[Closed] Parcelforce farce

"Parcelfarce", shurely?

Currently struggling with DHL under almost exactly the same circumstances.

The redirect appeared to work, only for them to not attempt the delivery, and return the package to sender. Just after Black Friday...

So good luck. I'm trying not to leave the house for the next few weeks just in case they attempt to deliver again.

Ahh yes, the red card of crushed dreams. Unless you're camped out in the street they will always manage to sneak them through undetected no matter how vigilant and poised waiting by the door in total silence you are. How do they do that?

ive noticed RS Components have recently ditched Parcelfarce for DHL.

Ahh yes, the red card of crushed dreams.

You get a card?

I ordered a spendy bike tool (headset mill) "we tried to deliver we left a card"
"No you didn't"
"We'll try again tomorrow"
"You didn't try again"
"Oh it's out just now"
"You didn't deliver the parcel yesterday"
"Oh"
"I work round the corner from the depot, can it be held there?"
"Yes I have put a note on the system to remove from delivery"

15minutes later.... Knock knock knock.

That's genuinely the only time I have had any problem here getting stuff delivered. To be fair when I phoned the helpline they seemed to be genuinely helpful and the parcel force guys are normally totally fine. This stuff doesn't bother me, it's not the end of the world if it goes missing or is late. It just felt like the whole system was creaking rather than the people being useless.

10 years ago you always wanted parcelforce or RM, the rest were a nightmare, but now i find it a pain if the company or person sends via PF/RM, as more often than not i get a card left, even if i'm actually in, and then a horror trip to the local post office.

DPD, Hermes, etc all just stick the parcel in the lean to, since they all have local drivers i think the days of PF/RM being the go to are long gone for me.

Ah, DHL. Ordered a new phone. I asked if I could collect from the depot and was told no, the phone company insisted it had to be delivered to the home address.

It was delivered to....someone outside the house. I've no idea who it was, and nor did they as they'd subcontracted the delivery and the driver hadn't been back to them since.

We paid extra for the Secure TNT / Fedex delivery service in October when renewing our childrens passports ready for a trip over Christmas. They delivered both passports to the wrong address (right number, wrong street). Trying to navigate their automated system was nigh on impossible. As far as they were concerned, the packages had been delivered.

I managed to track down the house from the photo of the front door, only to be told by the old lady who lived there that she'd put them back in the royal mail postbox. One found its way here, the other didn't. Four weeks later, one cancelled passport, a new £142 fastrack application, one trip to Newport yesterday and another on Saturday to collect the passport, this little fiasco should be over.

For me parcel force / royal mail are always the best for deliveries to me and the only ones I will send with

^ This.

(In the interest of balance)

Never, ever Hermes.

I think they're all under the cosh at the moment, a perfect storm of Brexit "sending them back where they came from"*, coronavirus restrictions and Christmas.

(* - like most Yodel deliveries)

Parcel force and royal mail pretty good here too. It helps that the depot is a 5 min walk away and there is never a queue like there always is at the post office so its easy to collect missed packages.

I had one recently from DPD.

"Your parcel has been left in a safe place." No it hasn't, the only "safe place" I have is inside my house. No card either. I was a bit vexed because I've always held that DPD are the best out of the lot of them.

I jumped on the app and there's a photo. A photo of a parcel sat on my doorstep, 15 minutes ago. My doorstep is sadly devoid of parcels so either the driver's taken it away again or, far more likely, some scrote's had away with it.

I phoned up DPD. "Uh, I think I'd like to make a complaint." To be fair, they were very good and very sympathetic. Then at the end of the call they said they'd get someone from the depot to call me back on [number] where the number was... the land line for my old house. Waaaaait a minute. I asked them to confirm the delivery address and sure enough, it was where I lived up until a year ago. I can only assume that something somewhere has auto-filled the old address. So I said sure, get them to call me, but in the meantime I'll investigate.

I drove over to the old place. It turns out, they'd had a new front door fitted which is near-identical to the one I have here. There's even a little tuft of weeds in the same place in front of the doorstep at both houses. Knocked on the door, "uh, hiya, I used to live here..." and lo and behold, retrieved my parcel.

The depot rang, started on their apology preamble, I said "stop you there" and explained what had happened: that it was probably all just me being a nob, they were in the clear and could stand down and I'm really sorry for bothering you.

I then got a follow-up call from I think their customer services checking that everything had been resolved. People rag on couriers and often with due cause, but I cannot fault how DPD handled this.

I suppose that the biggest variation comes from the folks actually delivering. DPD round here are great. Hermes too.

DPD and FedEx seem the best ‘appped’. Whereas DHL’s web stuff appeared fragmented and rudimentary when I tried to sort out a problem delivery earlier in the year.

Don't seem to have any issues with any delivery companies round here. The local Hermes got a lot of stick last Christmas on the local "Spotted" pages as I think they'd taken on extra staff who clearly weren't up to it, but the regular guys are great.

Sitting here waiting for a parcelforce delivery bewteen 16.00 and 17.00. Tracking says at 16.55 they were unable to locate premises. This is an end of terrace city centre house that has been here since 1901.

delivery bewteen 16.00 and 17.00

If you're on the back end of the delivery run, you'll need even better luck than normal!

