Hi,
Use fastways uk, ive used them for a year now, cheap as chips and never lost a parcel yet.
http://www.fastwaycouriers.co.uk/8HomepageGeneric.html
Use fastways uk, ive used them for a year now, cheap as chips and never lost a parcel yet.
http://www.fastwaycouriers.co.uk/8HomepageGeneric.html
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Hi Stuart
I'd say a lot depends on what your local courier is like. There can be some good deals with DHL but that is only good if your local DHL driver can be bothered to collect... mine can't DHL 24 waited 2 days for collection then went RM. I like the look of Fastway but my local Fastway driver didn't want to come out for the odd item so maybe when the orders start flooding in I will have another go.
At the moment I vary the service I use depending on the weight and destination, offering Special Delivery Next Day is good but once the weight goes up to 2kg it gets expensive. If someone pays via cheque or BACS you can assume they're not in a rush and give one of the courier companies a go and see how reliable they are.
Good luck and I hope you have better luck than I did
Neil
I'd say a lot depends on what your local courier is like. There can be some good deals with DHL but that is only good if your local DHL driver can be bothered to collect... mine can't DHL 24 waited 2 days for collection then went RM. I like the look of Fastway but my local Fastway driver didn't want to come out for the odd item so maybe when the orders start flooding in I will have another go.
At the moment I vary the service I use depending on the weight and destination, offering Special Delivery Next Day is good but once the weight goes up to 2kg it gets expensive. If someone pays via cheque or BACS you can assume they're not in a rush and give one of the courier companies a go and see how reliable they are.
Good luck and I hope you have better luck than I did
Neil
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beadell
- Original Poster
- #6
I too use Fastway. Dont think you will find cheaper. haven't used them for long so cant give a accurate picture of their reliability though. One possible downside depending on how you look at it, is that you have to buy "books" of tickets in advance. We paid out about £300 in one go 20 tickets at £4.95 and 20 at £7.95.
HTH
HTH
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Hi
Thanks.
Re light parcels, we wouldn't be able to offer you the best deal at present, our parcel prices are flat rate, so it's really good if you send big heavy boxes, but with the lighter ones you are better of with a carrier.
For under 2kg, the Post Office are likely to always be the cheapest, for standard post, or recorded. If you would only consider sending things special delivery, then you are looking at about the same price as a carrier.
But with most of the carriers you are going to have to demonstrate a track record, and be able to acheive a minimum spend or quantity. I believe that fastway are different, i have had no experience of them, but I see from the thread that lots of others have. I think there is a mixed review, and the service may depend on the local franchise.
Sorry, i don't know from your thread whether you are already trading, and have a shipping history, but this is the key thing to get. You may have to stick with the post office for a few months in order to get the information you need to negotiate a good contract rate.
You can print off all of the stickers etc off the Royal Mail's website, and order up recorded/special delivery books/stickers which will at least save you time at the post office.
If you need to send any big parcels, give us a shout! Otherwise, good luck!
Kind regards
Sandra
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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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Yup, we have a client (www.lushlongboards.com) that has tried every courier in the book over the past 8 years. It's by no means a static relationship - always hunt around and find the best price/service ... but APC seems to come out on top every time.
Chris
Chris
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We use Fastways (£1000-£1200 a week average), we have a very good relationship with our franchisee (as we should spending that much) but if something goes missing it can be a bit of an ordeal as highlighted above. Our primary reason for using them is that we can ship up to 40kg through them.
Our biggest single issue with them is their use of Business Post for out of franchise areas. They are complete and utter tosh and 99% of all breakages and losses occur with Business Post. Do not under any circumstances deal with Business Post they really are crap.
Perhaps it's about time we sniffed out another carrier, we certainly have a proven track record and no doubt someone would be interested in getting £50k a year off us.
What puts us off moving to another carrier (other than the weight issue) is that we do not have time to be logging dispatch on to their online systems, it would be far too time consuming. We're essentially a 2 man band doing a lot of turnover and have fallen into the trap of not having time to dedicate to these kinds of thing, we know it would be beneficial to us but the initial time expenditure required puts us off.
