InterParcel. Who do you use?

[bluelightning2k]

A friendly warning for all of you folks, this is one courier company to stay clear of.


Bought a laptop on eBay, partly due to next day delivery offered. Interparcel picked it up from the seller and then *nothing*. No delivery, no contact. More than a week passes, we try and get in touch, they won't even *talk* to us as we're the owners of the laptop not the sender. They're dragging their feet with the people they *will* talk to.

I know that I will never be using them for my business trade, as I can't imagine the predicament this would put me in as a seller, not to mention the unfair negative reputation my company would receive.




Hopefully I've helped some of you guys dodge a similar budget.



What companies do you guys use, and what kind of experiences have you had?

 

[Dawg]

I use them infrequently, (for odd runs, via a broker), and have had no trouble at all.

 

[weddingcrafter]

The seller should be sorting that out. Are you absolutely positive they have sent the parcel (and to the correct address)?

It doesn't matter who they use, the seller is responsible for getting the item to you - don't let them fob you off and try to get you to chase the courier.

 

[neildigital]

We have used a few in the past, but have settled with city link. They misroute the odd package which delays the delivery by 24 hours. But all in all they are pretty good.

We send out around 60/70 boxes a day with them.

Neil

 

[Calypso]

At some point a courier is going to get it wrong. Difficult to find one that gets it right everytime.

We use Target Express.

 

[JamieM]

We use Interparcel now and again for international shipments and I have found their service to be fantastic.

They are not a courier, they are an agent, so it may not technically be their fault. Obviously it is their responsibilty to sort it out but it is fairly normal that they will not deal with you as you are not their customer. The ebay seller should sort this out like weddingcrafter mentioned previously.

I think you are being a bit harsh here, personally I would recommend Interparcel without hesitation.

 

[RayB]

We have tried many - but have settled with Interlink for ages now - not infallible - but they work VERY hard to correct the odd mis-hap and we deal with the people at the local depot - not some blimmin call centre!

Oh - and decent prices too

 

[ecommerce84]

We have used Interparcel for years and only had one problem - They didn't send required documents via e-mail for a parcel. Driver arrives, so I rang intrarcel, sent them straight through and was on the packge within 30 seconds of me picking up the phone.

What immediately springs to mind is either buyer having not sent it (ask for a tracking number) or one of Interprcels agents messing up.

 

[hifive]

Parcel Force are the absolute worst in my opinion.

How does one go about getting accounts with companies like Citylink or Interlink and what do they charge? Neither of them replied to my emails about accounts for some wierd reason!

 

[ecommerce84]

You'll need to call them and discuss it - they genrally won't do much by e-mail. Plus you can talk them down on the phone.

 

[RayB]

Parcel Force are the absolute worst in my opinion.

How does one go about getting accounts with companies like Citylink or Interlink and what do they charge? Neither of them replied to my emails about accounts for some wierd reason!

2 ways:

• Get the phone number for the local depot and ring them (Google)
• Submit online enquiry but lie and say you spend £150,000 per annum on couriers (worked for me) - then tell the truth when the Rep calls in on appointment

 

[Whistle Ink]

I and my my suppliers use Parceline. They are ok, had some problems with them in the past. Never really tried any of the others but by what I have been reading now and much earlier, I guess they are all the same!

 

[beau-home]

We use interlink express, i find it hard to fault them to be honest. The great thing with IE is that if there is a problem, then you speak to your local branch manager and he will personally deal with your problem, you will not be stuck in one of them poxy automatic response systems like other companies.
Prices are very competitive too, i agree with RayB overestimate your ecpected usage with them and you will get a sharp price.

Merv

 

[Decalz]

I use them a fair bit and TBH, nevre had a problem. Found theservice fast, reliable and competitive. It is down to the person sending to sort out any issues, probably why they wont talk to you.

 

[mconridge]

We use Interlink Express. They are very good. One lost parcel and one damaged in six months, which considering our volume, is very good.

We ditched Parcel Force after two months. They were awful. We had so many problems with them. Then when you need to sort out the problems you spend hours on the phone to an 0870 number!

To get an account with them just give them a buzz. I'd be honest with them when it comes to your usage as it will only cause problems in the future if you don't hit the figures that you say. If you play the couriers off against each other you can get good prices even if your volume is low.

 

[Ruth - BTS]

Living rurally most drivers struggle to find our place, I find all of the different ones really good, friendly and polite. I had a InterParcel come today - he waited ages before driving off as I was on the phone when he arrived.

I think your beef should be the person you bought the item from.

