Economical Parcel Post (Parcel2go.com)

Member Name: sprint1978

Product:	Parcel2go.com
Date:	22/10/09 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Often much cheaper than parcelforce for heavy parcels.

Disadvantages: Can be waiting in all day if you get a late collection

I've used Parcel2go on several occasions for sending heavy parcels which would otherwise work out much more expensive through the Post Office. Initially I was unsure about using Parcels2go as I'd read some bad reviews but the competitive prices tempted me to try them.

I do quite a bit of ebay selling and it's a lot more convenient to have things collected directly from home in a batch, rather than having to make a special trip to queue up and post them. I mainly use the UK Economy collection service which currently costs £6.99 + plus VAT. Ebay users can get a 5% discount if the Parcel2go logo is added to their item listing (details of how to do this are on the website, its all quite straight forward).

For the Economy Delivery Service the maximum parcels weight is 25kg. Maximum parcel length is 100cm and maximum parcel size is 5 cubic feet. The delivery estimate is 24-72 hours. Collections are between 9am and 5.30pm Mon-Fri, so this can be rather restricting as you have to commit the day to waiting in. When DHL collect they leave a sheet with a reference number to track the parcel - this is handy to pass onto ebay customers. The majority of the parcels I've sent have reached the recipient the next day.

You can pay a little more to get extra insurance cover on very valuable items. However, you do get £50 free compensation cover against loss & damage. I have no experience of making claims as everything has gone smoothly so far.

I haven't had any major problems to date. I had one parcel which showed up as 'oversized' which was slightly delayed but it was still delivered at no extra cost. The collections have always been made on the booked day - I've had pick ups as early as 9am and as late as 5pm. If you track the parcels, most delivery hitches can be solved with a phone call. If the person receiving the parcel isn't home a calling card is left, they can then phone to arrange redelivery or collect from the DHL local service centre.

Overall I've been very pleased with the service given and would recommend.

Summary: A good choice of parcel services at competitive prices