Our biggest single issue with them is their use of Business Post for out of franchise areas. They are complete and utter tosh and 99% of all breakages and losses occur with Business Post. Do not under any circumstances deal with Business Post they really are crap.
Perhaps it's about time we sniffed out another carrier, we certainly have a proven track record and no doubt someone would be interested in getting £50k a year off us.
What puts us off moving to another carrier (other than the weight issue) is that we do not have time to be logging dispatch on to their online systems, it would be far too time consuming. We're essentially a 2 man band doing a lot of turnover and have fallen into the trap of not having time to dedicate to these kinds of thing, we know it would be beneficial to us but the initial time expenditure required puts us off.
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Hi,
When they are out of Fastways area, i am getting a 3-4 day delivery time instead of next day, and your right the service at that end falls down, most missing parcels are when they have passed it on to someone else.
But i am still fuming that no-one called me and still havent called me back.
I am mostly annoyed that i was LIED to, ignored, and hung up on, i am spitting fire that a franchisee who work for themselves behaves in this manner.
Spoke to APC this morning and they have come down on price so pretty much on par for the nationals now.
Lesson, is cheaper comes with a poor service, no follow up, pay the extra and get a better service level with APC.
http://www.apc-overnight.com/index.php
When they are out of Fastways area, i am getting a 3-4 day delivery time instead of next day, and your right the service at that end falls down, most missing parcels are when they have passed it on to someone else.
But i am still fuming that no-one called me and still havent called me back.
I am mostly annoyed that i was LIED to, ignored, and hung up on, i am spitting fire that a franchisee who work for themselves behaves in this manner.
Spoke to APC this morning and they have come down on price so pretty much on par for the nationals now.
Lesson, is cheaper comes with a poor service, no follow up, pay the extra and get a better service level with APC.
http://www.apc-overnight.com/index.php
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we use fastway for local delivery, they are good & the loacl owner is a pleasure to do business with
we used to put all our business through them but buying the tickest/labels in advance was hurting our cashflow a little
for the rest we use parcel force who have been 100% over the last 2 months.
for pricing - we found if you shop around & leave it they come back to you a few weeks later with a better price
APC we got down to £5.48 + Vat for upto 5kg - we would have used them but they never got back to us once the account went live & couldnt log into the service to use it - no matter how many times we nagged em
Parcel force are good as they dropped from £5.60 to £5.10 with no vat to pay & they carry upto 30kg.
The Euro prices are good too.
we did use Interlink who were great but when parcels went missing it was impossible to get compensated as they really make you jump through some hoops - costing more in time than the goods were worth.
hope that helps
we used to put all our business through them but buying the tickest/labels in advance was hurting our cashflow a little
for the rest we use parcel force who have been 100% over the last 2 months.
for pricing - we found if you shop around & leave it they come back to you a few weeks later with a better price
APC we got down to £5.48 + Vat for upto 5kg - we would have used them but they never got back to us once the account went live & couldnt log into the service to use it - no matter how many times we nagged em
Parcel force are good as they dropped from £5.60 to £5.10 with no vat to pay & they carry upto 30kg.
The Euro prices are good too.
we did use Interlink who were great but when parcels went missing it was impossible to get compensated as they really make you jump through some hoops - costing more in time than the goods were worth.
hope that helps
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Hi,
I still had some Fastway Tickets to use up, so used them again last thursday, and guess what they have lost it again, spoke to the depot, they have no idea where it is, the online tracking system is not up and running yet.
I got 1 call back wich was amazing, in fairness though i gave the guy a hard time about no previous call back.
So the moral is, not just an isolated incident, Fastway lose boxes on a regular basis and have no idea where they go, not hte best company to deal with.
