Dad3353 Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 [quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1447330912' post='2906734'] I didn't say they weren't covered, I was objecting to the fact that the post office do not enquire as to the contents of the parcel and happily sell people insurance which will never pay out. Also, £100 of insurance is pretty useless for many basses, I'd guess the majority of ones which trade around here. Suffice to say that ParcelForce are wholly unsuitable for the couriering of all but the most inexpensive musical instruments - can we agree upon that? [/quote] Indeed, that was the gist of my post, simply for clarification. As for suitability; that depends also on one's degree of paranoia. Parcels [i]do [/i]get damaged or go astray, but many arrive safely at destination, too. [i]Extra [/i]insurance for instruments is a waste of money, and should not be bought (or sold...),but [i]all [/i]insurance is a gamble, anyway, where one loses out every time nothing happens. One takes one's choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 You could always spend all day on a train (each way) for the peace of mind of knowing it's safe, the client has seen it & checked it over - and you've been paid, for upwards of £150. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taunton-hobbit Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Umm........Parcel Monkey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 I am rapidly going off Parcel Force. Some while back I bought a bass from Japan - 3 days from Tokyo to Parcel Force at Coventry where it sat for over w eek before getting rubber stamped for delivery. It arrived at my local depot, from where I had to pick it up, nearly a week after that. Was charged VAT and duty amounting to around 20% plus a £13 handling fee. Compare and contrast to more purchases I have made from Japan using DHL. Both dispatched from Tokyo on a Monday, emailed to request payment of duty online (which amounted to around 10%) on a Tuesday and arrived on my doorstep on Wednesday. Currently I am waiting for a bit I bought from Spain to arrive via Parcelforce. It was posted on 28th October in Spain using Correos, arrived in UK 2nd November. Still a no show. I've tried to find out when they might get around to delivering it and have been told I should allow 15 working days. Unbelievable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobthedog Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 My offer still stands to drive this up still stands. I am only an hour from you and an hour from Buckie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutton Posted November 13, 2015 Share Posted November 13, 2015 We live in a small country. John O' Groats to Land's End is not far in the greater scheme of things. Our concept of distance is ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted November 14, 2015 Share Posted November 14, 2015 The most used excuse is that because the populace is spread out over a greater distance in the Highlands, it costs them more to have an efficient delivery network, which is almost plausible, apart from the fact that they sub-contract all the work out to another company who has more vehicles. They have more vehicles, because they get sub-contracted by the major courier companies to do their deliveries for them. Thing is though, from prior experience of courier companies, I would much rather have this local company doing the deliveries anyway, they're far more reliable than the others! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 [quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1447496250' post='2908022'] The most used excuse is that because the populace is spread out over a greater distance in the Highlands, it costs them more to have an efficient delivery network, which is almost plausible, apart from the fact that they sub-contract all the work out to another company who has more vehicles. They have more vehicles, because they get sub-contracted by the major courier companies to do their deliveries for them. Thing is though, from prior experience of courier companies, I would much rather have this local company doing the deliveries anyway, they're far more reliable than the others! [/quote] See, this is what annoys me. Because there's all these companies that regularly deliver all over the highlands, I see no excuse for not delivering ! I get stuff from all over, in record time and yet companies from dahn sath, or sometimes even east Scotland, will tell me, don't deliver to Scottish highlands ! Lost a sale then chums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlfer Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 (edited) Try Parcelhero. As stated, past Perth will cost more. I used to use one company all the time, then they stopped accepting anything over 125 cms. https://www.parcelhero.com/ Parcelhero, through their UPS service, will take longer items and so far have been excellent, plus their tracking is great. Edited November 18, 2015 by karlfer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 [quote name='ubit' timestamp='1447807026' post='2910660']See, this is what annoys me. Because there's all these companies that regularly deliver all over the highlands, I see no excuse for not delivering ! I get stuff from all over, in record time and yet companies from dahn sath, or sometimes even east Scotland, will tell me, don't deliver to Scottish highlands ! Lost a sale then chums![/quote] Totally agree. The ironic thing was that both Charlie Kennedy & Danny Alexander were trying to raise the profile of this issue, and seemed to be making some headway before the last election, where they both lost their seats, and then Charlie's untimely death. Haven't heard any of the SNP MP's making any noise about this, or the fuel price issue yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Post codes in the Highlands are also to blame for some courier problems. Places north of Inverness can have post codes beginning with 'KW' which leads to couriers thinking that they being asked to deliver to Orkney, when they are actually being asked to deliver an hour's drive north of Inverness. Arranging delivery to non-mainland places like Orkney can be even more tricky. It might be the case that couriers just don't want to deal with the A9, which is a horrible road long overdue for being turned into a dual carriageway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubit Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 We have a PA postcode which means couriers think we are in Paisley, so there's no excuse for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beely Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 My postcode is PH13. According to an online retailer I was about to make a purchase from, this is classed as "Highlands and Islands". This despite the fact I am nine miles from Dundee and twelve miles from Perth. In fairness though, this seemed to be the carriers conditions rather than the retailers as if it was sent via Royal Mail there was no surcharge. Just for devilment I contacted the retailer and told them they had lost a sale of over a hundred pounds. And yes, not being able to sleep sucks....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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