la bam Posted June 19, 2018 Share Posted June 19, 2018 (edited) Hi all, I thought id share this here - as im pretty appalled at what a lot of us may be falling victim to. Did you know, that when sending an amp or speaker via a courier or courier comparison site, and you pay for your amp and/or speaker to be insured for its full amount for peace of mind - that you are actually only covered for 'upto' £200 damages - not its full value ? Its in the hidden prohibited and restrictions list in companies such as dpd. Im appalled as they actually ask you to follow there proceedure and insure your parcel for its full value, which you do - and pay handsomely for - and they then confirm to you that its fully insured for its full value - only to find its not insured to anywhere near its value once theyve taken your cash and you have a legitimate claim. Its a terrible con - and i urge everyone to thoroughly check before sending ANY amp, speaker or cab via courier. Judging by how many amps and cabs are for sale on here, and how many offer postage for high price items, i thought id let people know. heres DPDs sneaky page: https://www.dpdlocal-online.co.uk/prohibited-items amps and cabs are in the not mentioned special provisions items section at the bottom. oh! - and just done a double check - GUITARS (and basses) are only insured for £100 - and must be sent in a hard case. i certainly wont be sending anything ever again. Edited June 19, 2018 by la bam 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 That is some grimace-worthy small print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbassist Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Wow. That’s terrible. Thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Thanks for posting. I was aware of this which is why all my recent deals have been in person. I had a heads up from a friend too who worked as a courier, but didn’t post anything. Increasingly, the only way to deal safely is in person. Earlier this week I had someone drive all the way from Cumbria to Bristol to pick up a guitar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 wow...so what actually can they deliver? !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Failed promises? 6 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 If you look through the small print for all the big courier companies, you will find that they could potentially exclude any solid electric instrument, amp or speaker cab simply because they contain magnets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterMute Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 This has been around for a while, a year or so at least, if I buy or sell a bass or kit now, it has to be separately insured for the journey.... This is why pick-up is so much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Similar problems over on a watch forum I use - basically nobody covers a watch above £1000 - the only way around it is to have a business to business 'ParcelPro' account. Personally, when shifting gear, I prefer to meet halfway or pick up item if I can. Good excuse for a weekend away. Whilst I've not had any really bad experiences with couriers they normally call when I'm out walking Sybil or when I'm firmly glued to the lavatory 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJE Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 The last few times I sent instruments and cabs I used a company called P4D who act as broker service. I went through the order, checked extra insurance and then actually picked up the phone and spoke to a really nice lady in the office to double check that the items I was sending were not in any way prohibited and there could be no excuses made for not covering the instrument or cab. I was assured and had an email to confirm the couriers would insure to the full value, provided that the items were packaged well. Everything I sell goes in a hard case where possible with bubble wrap and then wrapped in heavy card. If I don't have a hard case I get the factory packaging for a similar sized instrument and send in that. Then I take photos of every stage of packing so that if anything happens I can bombard the courier/broker with how well it was packed. I had one incident where a cab had been dropped hard and damaged it. I wrote to P4D straight away with pictures of packing and damage and explained the only way the damage could have been caused. It was dealt with in a couple of days and I got the full price I insured the cab for no questions asked. Moral of the story...if in doubt ring the courier and check its covered and get written confirmation and the name of whoever you spoke to, sorted! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 It's been around for a while. It's always struck me as odd. First, insurers love to charge people money to insure their goods. I'm amazed that nobody has spotted this gap and offered a very expensive rate of cover as soon as you mention "musical instrument". If the volume is large enough to justify a specific exclusion, then it's probably large enough for an insurer to make a play for the business... However, insurers are cautious by nature. If they are flat refusing to insure the risk then it shows that they have no confidence whatsoever in the couriers not dropping the package and breaking the headstock off your vintage Precision. If they won;t insure it, then that's a pretty good indication that they can't be trusted to deliver it safely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Lots will take money from you to insure instruments, despite them not actually covering instruments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 1 hour ago, NJE said: The last few times I sent instruments and cabs I used a company called P4D who act as broker service. I went through the order, checked extra insurance and then actually picked up the phone and spoke to a really nice lady in the office to double check that the items I was sending were not in any way prohibited and there could be no excuses made for not covering the instrument or cab. I was assured and had an email to confirm the couriers would insure to the full value, provided that the items were packaged well. Everything I sell goes in a hard case where possible with bubble wrap and then wrapped in heavy card. If I don't have a hard case I get the factory packaging for a similar sized instrument and send in that. Then I take photos of every stage of packing so that if anything happens I can bombard the courier/broker with how well it was packed. I had one incident where a cab had been dropped hard and damaged it. I wrote to P4D straight away with pictures of packing and damage and explained the only way the damage could have been caused. It was dealt with in a couple of days and I got the full price I insured the cab for no questions asked. Moral of the story...if in doubt ring the courier and check its covered and get written confirmation and the name of whoever you spoke to, sorted! Cheers for that, I've been looking for a third party broker as I'm in the middle of a trade at the moment, will give these guys a look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 7 minutes ago, ambient said: Lots will take money from you to insure instruments, despite them not actually covering instruments. Which is exactly what the OP tells us in the first post. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricksterphil Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 2 hours ago, ped said: ............when I'm firmly glued to the lavatory It's not just me then! 😂 I use these guys for work - they are also brokers and offer insurance with the exclusions shown below https://www.transglobalexpress.co.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 7 minutes ago, ricksterphil said: It's not just me then! 😂 I use these guys for work - they are also brokers and offer insurance with the exclusions shown below https://www.transglobalexpress.co.uk/ So given that many 1000's of musical items are sent by Courier each day by all the large internet retailers, do they face a similar lack of cover or is it just 'private ' senders? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricksterphil Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 (edited) I would think their stuff would be covered by a commercial insurance policy Edited June 20, 2018 by ricksterphil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
la bam Posted June 20, 2018 Author Share Posted June 20, 2018 (edited) One of my main issues is that it asks you to check the prohibited items list, to check your item is not on it and ok to send, which amps and speakers do not appear on, so assumed ok, then confirms you are fully insured - which you are not because of the unmentioned restrictions and reductions list, and even smaller print of reduced insurance despite paying full cost of insuring an item for that value. Be careful everyone. Edited June 20, 2018 by la bam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/watch-fedexs-northern-ireland-delivery-drivers-filmed-kicking-and-throwing-parcels-37020120.html Would this put you off posting a valuable item? 🤔 Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PawelG Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 There is a lot of trouble pretty much every time I courier something/arrange a courier. It’s ridiculous, almost not worth the hassle. I still do it though and I still take my chances... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 (edited) If as people are saying, one checks to see if your item is not prohibited and it isn't so you go ahead in good faith only for something to happen and have a claim turned down, could one not turn around and say the exclusions were not made clear from the get go? It would seem there is deliberate misrepresentation by the Couriers if they take all this money to insure items, in the full knowledge that any claim will be excluded. It's a bit like the P.P.I. mis-selling? Yes, one would ideally do face to face deals but a few months ago I could not arrange a satisfactory Courier ( they would only offer compo if the item was lost , if damaged £100 max and it was a £700 bass) so I drove to Newcastle from South Somerset. As I am no longer a regular distance driver the journey was a nightmare with roadworks and delays, in the end I spent about 16 hours on the road and £80 on fuel. Never doing that again. Edited June 20, 2018 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 (edited) 12 hours ago, gary mac said: Which is exactly what the OP tells us in the first post. Sarcastic comments like this are one reason why my visits here are growing more and more infrequent. You’re a moderator too. The OP is mostly talking about how little the insured value is. My comment actually says something quite different, i.e that instruments aren’t covered at all, which is the case with parcelforce and possibly others. Edited June 21, 2018 by ambient 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Steve Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 2 hours ago, yorks5stringer said: If as people are saying, one checks to see if your item is not prohibited and it isn't so you go ahead in good faith only for something to happen and have a claim turned down, could one not turn around and say the exclusions were not made clear from the get go? It would seem there is deliberate misrepresentation by the Couriers if they take all this money to insure items, in the full knowledge that any claim will be excluded. It's a bit like the P.P.I. mis-selling? Yes, one would ideally do face to face deals but a few months ago I could not arrange a satisfactory Courier ( they would only offer compo if the item was lost , if damaged £100 max and it was a £700 bass) so I drove to Newcastle from South Somerset. As I am no longer a regular distance driver the journey was a nightmare with roadworks and delays, in the end I spent about 16 hours on the road and £80 on fuel. Never doing that again. Yes, depending on the terms of the cover. It's one thing for the insurer (or courier company on behalf of the insurer) to sell general cover for unspecified goods being shipped to a specific value, for which there is a limit if the goods happen to be musical instruments. It's another for the insurer/courier to sell you cover specifically for a musical instrument to a certain value which is limited to paying out a lower value. That said, the only claim I can reasonably see being upheld would be a refund of the insurance premium paid. Though I'd love to see somebody challenge it to see if the Courts agreed that having accepted the premium in the first place the customer might reasonably have assumed that they had cover and so would not have been able to make an informed decision to obtain cover elsewhere (the root of the PPI pay outs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 On Monday I sent a bass via UPS. As soon as I put guitar in the item description box, a pop up said they would only insure the bass for damage to the value of £100 or the full amount if the bass was lost. And it had to go in a hard case. I insured it for the full amount anyway in case it got lost in their system and it cost me £18 to do so. Luckily it got delivered in perfect condition but never again. The thought of the bass being damaged and only being able to get back £100 was a worry that I won`t be going through again. On the plus side, they did tell me right away when I was booking the delivery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taunton-hobbit Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 This is one reason why I drove up to Matamp to collect my kit (280 miles + each way) so I could be sure that it got 'home' ok........... 😎 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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