We bought about £400 worth of tickets in November and have severely regretted it. The problem seems to be our 'hub' not our local franchisee, who's a decent guy.
Having been lured in with the promise of same day deliveries within our hub's area, most parcels getting delivered the following morning, and the very competitive rates, we have now used all but one ticket and will not be buying more.
The hub do not answer their phone or reply to faxes/emails, all communication ends up taking place via their driver who then has to email the hub in the evening and await a response the next day.
Their service is not next day as they initially lead you to believe and only when things go wrong do they they then point out it is not a guaranteed service. Forget tracking a parcel, the only information the website will provide is whether it has been delivered or not, and only once they have manually updated the information. Some parcels are delivered by third parties and these prove very difficult to trace.
We have four unresolved insurance claims and can imagine these will never be sorted, without court intervention.
If they perhaps charged a more realistic rate, they could afford to staff the hubs more realistically and improve their systems. The concept seems good but once your parcel has left your local franchisee's hands and there is a problem, no-one seems to be interested in sorting things out. The item just goes missing.
Please be warned! It's back to TNT and Citylink for us.
Having been lured in with the promise of same day deliveries within our hub's area, most parcels getting delivered the following morning, and the very competitive rates, we have now used all but one ticket and will not be buying more.
The hub do not answer their phone or reply to faxes/emails, all communication ends up taking place via their driver who then has to email the hub in the evening and await a response the next day.
Their service is not next day as they initially lead you to believe and only when things go wrong do they they then point out it is not a guaranteed service. Forget tracking a parcel, the only information the website will provide is whether it has been delivered or not, and only once they have manually updated the information. Some parcels are delivered by third parties and these prove very difficult to trace.
We have four unresolved insurance claims and can imagine these will never be sorted, without court intervention.
If they perhaps charged a more realistic rate, they could afford to staff the hubs more realistically and improve their systems. The concept seems good but once your parcel has left your local franchisee's hands and there is a problem, no-one seems to be interested in sorting things out. The item just goes missing.
Please be warned! It's back to TNT and Citylink for us.
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C
Christiane
- Original Poster
- #43
I met with my local rep last year but she wanted £350 worth of tickets and I thought it was a bit too much. Also it seemed a bit of a hassle as I had to check the post code every time in order to put the correct label on - time which I haven't got.
I have to have guaranteed next day delivery so I've stayed with Royal Mail Special Delivery as I only send about 2 ''special delivery'' a day (up to 1kg).
I have to have guaranteed next day delivery so I've stayed with Royal Mail Special Delivery as I only send about 2 ''special delivery'' a day (up to 1kg).
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Hi,
re fastways, just had the worst possible experience with them, first problem and they took 4 days to tell me it was missing, 24 phone calls i made, no-one ever replied to my phone call, they stuck me on hold for 20 minutes then cut me off.
Eventually the receptionist just said we cant find it, just file a claim.
The parcel, 7 days later is still awol, on monday they said theyd look into it, tuesday it had ben found and sent to the depot, wednesday admitted it hadnt been found and no idea where it was, today still cant find it and they dont care. I phoned the depot about 5 or 6 times every day this week, kept getting hung up on, put on hold and i think i started to bore them with my request to find my box.
The depot manager promised to phone me back in 40 mins, 12 hours later, still no call back.
I then phone fastways head office to complain, they dont have anyone who deals with complaints, theres no-one you can speak to, each depot is a franchise so its up to the depot to sort it, totally absurd.
So i am going back to APC, i used them before with no problem but decided to move to Fastways to save 75p per delivery.
I accept deliveries go missing but its how it is dealt with that saves the deal, this was the worst customer service i have ever had, and can only say i will always urge people NOT to use Fastways ever again.
re fastways, just had the worst possible experience with them, first problem and they took 4 days to tell me it was missing, 24 phone calls i made, no-one ever replied to my phone call, they stuck me on hold for 20 minutes then cut me off.
Eventually the receptionist just said we cant find it, just file a claim.
The parcel, 7 days later is still awol, on monday they said theyd look into it, tuesday it had ben found and sent to the depot, wednesday admitted it hadnt been found and no idea where it was, today still cant find it and they dont care. I phoned the depot about 5 or 6 times every day this week, kept getting hung up on, put on hold and i think i started to bore them with my request to find my box.
The depot manager promised to phone me back in 40 mins, 12 hours later, still no call back.
I then phone fastways head office to complain, they dont have anyone who deals with complaints, theres no-one you can speak to, each depot is a franchise so its up to the depot to sort it, totally absurd.