Since using APC again, every box sent out has arrived next day, and they always answer the phone, not rocket science
I still had some Fastway Tickets to use up, so used them again last thursday, and guess what they have lost it again, spoke to the depot, they have no idea where it is, the online tracking system is not up and running yet.
I got 1 call back wich was amazing, in fairness though i gave the guy a hard time about no previous call back.
So the moral is, not just an isolated incident, Fastway lose boxes on a regular basis and have no idea where they go, not hte best company to deal with.
Since using APC again, every box sent out has arrived next day, and they always answer the phone, not rocket science
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Steve2507
- Original Poster
- #20
Sounds stupid, but Royal Mail.
The biggest reason we use them is because they have collection offices everywhere. Going with a traditional courier can cause problems if customers are not in when they call (especially if you want a signature).
We send everything by recorded delivery or special delivery and have a far better not called for rate with them than with any of the couriers we have tested.
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shonabilly25th
- Original Poster
- #22
Fastway are having all sorts of problems just now. My Fastway driver advised me not to send anything nationally as its a shambles. The Glasgow depot has just moved, and nationally they have changed, or are changing, their onward carrier (if its outside a Fastway region they use DHL or something). Every one of the 30+ drivers in the Glasgow depot has lost more than one parcel.
Like the woman who posted before, I cant get them on the phone. Nightmare. Their tracking system doesnt work either.
Real pity because I have used them for a few months with no problems. Really cheap, and up till now a great service.
Like the woman who posted before, I cant get them on the phone. Nightmare. Their tracking system doesnt work either.
Real pity because I have used them for a few months with no problems. Really cheap, and up till now a great service.
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They use Business Post currently for non-franchise areas and they are abysmal - No idea who they are switching to.
Had a problem with the Edinburgh depot the other week (a fastways area), they just dumped our package (electrical appliance) behind the customers greenhouse and faked a POD. Needless to say we were less than happy and let them know.
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Hi, We used to use Target Express who were absolutely fantastic (and believe me, over the years we have used them all! TNT, ANC, Business Post, etc) they were last year I think (?) bought out by City Link.
This initially led to some serious service failures but have actually turned them around and become a major partner in our business.
They call us if there is an issue, they call customers if they cant deliver, they are very reasonably priced.
Yes they have lost the odd parcel, and failed the odd delivery but when you send in excess of 750 consignments a week they are very, very good.
Accepted almost all couriers are as good as there worst driver! But I would suggest giving them a try!
Let me know if you do how you get on with them.
Regards
Darren
This initially led to some serious service failures but have actually turned them around and become a major partner in our business.
They call us if there is an issue, they call customers if they cant deliver, they are very reasonably priced.
Yes they have lost the odd parcel, and failed the odd delivery but when you send in excess of 750 consignments a week they are very, very good.
Accepted almost all couriers are as good as there worst driver! But I would suggest giving them a try!
Let me know if you do how you get on with them.
Regards
Darren
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shonabilly25th
- Original Poster
- #28
Another update from my local Fastway franchise holder.
It seems that they dont have any onward carrier at the moment so if you are sending, or have sent, a package to a non-fastway region your screwed. My guy will only take deliveries now if they are in the Fastway region.
This is really frustrating because, up until now, Fastway had levelled the playing field for a lot of small businesses. You didnt have to send 100+ parcels a week to get a decent rate, you just paid for your book and got a cheap rate.
Ive not totally given up on them yet, I really hope they sort things out.
It seems that they dont have any onward carrier at the moment so if you are sending, or have sent, a package to a non-fastway region your screwed. My guy will only take deliveries now if they are in the Fastway region.
This is really frustrating because, up until now, Fastway had levelled the playing field for a lot of small businesses. You didnt have to send 100+ parcels a week to get a decent rate, you just paid for your book and got a cheap rate.
Ive not totally given up on them yet, I really hope they sort things out.
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shonabilly25th
- Original Poster
- #30
I can only go on what he has told me. Ive a really good relationship with him, and cant really see him lying about this, especially when its costing him money in lost business.