 

[Bomten]

We use City-link - good prices and service - be careful to get the post codes right or they hit you hard! - their good for uk mainland but uncompetitive for overseas or ireland - we use interparcel for ireland and have found them to be good!

 

[RayB]

Seems like a lot of votes for Interlink - I'm curious if anyone would suggest what a "good rate" for upto 20kg would be (cos its time for a re-negotiate) - we spend around £900 per week with them and growing

 

[Dawg]

Ray,
if a lot of your parcels are fairly local Fastway might be worth a look. £2.95 for local and £4.95 national, although not fully national.
Wierd prepayment ticket system; works for us.

 

[RayB]

Ray,
if a lot of your parcels are fairly local Fastway might be worth a look. £2.95 for local and £4.95 national, although not fully national.
Wierd prepayment ticket system; works for us.

Dawg - glad I'm not the only one up early on Saturday

I really like the Fastaway concept and prices - but had to stop using them a while back - we despatched some leaflets to a local Yacht Club who - 10 days later - rang to say

"ahem - where are our leaflets?"

So, I ring the depot:

Me: "Where are the leaflets for XYZ Yacht Club??"

Depot: "Oh - our driver has been down there every day for ages - and can't find them"

Me: "Why didn't you call us to ask for directions?"

Depot: "Oh - didn't think of that - and wouldn't want to trouble you....."

:|

Perhaps they have improved - might be time to give them another try

 

[mydogisthebest]

Hi,
Have any of you tried these www.ukdelivery4u.co.uk they have served me well over the past few weeks, mostly they use Dhl.

 

[P4D | Parcels4Delivery]

Hello,

I would try and get a tracking number from the seller. Either an an Interparcel tracking number to use on their website or better the original tracking number with the courier firm. If the parcel has been picked up then you'll be able to confirm this through the tracking. If the parcel is somewhere between their place and yours then Interparcel should be able to put in a call to the courier and find out what's going it. It should be a simple problem to resolve.

 

[Alison Jones]

I have used interparcel a few times and had no trouble.

Alison

 

[LongNeck]

These seem efficient and cheap too.

http://www.parcel2go.com

 

[jamesrm]

Our company puts through about £10k of courier booking with interparcel each year and have never had a problem in the 4 years we have been using them.

Really good to compare prices for each of the couriers they do then select the lowest price which they calculate depending on the weight and dimensions of the package you are sending.

Really an excellent service we receive from them!

Cheers
James

 

[KateMcG]

We've used Interparcel for quite a while for our non-UK parcels. Although their prices are competitive, we've had a few problems with late deliveries. The final straw came recently, when a parcel was late, and they blamed it on a public holiday "in europe". We checked up, and there were no public holidays anywhere in europe on that day, or the ones either side of it. They were borderline rude on the phone, even before we asked for a refund for late delivery. Eventually, it took 8 phonecalls just to find out where the parcel was. We're now looking for a new courier - we need someone we can rely on.

 

[MH1]

With all couriers as mentioned elsewhere, eventually there will be the odd missed or lost parcel. The person sending out the item can be just as responsible due to inaccurate delivery details, poor packaging etc.

I use DHL without too many problems.

 

[mydogisthebest]

Parcel Force are the absolute worst in my opinion.

How does one go about getting accounts with companies like Citylink or Interlink and what do they charge? Neither of them replied to my emails about accounts for some wierd reason!

You can open an account with these www.ukdelivery4u.co.uk huge 10% discount if you send over 5 parcels in a week!

 

[AwayGamesTravel]

I use Interparcel all the time and have been largely impressed with them.

They are a broker, matching a courier company to your needs. They are predominantly web based therefore their call centre is not very effective, which is perfectly understandable in my opinion.

I have obtained quotes from their agents and after seeing those prices all I can say is I'll be with Interparcel for the forseeable future.

I have had a few probolems, but that was the fault of the delivery company, (and in some cases my self).

All in all a great service.

 

[KidsBeeHappy]

I have had a few probolems, but that was the fault of the delivery company, (and in some cases my self).

All in all a great service.

You are a good customer!

It is refreshing to find a customer that is able to distinguish between the failure/error of the booking company in booking, and something that has occured as a result of the carrier, and to recognise that they are two seperate fuctions.

I saw someone on MSE slating Parcel2go earlier on, because Parcel2go "lost" their parcel. It's difficult for some customers to see that the company they pay isn't necessarily the company that let them down.

But it is an inevitabilty of the more complex supplier relationships that exist in businesses today.