PLEASE THINK TWICE BEFORE USING PARCELFORCE (Parcelforce)

Member Name: adslimited

Product:	Parcelforce
Date:	14/08/04 (2215 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Bad Customer Service, Bad Online System, It's all just BAD

I am absolutely at my wits end with Parcel Force. I run a successful online business and spend around £100 a week at the Post Office sending out my customers items. I was beginning to think there must be a cheaper way to send parcels and came across Parcel Force. They offered me a very good rate and, importantly, all parcels have £150 insurance included in the cost. This is perfect for me as typically I send items around £50 - £100 in value and around 2 ? 7 KG. Great I thought, this is going to save quite a bit against Post Office prices and my customers will be pleased with the cheaper postage.

Over the last 2 weeks I?ve given them a go, and I regret it. It?s hard not to get stressed when faced with such incompetence and ineptitude so I go so far as to issue a health warning if you use Parcel Farce.

Firstly their on line system is just plain crap. It was obviously created by people with no idea of how to make a useable system. This is evident from reading the online help. I know how to enter an address and press next thank you. You can book a collection online, but you only get one attempt at it. If anything goes wrong you have to start over (and then the driver will turn up with a fist full of barcodes expecting to collect lots of items all going to the same place. Anyone who has used Parcel Force?s online system and has also used systems like eBay, PayPal, Online Banking, or Amazon to name a few will know exactly how bad it is. The whole thing needs writing again from scratch. Why should this happen in mid-2004? There are tried and tested online systems out there its not rocket science!

Secondly their customer service is just plain crap. Right from setting up the account I received an introduction folder and nothing more. No paperwork, no nothing. N
;ot a problem though (or so I thought) as you can print it all yourself online. It wasn?t until I tried to send something internationally that I had to ring them up and book a collection as th
e option wasn?t available online. After being transferred from department to department and being told my account wasn?t enabled for international shipment and then it was, I finally got through to someone who sounded like they knew what they were talking about (I was wrong though). The collection was booked and I was assured that the driver would bring the paperwork as I said I didn?t have any. The driver turned up with no paperwork. He did say that he would do it at the depot and took it away. 10 mins later he is back saying that I had to pay him! Unbelievable! I declined, and posted it from the nearst Post Office.
Today the same crap. I book a collection online but it won?t process as it says the post code is not found. I check with Royal Mails address finder and the post code is valid. HOW ON EARTH can a dispatch company not have a correct post code database? So I book the collection on the phone and make double certain and am double assured the driver will have the paperwork. The driver turns up 1 hour and 40mins after the collection window and guess what, no paperwork. Not only have I stayed in all afternoon for the driver but he is also 1 hour and 40 mins late (and no hint of an apology of course). On that note all the people I?ve dealt with at Parcel Force are grumpy and abrupt. What ever happened to service with a smile?
Anyway, you cant blame an individual driver or individual phone operator but what a complete shambles the whole operation is. I called the operator back and rebooked the collection for Monday again (with no hint of an apology after explaining the situation) a
nd being assured the driver will have the paperwork. We shall see. I also have to apologise to my customer because the item they are eagerly awaiting to arrive on Monday will now not arrive despite my best efforts (and I?m the one who looks bad of course).
A few days ago I ordered some supplies from their website. I ordered 25 documents enclosed labels, just a small amount
to see if they were suitable. Today I received 25 100 packs. You just cant make this stuff up.

Please someone out there point me in the direction of a decent cheap courier firm, I?m completely disillusioned with the whole business!!

Capital letters courtesy of: http://www.chuckleweb.co.uk/fixit.php

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