It just doesnt stack up that he would make this up. It is damaging his reputation, and his wages. He came to the office this morning and took our local and national Fastway region packages, but wouldnt take the non-fastway region parcels.
I dont think they are advertising the fact right enough..........
It just doesnt stack up that he would make this up. It is damaging his reputation, and his wages. He came to the office this morning and took our local and national Fastway region packages, but wouldnt take the non-fastway region parcels.
I dont think they are advertising the fact right enough..........
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shonabilly25th
- Original Poster
- #32
Just a wee update. Not had any non-fastway region parcels picked up for about 3 weeks now, which is obviously had a terrible hit on my business. Shicking really that a parcel company (who you have paid up front) will not deliver your parcels. Furious.
My franchise holder has chucked it due to the hassle and lost business. Cant say I'll miss them.
Ive negotiated a very decent deal with DHL who I will be sticking with.
My franchise holder has chucked it due to the hassle and lost business. Cant say I'll miss them.
Ive negotiated a very decent deal with DHL who I will be sticking with.
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Hi, I don't know if this helps, I am an avid e-bayer and seller, I use these couriers www.ukdelivery4u.co.uk they are one fixed price which helps.
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A
Andy27UK
- Original Poster
- #36
I've just brushed over the previous posts... but FASTWAYS are a JOKE! Of course i can't speak for all depot's but the AYLESFORD DEPOT in particular, absolutley uselss.
I wont go into it as there is another threadon this forum already i added to. Just run a search and read from many out of pocket customers they have....
For a couple of heavy (too heavy for royal mail) parcels a day use www.parcel2go.com
I wont go into it as there is another threadon this forum already i added to. Just run a search and read from many out of pocket customers they have....
For a couple of heavy (too heavy for royal mail) parcels a day use www.parcel2go.com
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D
davidjgoss87
- Original Poster
- #37
It depends largely on your local area - I for instance know that the Business Post staff and service in the Devon area are nothing short of diabolical, and you are better off with a carrier pigeon. Ask local mail order businesses what they do and what they've learned - established businesses will probably have tried a few over the years. As a general point, if you are starting off then avoiding the big carriers might be a good idea. I wanted to switch from Business Post a year ago and emailed 5 big companies - only Parcelforce even bothered to reply, so they got the contract. The big boys don't care about small clients and probably won't be very helpful if you have problems. I have had no problems with Parcelforce so far, and their online booking and label system is good. Lastly, don't bother talking to TNT because they don't deliver to residential addresses.
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I've been using Fastways for about 12 months and only had one or two problems - seems to depend on the individual franchisees. But recently they've hiked their prices and in our case applied the minimum throughput rules which is annoying because they've done it on retro figures and not our current throughput. That's where the problems start - their customer service is atrocious. We're going to give parcel2go a try in the new year.
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We act as a reseller for a number of the national carriers, and I've got to say, on the whole the level of service we get varies by region. I tend to put most of our work through UPS as I find their service levels are the best, and most of all, they actually deal with issues as they arise.
The real annoying thing is when you can't get anyone to answer your enquiry, or they simply refuse to be honest! There is one very large company who I just absolutely refuse to deal with because of this.
Rich
The real annoying thing is when you can't get anyone to answer your enquiry, or they simply refuse to be honest! There is one very large company who I just absolutely refuse to deal with because of this.
Rich
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Noticed recently some big changes with fastway
they use parcelforce for the areas they dont cover.
Our local guy - who was excellent sold his francise & bought another with DPD, basically he told us he had a few concerns and needed more work
we stopped using em about 6 months ago & although looking for a cheaper deal didnt feel comfortable with buying tickets in advance - for 3 different services - just incase they went bust
G
they use parcelforce for the areas they dont cover.
Our local guy - who was excellent sold his francise & bought another with DPD, basically he told us he had a few concerns and needed more work
we stopped using em about 6 months ago & although looking for a cheaper deal didnt feel comfortable with buying tickets in advance - for 3 different services - just incase they went bust
G
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