Citylink in my experience are below average (Initial City Link)

Member Name: Rolf

Product:	Initial City Link
Date:	13/09/06 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: not too expensive

Disadvantages: Depots ALWAYS miles out of town

My experiences with courier companies generally are that they are struggling to shift from being a commerical business for B2B services to an end user service.

I run an internet company that sells electrical goods and IT equipment. Due to the nature of our goods (high price, low profit) credit card fraud is a real issue. We simply cannot afford to let expensive items go to non card holder addresses. We get absolutely ZERO protection from the credit card companies, which actually charge us for the privalege of taking payments (3% ish). Customers can register alternative addresses with the credit card company but rarely do, so we are left with being forced to enforce delivery to their home address.

Now of course the parcels get delivered during working hours...magic for business, not so good for people who are actually at work when the parcel is heading home.

The advantage with Royal mail is that their collction depots are often much more numerous and accessible than couriers, you can speak to a real person instead of a daft computer system which doesnt understand you or cant handle the fact that a number has been written incorrectly on the missed delivery card.

Just today I have been left floundering with a parcel card whos number refuses to work online or on the computer system..there are no other numbers to call...what am I meant to do.?!!?

Courier companies need to invest in new ways to deliver parcels (after hours or 3- 9pm), new ways to handle missed deliveries of which there are going to be many, easier collection points etc etc. 3D secure and other techniques may soon ease this problem, making it far easier to delivery to alternative addresses.

Summary: Courier companies need to adjust to public deliveries from commercial B2B