condition and fully intact, they don’t leave things with any old neighbour, they don’t put things in the dustbin or chuck them over the side gate, and they leave you a properly completed card with details of the recipient and consignor where available, state the nature of the delivery [ie parcel, packet, bulky, signed-for etc], and allow collection from the local post office. Most other carriers either do all the wrong things or else they redeliver the next working day and if you’re not in and you still want the item you have to go to their depot [30 miles away in most cases] or pay them to bring it as a new consignment.

We also have very problems with deliveries by UPS or DHL, and City Link [who seem to have been making massive losses] are also fairly good. The less said about the remainder the better – perhaps it is such a cut-throat business that they have to cut corners as well. We are frequently having to return damaged goods or complain to the consignor about the condition of delivered parcels. Unfortunately, companies often select the cheapest carrier without regard to quality of service. So often we find boxes have either been badly mishandled in the various transfer depots or obviously broken into. “Fragile” on the packaging used to mean “breakable” but now it means “broken” [when signing for things always add “Damaged” or “Unexamined”].

Regarding delays, the worst carriers are those who drop a load of parcels off at someone’s home for them to deliver as and when they get around to it in their old banger. The upside is that the items usually arrive in better condition and the delivery person is rather more courteous than the usual types for whom waiting for the resident to come to the door is clearly a major inconvenience.

Unfortunately, there was a change of programmme on Channel 4 in our region last night so we did not catch Dispatches [good title!] so, as Wavechange recommends, I shall try and view it on line.

Most of the time, I have had no problems at all, but two instances really annoyed me. The first was when I ordered a pair of gardening shoes on-line that did not arrive. The delivery man told his bosses that he had left them on the doorstep, as we were out, and so they must have been stolen from there. I told the delivery firm that this was highly unlikely as we live in a rural area, the doorstep is not visible from the road and we are at home most of the time. The delivery firm then implied that I had stolen them! On the second occasion a kitchen appliance ordered from Tesco failed to arrive. Tesco said they had a signature from me acknowledging receipt! On further investigation the signature they had was not mine and the name was different! Tesco were unable to work out where the appliance had been delivered or who signed for it, so someone got a free appliance and Tesco had to send us another.

Please can you let me know who is responsible the online store or me. There was nobody in to accept the package so it was delivered back to the depot. The depot cannot find the package so whose responsibility is it to get the refund from Royal Mail. I believe that the online store should refund me or send me the goods again and make the claim from Royal Mail as it is their courier service. What’s frustrating is I paid an extra £10 or so to have the package delivered earlier!

Now that Royal Mail is being privatised, is it going to become as bad as UK Mail and TNT?

I think the law has to be turned on its head. First of all, once the item has been handed over for delivery, then the courier HAS to take responsibility for its safe keeping, and secondly, if the buyer opts for the cheaper, or none insured services, then he/she HAS to take responsibility. Thirdly, all items over £20 in value HAVE to be recorded, and at no extra cost….how long does it take to scan a bar code in the Post Office. Supermarkets do it all the time for free. At the moment the system is open to abuse and fraud, and it’s the (mostly) innocent seller who has to bear the cost. This is totally unfair.

Above all, couriers HAVE to accept their responsibilities, and be fully accountable to their customers. Surely they are in breach of contract if they don’t deliver or damage an item where the service has been paid for.

I ordered a product on line, received it & it was not suitable.arranged for a courier to pick up from me who gave me a card with a number for proof of collection, the parcel has not arrived at the retailer but the retailer say I have to claim as its not their responsibility & the delivery firm say I can’t its the retailers responsibility who is responsible?

Hi i want to now i have a parcel has been lost by dhl that i have order custommade dress for one of my customer i have sold that dress for quit high money because of dhl list the package i could not give the dress to my customer had no time to wait for replacement i had to return the payment to customet again and this customer is taking me to court for me to pat for her lost but i can not get anythink from dhl can any of you tell me can i get mt danage from dhl

My courier returned my parcels to very via Hermes instead of yodel. Very are now trying to charge me for them, as Hermes have not delivered them. Have contacted Hermes several times, but don’t have an account with them so they will not deal with me. Very keep telling me to contact hermes, even though I have e mailed them Hermes replies.

Can anyone please tell me what my rights are? Getting desperate as goods returned were ofnquitenanhigh value in total. Have also e mailed very my proof that parcels were collected, but they won’t accept this

I sell things online and occasionally buyers choose expensive items and will not pay the extra 1-3 pounds for insurance. It happened recently and the buyer’s package was destroyed. The courier refuses to compensate and she wants it to come out of my pocket. I sent it the way she requested and she took a gamble with it not being destroyed (Which is very rare as it is the first time it has happened to me in almost a year). When she refuses to insure her parcel, why must I pay out of pocket when I have passed on responsibility to another party?

I have brought a bicycle from a private sellor he has had it sent to me by delivery company. It has not been delivered to my address but shows on the tracker that it was delivered to a neighbor 2 doors up and was signed for. I’ve spoke to my neighbor and they have not received any parcel and their name doesn’t match who apparently signed for it. Who is responsible and could I get my money back ?

I ordered an AFK Cottage Arbour from Garden Mall online. It arrived promptly but when we opened it one of the panels was split. I sent photographs and asked for a replacement and then got a text message from Interlink Express saying the item would be delivered the next day. I asked them to deliver to my neighbour instead as we were going to be out. My poor neighbours waited in all day and nothing was delivered. I contacted Interlink Express and this is what they said:
“Thanks for your email. Sorry to hear haven’t received your parcel as of yet, I have phoned the depot to make them aware of this, and after looking at the tracking there has been no further scans on your parcel since Monday which would suggest your parcel may have been lost in our network. This doesn’t mean its completely lost as we can conduct an investigation and launch a parcel search and it may crop up somewhere, so the best thing for you to do would be to get in contact with your sender so you can make them aware of this and they can instigate the search. So if you do need to do anything today, I wouldn’t wait around for the parcel as the chances of it coming today are very slim. Really sorry for any inconvenience. ”
I then sent this e-mail to the contact details of the sender by e-mail and have heard nothing since . I have asked for an update but heard nothing.
Any help would be much appreciated as we would like to be able to use our arbour before the Summer is over. It was ordered on August 9th and dispatched on the 10th and we are still awaiting a part, which Interlink Express have lost!!