So i am going back to APC, i used them before with no problem but decided to move to Fastways to save 75p per delivery.
I accept deliveries go missing but its how it is dealt with that saves the deal, this was the worst customer service i have ever had, and can only say i will always urge people NOT to use Fastways ever again.
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As I see it, a potential problem with Fastways is how established they are. They offered to subsidise wages for a certain period, 20 weeks maybe? So it may take a while for a franchisee to establish if he can turn a profit, therefore possibly leading to churn factor. I'm sure this will all pan out in the long run, but time waits for no-one.
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walford
- Original Poster
- #47
Fastway Couriers - are they just a bunch of crooks?
If you are thinking of using Fastway couriers for delivering your parcels then you should think again. They are only interested in taking your money up front and we have found that they are not even interested in collecting parcels for delivery, let alone actually delivering them. Fastways in our area have now closed down leaving us with sevral hundreds of pounds of useless parcel tickets. Do not be tempted by their offers of cheap delivery. They took two two eight days to deliver almost every parcel.
Below are a few comments I have found on forums.
Heard recently that the Australian Fastway Couriers are still attempting to lure new customers into becoming either depot or courier franchises.
Having been part of the UK Fastway Courier franchise ourselves a few years ago, based on our own personal experiences, we cannot personnaly recommend them based on their past efforts. Thousands of pounds were lost by us and many others who were promised everything, but shown very little.
Nearly all depots setup in the 2000-2001 went belly up, as they were all left to arrange their own line haul between branches. Never was a central hub setup to allow routing of deliveries of parcels across the country. In fact if it wasn't for the individual depots to arrange accounts with 'other' courier companies, very few parcels would have made it to their respective destinations!
Basically parcels were collected as Fastway and in most cases, delivered by a different courier company entirely... not what our customers would have liked!
If they have arranged a collection/line haul now and a 'proper' network for delivering parcels across the country using their own vehicles and staff, then perhaps they are on track at last. If they haven't, well put your money into this at your own risk! Wish we had gone to Subway instead!
All of the above is our own personal recommendations, without prejudice and would advice all to seek proper advice before buying into a franchise.
On the Fastways website, there is no easy way to contact the company. Most company websites have an easy to find 'contact us' page, but not this company!
Biggest problem for myself with Fastway is the franchisee goes under they do not necessarily refund the outlay, and a new franchisee in the same area will not necessarily either, since your contract was with the old franchisee.
Lots of warning signs on here, be very carefull. I dont want to diis them but as an ex courier I know a few who have bought the franchise and then given up or gone bust.
As a member of two of the main forums for couriers I can assure you alex4orne is a well known name around them. He hasn't overstated the potential risk to yourselves as customers, far from it.
In Eire the Fastway franchise is regularly on the radio etc due to the amount of franchisee's who have gone bust.
End of the day it is you or your companies money, but your only recourse is against the ex-franchisee if they go belly up, whether you have £100 of pre-paid tickets or £10000 of tickets, your pre-paid money will almost certainly be lost.
We used them but found them unreliable. At the moment they are only delivering in local areas, they have lost their contract with Fedex.
Never expect anything delivered with in 48 hours.The online tracker seems to work as and when it feels like it I think because they are a network of independants passing on to each other it lets them down a bit. Only had one delivery that went wrong and still have not received an explanation.
We bought about £400 worth of tickets in November and have severely regretted it. The problem seems to be our 'hub' not our local franchisee, who's a decent guy.
Having been lured in with the promise of same day deliveries within our hub's area, most parcels getting delivered the following morning, and the very competitive rates, we have now used all but one ticket and will not be buying more.
The hub do not answer their phone or reply to faxes/emails, all communication ends up taking place via their driver who then has to email the hub in the evening and await a response the next day.
Their service is not next day as they initially lead you to believe and only when things go wrong do they they then point out it is not a guaranteed service. Forget tracking a parcel, the only information the website will provide is whether it has been delivered or not, and only once they have manually updated the information. Some parcels are delivered by third parties and these prove very difficult to trace.
We have four unresolved insurance claims and can imagine these will never be sorted, without court intervention.
If they perhaps charged a more realistic rate, they could afford to staff the hubs more realistically and improve their systems. The concept seems good but once your parcel has left your local franchisee's hands and there is a problem, no-one seems to be interested in sorting things out. The item just goes missing.
Please be warned! It's back to TNT and Citylink for us.
