Reply With QuoteI would say DPD. Definitely not Parcel Farce! Although a lot seems to depend on the local drivers.
A long story short.
Bought an amplifier off ebay which arrived damaged. Seller is adamant that is was perfect when he packaged it up and the damage must have happened in transit, although there's no obvious damage to the manufacturers original and very good packaging.
Upshot is I need to return the amplifier to the manufacturer to be rectified, I'm splitting the cost 50/50 with the ebay seller. He used Parcel Force to send it to me, so I'm naturally a bit reluctant to use them. Plus I've had negative experiences with them in the past.
For anyone interested the parcel weighs around 11KG and is roughly 50x50x17cm.
A quick google search suggests DPD are rated as the current best UK courier and they're significantly cheaper than PF. So I thought I'd ask here for advice/opinions before I commit to DPD. I need to book within 10 hours if I want the parcel collected on Monday.
Cheers,
Gary
I would say DPD. Definitely not Parcel Farce! Although a lot seems to depend on the local drivers.
DPD are usually good, I like UPS too.
Run your package through parcel2go as they discount - last week I sent 10kg abroad, ParcelFarce was £95 direct with them or just £62 via P2G.
Careful with that, read their Ts and Cs very carefully, you have no relationship the the carrier and P2G take no responsibility.Originally Posted by GraniteQuarry
DPD are generally good but giddy I’ve had a parcel returned because they taped over the address label and then said there wasn’t enough information to deliver it!
I had a Cyrus 7 amplifier delivered after the new year and the volume control & surround (containing a number of LED's) was damaged. This was conveyed by Parcel Force. Whilst it was double boxed, the package looked like it had been crushed. It was returned to the seller via DX (arranged via the seller, who went via Parcel Monkey). The seller received the amplifier back 24 hours after it was collected from my home, so pretty good service and I was able to track it.
I was refunded and purchased a Cyrus 6XP from a seller in London. He dispatched it by UPS, arrived within 24 hours, undamaged.
I'd recommend UPS, they have delivered several large / heavy packages to me during lockdown with no issues (such as an Edwards Audio turntable).
DPD without a doubt.
My first choice is invariably DPD. I just find them to be more 'on the ball' overall than other delivery companies I've used, certainly when it comes to updates on the tracking.
FWIW, they've been voted top in Moneysavingexperts parcel delivery satisfaction polls for the last six years now.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
DPD or UPS would be my choice of couriers on this occasion.
Despite being packaged properly, one of the components could’ve come loose during the transportation, a couple of light bumps or knocks could’ve knocked something out of place. I don’t think any courier could’ve avoided this and at the end of the day it will come down to the individuals handling the item.
Over Christmas i used DPD on numerous occasions and on the whole they were good, however twice I had to contact them to track an item and that was pretty painful. Apparently the items were lost somewhere within their network but they couldn’t say where. They excepted liability and on both occasions the seller refunded me for the items purchased.
Generally they are all rubbish.
They are not couriers, that is a total hijacking of the name, a courier picks up an item and personally deivers it to the adressee in the condition it was picked up in, these organisations do exist although they are not cheap.
The companies described on this thread are parcel delivery monkeys the lot of them.
The only real difference is that some of them have better tracking systems and their hubs are better organised so are less likely to lose the parcel for good.
Some have better customer service departments and might actually engage with you after they have cocked it up.
All you can do is double pack everything, then pack it some more, then pack it some more.
Check that you are perfectly happy for your parcel to be dropped from height of 2 meters to land on it's corner on a concrete floor and then be kicked across the room.
Then pack it some more.
Then stick your finger in the air and pick a company.
Good luck!
Thanks all. Looks DPD is the best option so far.
The damage to the amplifier is one of the knobs has been partially pushed in to the case. It still works but it's loose. I checked the manufacturers, very good, packaging and there's no evidence of damage at all. I suspect the parcels been dropped onto its back, landed flush and the impact has broken or dislodged whatever holds the knob in place.
I was going to open it up, have a look and see if I could fix it myself but didn't want to potentially end up with an expensive but useless box! Plus access is very tight behind the facia as there's a heat sink directly behind the knobs.
Cheers,
Gary
DHL express would be my choice, but Dpd are ok too. I have accounts with both and have very few issues.
I’ve used DPD for shipping high end Hifi bitz. I also use interparcel and then pick UPS from the list it offers. Shipped stuff for years and I don’t bother to have the extra insurance. Maybe I’ve been lucky. No problem to date. I ship things from £500 to £5k+.
Regards
V
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've started using DHL express lately and found them to be really good. They really do provide tracking every step of the journey
ParcelFarce themselves collected it with their own tracking number so there cannot possibly be any distancing from them as the courier.
Another note for DHL from me as stated the parcel tracking is second to none parcel can be tracked from pickup to delivery their vans have shelving so parcels aren't flying around in the back of the van
DPD. Have been let down several times by Parcel Force. Also recommend UPS as well.
Thanks for all the recommendations, much appreciated as ever.
I've sent it with DPD and, despite stating the parcel will be collected tomorrow, it's just been picked up! Hopefully that means it'll arrive a day earlier too, although that's probably wishful thinking.
Cheers,
Gary
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