I've lost count of how many times the end of day slots just revert to 'There's been a problem with your delivery' or 'There was no-one at home', when I was definitely in.

It's the over-optimism of someone doing the route planning or the drivers themselves trying to maximise income. When the clock runs out, they just turn round and head back to the depot, presumably jabbing away at their mobile device making up various excuses for the missed deliveries as they go.

I'm always middle of the day for Hermes, which is a result when I'm WFH. And the driver and local depot are marvellous - even redirected an incorrectly addressed parcel to me (like Cougar's above) without being asked. So Hermes by far the best, followed by my DPD Local guy (who's a regular). DHL, Parcelforce and Yodel are 'mixed' at best. And of these, I rarely see the same guy or girl twice.

Sitting here waiting for a parcelforce delivery bewteen 16.00 and 17.00. ... been here since 1901.

Well, that's your problem, you were two hours late.

Sitting here waiting for a parcelforce delivery bewteen 16.00 and 17.00. … been here since 1901.

Well, that’s your problem, you were two hours late.

Or 120 years too early...

Got one 🙂. They actually left the small package at the local post office as direction.

I won't be getting the other though ☹️. The local Post Office tell me that they think the hatch size is too low for my wheel rim to fit. Parcel Force online accepted the redelivery, but don't tell me there is a problem of course. Guess the only thing to do is wait for them to return to the supplier so I can have a refund.

For me parcel force / royal mail are always the best for deliveries to me and the only ones I will send with

Same here,in the last month I've had 2 deliveries from Parcelforce,both arrived promptly & no problems at all.

^ This.

(In the interest of balance)

Never, ever Hermes.

Posted 1 day ago

Same here,my heart sinks when the sender says that they've posted the parcel with Hermes.
I ordered a pair of those trousers from Regatta last monday,they finally turned up today,12 days after I placed the order...

Does anyone else remember some review left of Lord of the Rings where the guy said it was all well and good going on a quest to Mt. Doom to destroy the one ring but they could have saved themselves a lot of bother if they'd just shipped it there via Parcelfarce and then sent Sauron the tracking number...

Don't think that would have worked, they'd probably have left it at Saruman's house

Ha ha you guys are hilarious. I have recently spent a few days delivering parcels. It’s hard work. The guys are routed to deliver 200-300 parcels/packages a day. It’s a full on day and you are discouraged from taking any back to the depot. If you are unfamiliar with the route it’s a nightmare. Couple that with short days so your trying to find house numbers on a poorly lit street. Only one guy I delivered to actually seemed quite friendly and asked how my day was going. Most people just expect the parcel to arrive bang on time no issues.

So next time you get annoyed think about the poor delivery guy out in all weathers working a 9-10 hour day with no time to take a break if they want to get finished on time.

Hiya - I've been the 'delivery guy' too & the conditions many of you work with are indeed poor. The problems I've experienced are mostly not due to delivery people, but due to the instructions and processes you have to follow. I'm polite and friendly to everyone too by the way.

Hermes had some really good folk delivering here but, and this is probably indicative of pay, there are now none. Apparently the current Hermes drivers are coming from gretna, 50miles away.

Not had anything PF recently but last time I did (which was a bike frame) they had issues finding my address (not sure why it's not a new build and has the house number and street name on a plaque at the front of the house) - had PF deliveries to my house prior to that one. I offered to collect from the depot as I live fairly close, but they wouldn't do that either. Eventually they did find my house and promptly abandoned the parcel in my 'porch' (I don't have a porch) - it was left just in front of my house (this was pre-covid so leaving parcels by the door wasn't the norm). Luckily I was able to quickly nip home and stop it being taken by anyone else

Had a slight issue with TNT recently - they tried to deliver but I was out and shoved a card through the door saying the parcel had gone back to the depot and this was the final delivery attempt - I was told I must get in touch to resolve. Their app was awful and didn't recognise the tracking number. I eventually managed to book a redelivery only for the parcel to be delivered an hour or so after I filled out the form.

Similar issues with Hermes having issues finding my address (had loads of Hermes deliveries previously). Jumped through the hoops to try and resolve only for the parcel to arrive half an hour or so later

Oh, I had a delivery hiccup the other day. My door number is hyphenated, by way of example rather than giving out my actual address let's say it's 7-9. Somewhere in translation "seven to nine" had turned into 729. The last house on the street I think is in the high 20s and then it turns into a country road, the poor shit must have been halfway to Yorkshire going "where the hell are all these hundreds of houses?!"

"For me parcel force / royal mail are always the best for deliveries to me and the only ones I will send with"

A year ago I would have agreed with you. RM Special Delivery was my delivery option of choice for anything of value and general 1st class was way quicker than any other service.
However, I had been waiting in all this morning for an urgent package of low value. Postie usually delivers between 8 and 9.
11.30 and the dog was crossing his legs and his eyes so I relented and took him out. Just down the road I met him in his van and asked if he had an SD package for me, and could he give it to me now?
"Can't do that..."
Even if you take a photo of me holding the package and my driving licence?
"nah, it has to be delivered to that address."
It has to be delivered to me, and I'm here...
"it has to be delivered to that address. It's the rules!"
OK, i'll come back. It'll only take me ten minutes...
"I can't wait that long."