Hi,re fastways, just had the worst possible experience with them, first problem and they took 4 days to tell me it was missing, 24 phone calls i made, no-one ever replied to my phone call, they stuck me on hold for 20 minutes then cut me off.
Eventually the receptionist just said we cant find it, just file a claim.
The parcel, 7 days later is still awol, on monday they said theyd look into it, tuesday it had ben found and sent to the depot, wednesday admitted it hadnt been found and no idea where it was, today still cant find it and they dont care. I phoned the depot about 5 or 6 times every day this week, kept getting hung up on, put on hold and i think i started to bore them with my request to find my box.
The depot manager promised to phone me back in 40 mins, 12 hours later, still no call back.
I then phone fastways head office to complain, they dont have anyone who deals with complaints, theres no-one you can speak to, each depot is a franchise so its up to the depot to sort it, totally absurd.
So i am going back to APC, i used them before with no problem but decided to move to Fastways to save 75p per delivery.
I accept deliveries go missing but its how it is dealt with that saves the deal, this was the worst customer service i have ever had, and can only say i will always urge people NOT to use Fastways ever again.
TIP- Get to know your local driver, and phone him directly for pickups. Don't go via the office.
ANOTHER TIP- Make sure he scans the parcel on your premises, or get a receipt. We had a parcel which was collected and lost - they denied ever having received it. The driver did not have a scanner on board, and scanned them back at the depot - by which time it had been stolen from his van!
We use to own a franchise with fastway couriers, believe me if your parcel goes missing the blame gets passed on and on, You will not get paid out for the item.
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IsntShePretty
- Original Poster
- #48
We opened an account with Fastway. We would NOT recommend them if you want to provide good customer service to your customers.
We opened the account and bought a book of tickets. They tie you is for a number of deliverie in our case 50 paid upfront. We experienced:
- Individual couriers squabbling between themselves as they had not passed the paperwork to each other. Resulted in one of the courier point blank refusing to collect our parcels. We had to sort this out. They were collected a day late through no fault of our own.
- We had our post collected from one office and sent to another office less than 15 miles away. As we had not taped the parcels together the collection courier wanted 6 tickets before they would allow the delivery driver to drop off our post. Contained small parcels and letters weighing less than 15kg in total. 6 tickets works out at at least £30!!
- Parcel was needed by our customer. We normally send Royal Mail special delivery but chose to send Fastway. They missorted and delivered a day late. They offer no compensation for this as they state they still delivered the parcel.
- If you have any problems Fastway depot offer no customer service whatsoever. They state the contract is between you and the driver. If you have any problems the driver can only state what he is told and Fastway will not discuss.
We would recommend continue to use another courier company.
Once our book of tickets run out we will NOT be renewing.
We opened the account and bought a book of tickets. They tie you is for a number of deliverie in our case 50 paid upfront. We experienced:
- Individual couriers squabbling between themselves as they had not passed the paperwork to each other. Resulted in one of the courier point blank refusing to collect our parcels. We had to sort this out. They were collected a day late through no fault of our own.
- We had our post collected from one office and sent to another office less than 15 miles away. As we had not taped the parcels together the collection courier wanted 6 tickets before they would allow the delivery driver to drop off our post. Contained small parcels and letters weighing less than 15kg in total. 6 tickets works out at at least £30!!
- Parcel was needed by our customer. We normally send Royal Mail special delivery but chose to send Fastway. They missorted and delivered a day late. They offer no compensation for this as they state they still delivered the parcel.
- If you have any problems Fastway depot offer no customer service whatsoever. They state the contract is between you and the driver. If you have any problems the driver can only state what he is told and Fastway will not discuss.
We would recommend continue to use another courier company.
Once our book of tickets run out we will NOT be renewing.
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When it works properly Fasway is great. No booking each parcel and next day delivery sometimes. However they muck it up a lot. We had parcels that had gone through the local depot, national hub and then they sat for a week as the local guy said he could not deliver them on health and safety grounds as they were too heavy. Nobody contacted us, we only found out when customer said their order had not arrived. We ended up paying an extra £5 for the lazy monket to deliver them. I asked how can paying £5 make them lighter. Often our driver would be too late back to the depot for parcels to be put on the lorry to the national hub or DHL. As for the online track and trace you might as well just guess wether the parcel has arrived, it's more accurate, not only do they show false undelivered but worse false delivered, causing bad feeling with the customer
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Andy27UK
- Original Poster
- #50
Currently having a very BAD experience with fastways couier.
