No parcels here! (Parcelforce)

Member Name: Waikie

Product:	Parcelforce
Date:	28/04/01 (446 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A big name

Disadvantages: Too many to mention

I have been unfortunate enough to have had several mail order items sent to me using Parcelforce. I have never had a hassle-free service from them.

On many occasions the items have been late. Every single time they have tried to deliver when I was at work and my "local" depot is 30 miles away and I have no car, so trying to get them to re-deliver when I was in was a major hassle. On a couple of occasions the items were simply too big to have collected by car anyway. I once had to take 3 days off work in a row to wait in for a parcel that Parcelforce kept telling me was being "delivered tomorrow". On the third day I eventually received the goods and although I complained to Parcelforce, no apology was given.

But it's not just that their delivery service is awful, but they have lost too many of my parcels for it to be just a coincidence. A year ago, a box of christmas presents sent from my parents went missing. I phoned the depot who said that they had no record of the parcel, although my Mum had a receipt saying it had been sent. Two months later, my Mum received the parcel back from Parcelforce, saying that I had refused the package!

Again, just before this Christmas, I ordered some clothes for a Christmas party. The package was sent via Parcelforce, but never arrived. I had paid a premium for next day delivery, and was most annoyed when the company who had sent the items said they could not contact Parcelforce until the goods had been missing 2 weeks. When the 2 weeks were up, a duplicate set of clothes was dispatched to me via another courier service which I got the following day. Parcelforce returned the original package to the company 3 weeks after Christmas, saying yet again, that I had refused to sign for them.

And then, again this week I've had more problems. I ordered some wine glasses for a friend 2 weeks ago. They were dispatched via Parcelforce 8 days ago but were not delivered
to my friend. I contacted the mail order company, who contacted Parcelforce. Parcelforce said the package should have been delivered on Monday. By Wednesday morning, Parcelforce had admitted that they had "lost" the package. Although strangely enough, it turned up on Thursday just after the mail order company had started the process of claiming compensation from them!

If I had the choice, I would NEVER use Parcelforce. They are the most unreliable delivery company I have ever had to use, and believe me, over the last few years, I've used most! The fact that they don't deliver on Saturday's is utterly unbelievable in this day and age, and their depots are so widely spread out as to make them unaccessible.

Summary: