Parcel2go - Nightmare

[BassAdder60]

So I recently sold a bass on EBay and the shipping address was Argos in Sainsburys 

 

Using Parcel2go I booked a UPS shipment and on the delivery day it was rejected by Argos ( too large )

I told the buyer this and he decided to have a refund instead which I sorted in full. He kindly covered the UPS charge and reimbursed me so all good but !!!

UPS had it as RTS return to sender and a few days later in showed via tracking it was delivered in Gosport !!

I live in Suffolk !!

Contacted UPS and they were hopeless and said I would have to speak to Parcel2go directly 

And begins the problem there is nobody on a phone only online help which kept saying it was delivered so cannot help further!!! Grrrrr !!!

This went on for a week or so but I found Parcel2go on Facebook and sent a message .. a day later they replied and seemed to accept UPS returned it to a Parcel2go depot in Gosport !!

They agreed to ship it back via DPD and today nearly 3 weeks later it came home and thankfully it was in perfect condition. That’s the last time I will use Parcel2go as the customer service is shocking and too automated so it’s hard to get them to help quickly 

 

Relieved my bass is back and I have decided to sell it on here and see how it goes 

Edited October 21, 2023 by BassAdder60

[Bluewine]

I'd be afraid to ship a bass guitar unless I had a foam injection machine. 

 

Blue

[Beedster]

I've been using DPD until recently when they dropped the ball massively, checked my bank re a claim I made and DPD payments appear to go to Parcel2Go now. And yes, I will never use them again, they simply refused to accept that they hadn't collected my packages despite not being able to explain where those packages were and why they'd not been delivered. Steer clear at all costs  

[TheGreek]

Couriers in general are a necessary evil we have to accept if we don't want to deliver or have gear collected.

 

You pay your money and take the risk. 

 

I think that we've all got horror stories about Couriers haven’t we?

[Old Horse Murphy]

I've had similar experiences to Chris with DPD recently and actually have used Parcelforce successfully for the last few shipments.
 

I always insure through Secursus as Parcelforce won't insure instruments to anything over £100 from memory. Touch wood though, I've not needed to claim so far. 

[Beedster]

5 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I've had similar experiences to Chris with DPD recently and actually have used Parcelforce successfully for the last few shipments.
 

I always insure through Secursus as Parcelforce won't insure instruments to anything over £100 from memory. Touch wood though, I've not needed to claim so far. 

 

DPD have dropped down the league table mate for sure  

  

[Burns-bass]

59 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Couriers in general are a necessary evil we have to accept if we don't want to deliver or have gear collected.

 

You pay your money and take the risk. 

 

I think that we've all got horror stories about Couriers haven’t we?

I once sent a Musicman Stingray and was meant to go to Germany and ended up in Spain - never to be seen again.

[jezzaboy]

I have mentioned this mob before. Via a recommendation on here, I used Overland Express multiple times. The one time I had a problem (not their fault, Richtone music problem) they couldn`t have been more helpful even getting the original APC driver to call into Richtone and sort it out.

 

They use various shippers and we all know they all have their problems from time to time but they are at the end of the phone or e mail and they went the extra mile to sort out this issue. Much better than dealing with a bot on a computer. These sometimes cheap couriers are great until something goes wrong with your bass worth a load of cash. I have no connection to OE by the way, just found them to be good.

[Downunderwonder]

The tech exists that an enterprising courier co could air tag everything along with their vehicles and cut all the nonsense.

[fleabag]

For UK deliveries :

 

If anyone would rather have a no hassle bass sale and needs a courier,  use   https://lenspeedlogistics.com/services/single-guitar-delivery-from-55/

 

Scroll down to coloured map to  see where they deliver in the UK mainland for the 55 quid price.  They dont require a hard case. They dont even require a cardboard box. A padded gigbag will do.  If you phone up , you get the boss, Len,  who's a good bloke.

 

They deal with a lot of antiques as well as bass gear, so are ultra careful with your goods. They are of course fully insured.

 

They may not be  quick. This is because they're a small outfit, and to make money, they need to coincide a pickup with other jobs near to you.  Its sheer luck if they have gear to deliver or pickup in your area within a day or two, so it's 50-50 if you get a quick pickup or not.   I have waited a week before for a collection from me, but i live way down the country compared to Lenspeed.

 

I've already used them several times, and have posted on BC about them before.  They did stirlings jobs everytime and Len's courier will keep you updated.

 

A fabulous service

Edited October 15, 2023 by fleabag

[chriswareham]

I'm surprised to hear that Parcel2Go have a depot - I thought they were just a website that sell other companies courier services, presumably run on a shoestring to maximise profits and hence no customer service whatsoever.

[BigRedX]

Unfortunately the initial problem is shipping to a drop location rather than a real address. As to OP has discovered they have limits on the size and weight of parcels that they will accept. Having had a similar experience the first time I tried to send something one of these delivery locations, I will now no longer ship anything to a drop location unless it fits within the Post Office's Medium Parcel weight and dimensions. Anything bigger or heavier I contact the buyer, explain that their drop location won't accept the parcel and if they can't supply a proper postal address cancel the transaction.

[BassAdder60]

1 minute ago, BigRedX said:

Unfortunately the initial problem is shipping to a drop location rather than a real address. As to OP has discovered they have limits on the size and weight of parcels that they will accept. Having had a similar experience the first time I tried to send something one of these delivery locations, I will now no longer ship anything to a drop location unless it fits within the Post Office's Medium Parcel weight and dimensions. Anything bigger or heavier I contact the buyer, explain that their drop location won't accept the parcel and if they can't supply a proper postal address cancel the transaction.

Yep this is the reason it went wrong !

The buyer said he was seldom at home to receive deliveries so chose Argos In Sainsbury’s!!

Why oh why did UPS think that RTS meant some random address that clearly wasn’t the sender’s address !!

I think UPS said the label had Parcel2go logo on it so they assumed they sent it !!

The POD said front desk so I knew it wasn’t residential but I couldn’t find any depot listed !!

UPS were also unhelpful that they wouldn’t divulge the address they dropped it back to !! Idiots !! 

[Marky L]

On 14/10/2023 at 23:28, Downunderwonder said:

The tech exists that an enterprising courier co could air tag everything along with their vehicles and cut all the nonsense.

 

It would be great. Sadly though I can't see it happening as this would force the courier into having to admit obvious liability when it's their mistake (which it always is).

[diskwave]

Ive recently had to shift a lot of top end camera gear and cause Im cheap I use Evri, plus insurance works out well.. Seems the key is to use excessive bubble wrap and to encase the parcel in rolls and rolls of Fragile tape. My parcels are practically bullet proof. So far no pobs at all.  

[Rayman]

Having done removals/van deliveries on and off for years, I’ve often wondered if it would be possible to have a van/courier business, purely for musical instruments. I’ve ummed and ahhhd about it for years.

I think it would be extremely difficult to pull off though, for one guy and a van. Picking up and dropping off the length and breadth of the UK, assuming that you could get enough work to make it pay.

The company I used to work for were piano specialists, but obviously I would have to avoid those. I’m thinking basically guitars, amps, keys and drums only. 
I don’t know if it’s do able or not.

[Beedster]

28 minutes ago, greavesbass said:

Ive recently had to shift a lot of top end camera gear and cause Im cheap I use Evri, plus insurance works out well.. Seems the key is to use excessive bubble wrap and to encase the parcel in rolls and rolls of Fragile tape. My parcels are practically bullet proof. So far no pobs at all.  

 

No amount of bubble wrap stops them losing it 

[Rosie C]

On 14/10/2023 at 20:20, Burns-bass said:

I once sent a Musicman Stingray and was meant to go to Germany and ended up in Spain - never to be seen again.

 

I bought some car parts a few years ago, to be delivered to my humble abode in South Wales. The seller provided tracking. I watched bemused as my parcel sat at Heathrow Airport for 2-3 days, then popped up in Australia. Then a week later was back in the UK and was eventually delivered. I assumed some parcel sorter thought "New South Wales", but if not it's a mystery.

 

[diskwave]

3 minutes ago, Beedster said:

No amount of bubble wrap stops them losing it

Yep, heard this many times before. Pretty sure in the all the years I used Hermes never lost a single package, tho had the odd return dumped in the recycle bin! I do wish they wouldnt do that.

[fleabag]

Bluddy Hermes.

 

The only parcel i ever had stolen was by a Hermes driver.  I wouldnt use them to post a paperclip.

[Cairobill]

I run hot and cold on shipping and have thankfully never had a major issue....but there's nothing like 'Saturday, 2PM at Clackett Lane Services' for everyone's peace of mind...

[Grahambythesea]

I had trouble with Parcel2go years ago and would never touch them again. 👎

[BassAdder60]

I use DPD direct with the App but for reason you cannot ship parcels longer than 100cm 

Yet they deliver from shops basses in boxes all the time ! 

[Bevan7]

I’m so sorry to hear this ended up like this. I was the original buyer. I had no idea about the size restrictions at the pick up point. I feel partly responsible but that courier sounds awful. 

[BassAdder60]

1 hour ago, Bevan7 said:

I’m so sorry to hear this ended up like this. I was the original buyer. I had no idea about the size restrictions at the pick up point. I feel partly responsible but that courier sounds awful. 

No worries!!

 

It’s back up for sale on here now !! 
 

Although this time I will let buyer book the courier !!