I've been calling, emailing and writting for over 4 months to get compensation for a lost parcel. I've spoken to just about every person at the depot including the depot manager and every time i've been asked for the details. Not once have they returned our correspondance.
I've been in touch with trading standards and as advised the 1st letter has been sent by recorded mail - no reply and no surprise.
I've since spoken on the phone to 3 people to advise of our actions and intensions. The depot manager who promised a reply by email within 24 hours did get back to me with a reply no less than: "I'll check this in the morning"
A parcel we sent Thursday has also gone missing, no doubt we'll start this all over again soon.
The 2nd letter was sent out today and the next stage is the small claims court.
Needless to say if your in the south east and plan to use fastways couriers please think twice. Your parcel will sooner grow legs and walk to your customer.
I've been calling, emailing and writting for over 4 months to get compensation for a lost parcel. I've spoken to just about every person at the depot including the depot manager and every time i've been asked for the details. Not once have they returned our correspondance.
I've been in touch with trading standards and as advised the 1st letter has been sent by recorded mail - no reply and no surprise.
I've since spoken on the phone to 3 people to advise of our actions and intensions. The depot manager who promised a reply by email within 24 hours did get back to me with a reply no less than: "I'll check this in the morning"
A parcel we sent Thursday has also gone missing, no doubt we'll start this all over again soon.
The 2nd letter was sent out today and the next stage is the small claims court.
Needless to say if your in the south east and plan to use fastways couriers please think twice. Your parcel will sooner grow legs and walk to your customer.
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Laserjet
- Original Poster
- #52
Whilst looking for a more cost effective courier than TNT I discovered Fastway and as such invested in two booklets of tickets.
At first they seemed OK but then we started having problems, we later learned that our drivers business partner was having financial issues with fastway not paying him and to make a stand he went into a business on his round armed with a handgun and held the staff hostage for a very short amount of time before the police arrived and the situation was peacefully resolved and he was arrested.
Shortly after this a package we shipped with them got lost in transit and after three months fastway are still blaming the driver and the driver says he hasn't had any paperwork from them with regards to a claim. No one ever calls back and today is the three month annivesary of my lost package and STILL no claim forms despite NUMEROUS calls to the driver, the sales rep and customer services.
In my honest opinion this is an amateur operation with no customer support and one to be steered well clear of.
Rant over...
At first they seemed OK but then we started having problems, we later learned that our drivers business partner was having financial issues with fastway not paying him and to make a stand he went into a business on his round armed with a handgun and held the staff hostage for a very short amount of time before the police arrived and the situation was peacefully resolved and he was arrested.
Shortly after this a package we shipped with them got lost in transit and after three months fastway are still blaming the driver and the driver says he hasn't had any paperwork from them with regards to a claim. No one ever calls back and today is the three month annivesary of my lost package and STILL no claim forms despite NUMEROUS calls to the driver, the sales rep and customer services.
In my honest opinion this is an amateur operation with no customer support and one to be steered well clear of.
Rant over...
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spigwell
- Original Poster
- #53
I used to use these in Chesterfield and had a good pick-up rate. I used to have a parcel delivered to Maidstone twice a week and experienced no end of problems from the SE courier. A rather "rotund" lady was running the operation down there and stated that she would happily deliver the parcels if she happened to be passing through Maidstone, Otherwise she preferred to wait until she had enough to make it worthwhile. The longest we had to wait for a guaranteed next day delivery was actually 10 days. If this woman still has the franchise down there then I fully sympathise with you.
My local fastway company actually refunded me a full book (after a lot of hard work) and I never really had any big issues with them, but what is the point of having a good pick-up service only to be let down on the delivery side.
Regards
Gary
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Andy27UK
- Original Poster
- #54
Absolutely... the level of service is beyond a joke and my situation gets worse!
Not only am i still waiting for a reply to the 2nd letter, i failed to get a collection last Monday. No reply from the driver OR the depot i fear the worst... it was only when a plain clothed stranger came to the door i was informed that the driver had quit!! But wait... it doesn't end here... my next collection yet ANOTHER driver comes to the door lol
Every time i take the telephone details of the new driver. The last one even speaks English - BONUS!
Not only am i still waiting for a reply to the 2nd letter, i failed to get a collection last Monday. No reply from the driver OR the depot i fear the worst... it was only when a plain clothed stranger came to the door i was informed that the driver had quit!! But wait... it doesn't end here... my next collection yet ANOTHER driver comes to the door lol
Every time i take the telephone details of the new driver. The last one even speaks English - BONUS!
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Hi, Be very weary as lost parcels take weeks to sort out and you have to use another stamp to send a replacement parcel and when you get the original on back they will not refund your stamp, also they do not answer the phone or reply to messages left.
I am stuck with £500.00 worth of stamps and cannot use you now as our local driver has left, if we wanted to use them we have to book for the next day pick up.
I would avoid it mike look cheaper but in the long run expensive
AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am stuck with £500.00 worth of stamps and cannot use you now as our local driver has left, if we wanted to use them we have to book for the next day pick up.
I would avoid it mike look cheaper but in the long run expensive
AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I think you have been lucky, it cost me £1200 to start using then and still have half the stamps left and communication is terrible.
PS our driver until he left was under standing but was not making any money.
I will continue to use Parcelforce may be a bit more but need to find some courier to deliver lighter items under 5 kilos.
PS our driver until he left was under standing but was not making any money.
I will continue to use Parcelforce may be a bit more but need to find some courier to deliver lighter items under 5 kilos.
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djo555
- Original Poster
- #58
OK! First things first. I am a Fastway Courier Franchisee. I bought my Franchise in June 2007 so I have been in operation for just over 1 year now. For the protection of my customers and Regional Franchisee, I will not be revealing what area I purchased.
I think that there have been some very harsh comments made on this forum regarding the service that Fastway offers and bearing in mind that Fastway is operated by people who have invested their own money rather than a corporate management team, there is little to no opportunity for anybody to offer any explanation for some of the items documented in these posts. I think that is somewhat unfair and would like to use this forum to put another point of view across. If I am able to pass on information that corrects some of the mis- information raised, or guide members as to how to go about certain things, I am happy to do so. For my part, I have 63 customers in my area and collect an average of 90 parcels per day and deliver between 40 & 50. I can say without hesitation that the service I offer my customers is fully appreciated . Of course there are problems in the Network, but these are systematically being sorted and real progress is being made.
I suspect that some of the posts made are from other Courier service providers who have seen Fastway steadily nibble away at their customer base. Fastway now moves over 2% of the UK parcel freight, and all the Franchisees in my depot have seen a steady growth in freight movement over the last 6 months. Not bad for a service that has never placed an advert for the service through any medium, other than "Free" press releases.
The real proof of existing customer loyality is that Fastway have announced price increases this week to take effect from Monday next, and I have sold over £11,000 worth of tickets this week. Times that by the 300+ Franchisees in the UK and thats £3.3million worth of ticket sales in a week. If the service was as bad as some people would have you believe, surely, intelligent business men would have used this opportunity to switch couriers, particularly bearing in mind the current financial downturn and general gloomy outlook.
So lets be a bit more positive about a Courier system that is charging prices that better reflect the actual cost of moving a package around the country. The big boy's have had it their own way for far too long, and the other courier cowboys are slowly being driven out of town. I know of several businesses that have had their parcel rates reduced by the bigger couriers because they have quoted the Fastway prices and told their service provider to match the Fastway prices or loose the business! They match the price, but be assured that they have put it back on at the end of the month invoice in the guise of Fuel Surcharges, or minimum usage fees!!
I firmly believe that Fastway is the way forward, and the next 12 months will see further significant increases in the number of parcels Fastway franchisees will move for their respective customers. Now that customers can pay by credit card, this gives up to 6 weeks credit so the "Money Up Front" argument no longer applies. I hope this has been helpful for any business considering using Fastway, or anyone considering becoming a franchisee! The business is only as good as the people operating it, and the more "Better Quality" people that become franchisees, the better the service will become.
Fastway is not going to go away!!
I think that there have been some very harsh comments made on this forum regarding the service that Fastway offers and bearing in mind that Fastway is operated by people who have invested their own money rather than a corporate management team, there is little to no opportunity for anybody to offer any explanation for some of the items documented in these posts. I think that is somewhat unfair and would like to use this forum to put another point of view across. If I am able to pass on information that corrects some of the mis- information raised, or guide members as to how to go about certain things, I am happy to do so. For my part, I have 63 customers in my area and collect an average of 90 parcels per day and deliver between 40 & 50. I can say without hesitation that the service I offer my customers is fully appreciated . Of course there are problems in the Network, but these are systematically being sorted and real progress is being made.
I suspect that some of the posts made are from other Courier service providers who have seen Fastway steadily nibble away at their customer base. Fastway now moves over 2% of the UK parcel freight, and all the Franchisees in my depot have seen a steady growth in freight movement over the last 6 months. Not bad for a service that has never placed an advert for the service through any medium, other than "Free" press releases.