He genuinely seemed surprised when I called him a ****!

He genuinely seemed surprised when I called him a *!

You're the one who seems like a * here.

Everything is tracked through GPS. If he was to deliver it away from the address, it would be flagged up as misdelivered.

I'd hazard a guess that he values his job more than your convenience.

Yes the rabbit does not let you deliver the package outside the geo tag for the delivery address. Reuben you should apologise to that guy. It’s amazing how nasty some members of the public are. Whatever happened to empathy and understanding?

It’s a very stressful job with customers wanting something delivered but aren’t going to home. Don’t deliver it and get moaned at, deliver and it gets stolen get moaned at.

What happened to flexibility?
He's been my postie for 2 years and he knows me pretty well. There must be some sort of leeway in "The rules", but no, apparently not. He wouldn't even put it through the letter box, FFS!
If the PO, sorry, Royal Mail, insist on such rigidity then they're going to lose market share, big time!
I no longer click on Royal Mail first class option when ordering something; it's always another service if available. i'm sure I'm not alone...

Your a typical self entitled member of the general public Reuben. No empathy for your fellow man it’s just your needs that matter. The poor guy was only doing his job.

Yes, I'm a **** too!
My deeds did matter, which is why the letter was sent SD, and the dog's needs mattered too...
It was simple; he knows me, I was 200yds from my house, I was willing to have my pic taken as a happy letter collector, job done! happy punters...
But he wasn't even willing to put it through the effing letter box FFS!
He could even have taken a pic of it inside on the mat...

And he'll have to have another go on Monday, Tuesday, Wed.....
Making his workload bigger still!
multiply by 11...

Luckily I'm on first name terms with my local parcelforce guy so trust he won't do anything shady with my parcels, Hermes courier keeps changing, I've had four different guys delivering in the last 18 months. I recently had an issue with the postie when I received an email saying item delivered when it wasn't, I chased him down thinking he'd put it through the wrong letterbox, he got on his phone to find out what happened then about 20 minutes later a royalmail van that had already done its deliveries on my street pulled up with my parcel, don't know what went wrong there and never will, but thats worrying.

If the PO, sorry, Royal Mail, insist on such rigidity then they’re going to lose market share, big time!

I don't think they will.

I don't understand why you didn't just walk back to your house.

Glad to see you now know what you are Reuben 🤪

DPD are normally really good, but what I assume are their seasonal staff seem like a mess this year.

Thursday:
Parcel is supposed to be delivered, tracking goes to a failed delivery and shows a picture of a different house on a different road.
Me: "Hi, you've tried to deliver to the wrong house. Here's some instructions on how to find us." (Note: we're not actually very hard to find, we're on a main road, most couriers manage fine)
Them: "Oh, we're sorry about that, we'll make sure it gets delivered tomorrow"

Friday:
They take a picture of the *same* wrong house
Me: "Errr... you've taken a picture of the same wrong house"
Them: "Right, we'll send the driver back today. He'll text you when he's on his way, and he'll call you when he's nearby for directions"
Me: "Great! In the meantime, here's really precise directions, please add them to the delivery note"
No text, no call, no show, obviously

Today:
They take a picture of the same wrong house for a third time.
Person on the chat thing claims that it's because "the sender put the postcode twice"

These stories remind me of the right weirdo who tried to deliver to one of my neighbours.

He drove up my driveway, and was wandering around my garden, so I asked him what he was looking for, he says No XXX. I point to the house and tell him its that one. He then drives back down my drive to the road. Sits there for about 5 minutes, drives back up my drive gets out of car and starts wandering around my garden again. After about 10 minutes gets back in his car drives back to the road and drives off never delivering the parcel.

I assume they got a "could not find house" status on that days delivery!

Not having much luck with UPS, two failed delivery attempts and I redirected it to a UPS Access Point, local store.
Travelled up after notification it had been delivered on Mon at 1549hts, quelle suprise it's not there.
Flurry of phone calls/emails the next few days to be told it's now definitely there...........wife goes to collect and yes it's not frickin there
More emails to UPS and supplier, awaiting reply🙄

I worked as a postie through Covid before sacking it off at the beginning of autumn, aware (unlike the managers, apparently) of the impending chaos. I'm currently doing three shifts a week mail sorting for RM in addition to the new day job, so have an insight into both ends of the process. My sense is that the mail sorting and distribution is working ok, but the system is failing at the point of delivery: not enough frontline staff or vehicles, and unrealistic expectations for what those staff can achieve. Having said that, they're also short of people in the sorting office - can't get seasonal agency workers in the required numbers. Parcels are being prioritised over letters at every stage of the process. I'd assume similar problems affect other couriers.

I can picture Reuben walking into his local supermarket, picking up the item he wants and turning to the store worker stacking the shelf next to him:

"I want to buy this, here's the money"

"Sorry sir, you have to go through the checkout to pay for it, I can't sell you it here"

"Here's my money, take a photo you *" 🤪

*