The real proof of existing customer loyality is that Fastway have announced price increases this week to take effect from Monday next, and I have sold over £11,000 worth of tickets this week. Times that by the 300+ Franchisees in the UK and thats £3.3million worth of ticket sales in a week. If the service was as bad as some people would have you believe, surely, intelligent business men would have used this opportunity to switch couriers, particularly bearing in mind the current financial downturn and general gloomy outlook.
So lets be a bit more positive about a Courier system that is charging prices that better reflect the actual cost of moving a package around the country. The big boy's have had it their own way for far too long, and the other courier cowboys are slowly being driven out of town. I know of several businesses that have had their parcel rates reduced by the bigger couriers because they have quoted the Fastway prices and told their service provider to match the Fastway prices or loose the business! They match the price, but be assured that they have put it back on at the end of the month invoice in the guise of Fuel Surcharges, or minimum usage fees!!
I firmly believe that Fastway is the way forward, and the next 12 months will see further significant increases in the number of parcels Fastway franchisees will move for their respective customers. Now that customers can pay by credit card, this gives up to 6 weeks credit so the "Money Up Front" argument no longer applies. I hope this has been helpful for any business considering using Fastway, or anyone considering becoming a franchisee! The business is only as good as the people operating it, and the more "Better Quality" people that become franchisees, the better the service will become.
Fastway is not going to go away!!
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We have been using fastway for a good while now and never had any problems to speak of, the only time we had a problem was not actually with them but the customer refusing delivery they went that extra mile to help us with this and get the parcels back out at no extra cost. Our local guys are brilliant and particulary easy on the eyes which helps 
Our drivers have happily collected in excess of 20 parcels for us from locations other than our normal business ones again at no cost to us other than the label price. We send out a huge number of boxes some weeks and not once have there been problems with them. I cant praise fastway enough.
I would recommend them to anyone.
Our drivers have happily collected in excess of 20 parcels for us from locations other than our normal business ones again at no cost to us other than the label price. We send out a huge number of boxes some weeks and not once have there been problems with them. I cant praise fastway enough.
I would recommend them to anyone.
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spigwell
- Original Poster
- #60
So basically your saying that the other 57 negative posts in this thread regarding poor service etc are all wrong? The only thing that all these people have in common is the poor experience they have had with fastway. They are not all couriers who have got together to attack your company.
It is the people who are not as committed that are letting the company down and if they remain within the franchise then things can not improve as the bad apples will always ruin the rest. You yourself may well be running a good area and things may well of improved throughout the company but the sign of a positive change would be to contact old customers asking why they no longer use the franchise and offer them a free 2 weeks to see if things have improved at all, If as you say the service is now problem free then that should be no problem and the rewards would far out weigh the outlay.
I cant really see this happening as I doubt the customer service levels have improved so much that the franchise actually cares what the customers really think, certain territories let down the service for deliveries and those that get it right are then let down by an inadequate customer service dept. (actually there is no customer services department, as it is dealt with via the franchisee themselves).
Regards
Gary
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Andy27UK
- Original Poster
- #61
I think Gary pretty much covers my reply to your post in a nut shell.
Congratulations with your success at fastways, the facts and figures are very impressive and i wish you well for the future. It's just unfortunate that you carry the reputation of a business dragged down by other franchisee's...
A chain is as strong as it's weakest link. Fastways are no longer part of mine.
Congratulations with your success at fastways, the facts and figures are very impressive and i wish you well for the future. It's just unfortunate that you carry the reputation of a business dragged down by other franchisee's...
A chain is as strong as it's weakest link. Fastways are no longer part of mine.
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What a pile of s**t from the fastways man, they were without fail the worst courier company i have ever experienced.
Spoke to my old driver last week, hes trying to sell his franchise as hes had enough, he said it was worse than when i was with them.
Fastways lie without fail and never ever ever return phonecalls or emails, stay away, it'll only end in tears
Spoke to my old driver last week, hes trying to sell his franchise as hes had enough, he said it was worse than when i was with them.
Fastways lie without fail and never ever ever return phonecalls or emails, stay away, it'll only end in tears
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You would have got on better, if you didnt try to come across as a smart arse, i dont for one minute believe that other couriers were posting negative coments beacause you are stealing their business.
I believe all the negative comments were posted by people (like myself) that experienced dreadful service from fastways, and were disgusted by how we (the customer) were treated.
You cant brush it under the carpet, you should address the problems
I believe all the negative comments were posted by people (like myself) that experienced dreadful service from fastways, and were disgusted by how we (the customer) were treated.
You cant brush it under the carpet, you should address the problems
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djo555
- Original Poster
- #66
I am not a smart arse, and I do not condone the particular problem/s you clearly have had up there in Scotland. In fact I sympathize with you as the whole network has suffered because of the Scottish Regional Franchisee. However, that is just my point. Because HE is an arse and can not run his depot correctly, and cause all his franchisees customers problems, it is totally unfair to slag off the rest of the network who operate in a business like fashion. I just hope that there are some Fastway customers that have something positive to say. If not, then I will put mine up for sale like all the rest!!
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Glad your happy with fastway ,as I know what you get paid for every collection and delivery.
Your hardly making a living for all that running around.
Earl
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djo555
- Original Poster
- #68
I live within my means! It will not be long before the majority of the country's working population will have to do the same!
Better to be working, earning, and building a saleable asset, than standing in a long line outside the job centre with all the other Ex Target, City Link & Amtrak drivers!
Better to be working, earning, and building a saleable asset, than standing in a long line outside the job centre with all the other Ex Target, City Link & Amtrak drivers!
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APC are the courier company we use, fantastic service, always deliver and if there is a problem with the delivery they phone me and ask what i want to do.
APC for me every time.
http://www.apc-overnight.com/index.php
APC for me every time.
http://www.apc-overnight.com/index.php
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UsernameWanted
- Original Poster
- #70
I think all overnight distribution companies are only as good as their weakest depot. Fastaways seem to come up trumps when the deliveries are in a high density area. After all no driver is going to do a 20min round trip to drop of one parcel for which he'll only make a couple of quid at most
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MH1
- Original Poster
- #71
Now who's being unfair?
Fastways has to be judged on all it's franchisees, since it markets itself as a national company. I've run my own courier company in the past and been regional manager for TNT as well, and would not claim all of Fastways franchisees are useless, but as can be seen businesses will judged the network on the weakest link.
No delivery company is 100% perfect, no business is, but you can judge a lot based on how companies deal with problems when they arise.
I wish you luck, but since I am still a member on several specialised delievry forums I also know the amount of disgruntled franchisees who feel they have been mis-sold the business on many empty promises.
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starsgazing
- Original Poster
- #72
Fastway Couriers in Sheffield were pretty poor (having used them for a month in late 2007)- missed collections/deliveries, failed re-deliveries, attempting deliveries at the crack of dawn, cheeky drivers - the usual courier faux-pas. Having said that, I wouldn't call them the worst - I reserve that honor for Parcelforce!
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Miniart
- Original Poster
- #74
Ha! After reading a couple of these posts it has explained why Fastway have had a parcel since 27th Nov. and still haven't delivered on 7th Dec. I obviously don't live in the right area.
I certainly will not be buying off the sender of the parcel again. Be warned, I can't be the only one who has been badly let down by this company.
I certainly will not be buying off the sender of the parcel again. Be warned, I can't be the only one who has been badly let down by this company.
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Hi Karen,
I'll try and make it short. I started using Fastway Couriers just over 2 years ago. They seemed pretty good at first. Unfortunately, it all started to go down hill after a while.
I would not recommend using Fastway Couriers.
Remember! The courier you choose does represent your business in the eyes of your customers. If the courier lets the customer down, they will not buy from you again!
Bad points:
1. It's not a reliable next day service. If you tell your customer that it will be delivered next day and it doesn't, you'll just be letting them down.
2. Tracking number is useless. Once again, you'll just disappoint your customer by giving them a number that has no information.
3. Making a claim for damages is pointless. If the customer signs for the package, that means it's in good condition and your claim will be a waste of time. Also, you won't get your ticket cost back.
4. Paying up compensation is almost impossible. They lost a package of mine in December 2006 and I'm still waiting for my payment.
5. Each franchise area is generally run by one driver, so if they are ill, over loaded with parcels to deliver or quit, you will get delays.
6. Customer service is generally not very useful, if you can get through to them.
I now use FEDEX UK. They are so much better and I would definitely recommend them. I managed to get a good price of under £6.00 for up to 25KG.
Their next day service is 99%.
Their tracking number actually works.
They allow 24 hours from delivery to report and damaged item.
They pay up compensation on cost of item and refund the postage, all within 2-3 weeks.
They have more than one driver in your area, so if your usual driver can't make it they will send someone else to cover.
I've had much fewer damaged items than Fastway.
They have a proper customer service centre, depot contact, claims department and credit control for refunds.
You don't pre-pay. You'll need to open an account and get a direct debit set-up. You only pay when you use the services. No set-up cost.
It's the same price for all of UK mainland.
To get a good rate, you will probably have to send at least 5 parcels a day on average (or at least tell the sales guy that you will).
I hope this helps you.
I'll try and make it short. I started using Fastway Couriers just over 2 years ago. They seemed pretty good at first. Unfortunately, it all started to go down hill after a while.
I would not recommend using Fastway Couriers.
Remember! The courier you choose does represent your business in the eyes of your customers. If the courier lets the customer down, they will not buy from you again!
Bad points:
1. It's not a reliable next day service. If you tell your customer that it will be delivered next day and it doesn't, you'll just be letting them down.
2. Tracking number is useless. Once again, you'll just disappoint your customer by giving them a number that has no information.
3. Making a claim for damages is pointless. If the customer signs for the package, that means it's in good condition and your claim will be a waste of time. Also, you won't get your ticket cost back.
4. Paying up compensation is almost impossible. They lost a package of mine in December 2006 and I'm still waiting for my payment.
5. Each franchise area is generally run by one driver, so if they are ill, over loaded with parcels to deliver or quit, you will get delays.
6. Customer service is generally not very useful, if you can get through to them.
I now use FEDEX UK. They are so much better and I would definitely recommend them. I managed to get a good price of under £6.00 for up to 25KG.
Their next day service is 99%.
Their tracking number actually works.
They allow 24 hours from delivery to report and damaged item.
They pay up compensation on cost of item and refund the postage, all within 2-3 weeks.
They have more than one driver in your area, so if your usual driver can't make it they will send someone else to cover.
I've had much fewer damaged items than Fastway.
They have a proper customer service centre, depot contact, claims department and credit control for refunds.
You don't pre-pay. You'll need to open an account and get a direct debit set-up. You only pay when you use the services. No set-up cost.
It's the same price for all of UK mainland.
To get a good rate, you will probably have to send at least 5 parcels a day on average (or at least tell the sales guy that you will).
I hope this helps you.
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Andy27UK
- Original Poster
- #76
And here's the latest!!
I send a "same day" sachet of parts to a customer and it doesn't arrive untill the next day (which is good by usuall standards!) so i call the driver and i'm told they "stopped the same day service some time ago"
Silly me, i thought i paid for the service and signed a contract?
Anyway.... for those waiting on compensation like my self for 7 months and counting here is the quickest and simplest way to get it back:
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp
You pay the initial £25 or so, but you'll get that back if you win the settlement with intrest from the time they owed you the money.
Would be good to get some feedback from this guys, i'll keep you posted with how i get on.
I send a "same day" sachet of parts to a customer and it doesn't arrive untill the next day (which is good by usuall standards!) so i call the driver and i'm told they "stopped the same day service some time ago"
Silly me, i thought i paid for the service and signed a contract?
Anyway.... for those waiting on compensation like my self for 7 months and counting here is the quickest and simplest way to get it back:
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp
You pay the initial £25 or so, but you'll get that back if you win the settlement with intrest from the time they owed you the money.
Would be good to get some feedback from this guys, i'll keep you posted with how i get on.
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Allan123
- Original Poster
- #77
I used Fastway for around 8/9 month's and although they are cheap it's a poor service in my opinion if you want a speedy delivery. Items takes around 3-5 days to be get there and the tracking system is awful. The tracking literally says picked up, and delivered, dosen't say what depot it goes to or anything.
I'd stay clear of them. When my driver sold his franschise, and a new driver was instructed, we then had to book in for picked up the day after instead of our usual timed pick up everyday.
I now use City-Link who are superb.
I'd stay clear of them. When my driver sold his franschise, and a new driver was instructed, we then had to book in for picked up the day after instead of our usual timed pick up everyday.
I now use City-Link who are superb.
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fred1222
- Original Poster
- #79
I love these sort of threads. At the end of the day you get what you pay for and if your foolish enough to expect a nextday service for £6.00ish then you probably shouldn't be pricing up deliveries for your company
I've used them a good number of times but am sensible enough to realise that you expect a self employed delivery driver to do a 20 mile return trip for one parcel.
If you haven't done the research then more fool you
I've used them a good number of times but am sensible enough to realise that you expect a self employed delivery driver to do a 20 mile return trip for one parcel.
If you haven't done the research then more fool you
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Hah! I expect, and get, next working day delivery for under £6 from ParcelForce, DPD and DHL. It's all about volume.
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