Sending parcels - courier insurance!!!

[movietub]

Does it strike anyone else as odd that courier companies accept no resposibility fot their own treatment of packages? Rather that they expect you to insure them in case they decide to mistreat them...

I understand fully that if the parcel was badly wrapped by me then I would need to claim on my insurance if I had opted to purchase some. Fair enough. But if the damage is caused by them, entirley beyond my control, why does it still comes down to my insurance?

Compare the same principal to car insurance - if a driver of another car drives into you then their insurance is used. The fact you have insurance yourself is irrelevant.

It does seem that there is next to no incentive for couriers to actually be good at their job. I.e. transfer a parcel from one place to another whilst taking care of it.

Legally, how is this possible? How can the courier companies refuse to accept responsibility simply because you choose not to insure against their own wilfull incompetence? Every day I see a UPS guy throwing parcels into the back of his van.

I ask simply because I have wondered for a while how this way of doing business came to be the norm!

 

[Bill1954]

Planet Parcel offer up to £50 insurance for free

So do UK mail, then, in the small print, it says there is a £55 excess on each claim

 

[AndyP]

I've just seen this post - and just to let you know, some companies do offer insurance Planet Parcel offer up to £50 insurance for free, then you can add to the value for just a couple of pounds

How about offering something useful to the forum instead of flogging your website in every post that you have made so far?

 

[AndyP]

Movietub - who do you use? Our courier offers insurance as part of the deal, so to speak. There is a limit of course and for high value consignments there is an option to pay for extra insurance but by and large the standard cover is usually enough for our needs. We have had to make a few claims for one reason or another over the last couple of years and they have always paid up with no major dramas

 

[TitanWebsites]

most of the bigger couriers, citylink etc include insurance.

You need to watch out for the exclusion though. More importantly is educating your customer to sign for things unchecked.

On the delivery receipts we sign, I print UNCHECK, and put a line through received in good condition, and the immediately check the goods. All claims must be reported within 24 hours usually.

Pick your couriers carefully. I went through 6 couriers, before settling with Citylink. But it varies locally.

Couriers were one of the reasons I got out of mail order.

The bigger problem for me with all insurances was, you would only get coverage on the sum of the parts. I.e. if it cost you £50 in parts and two weeks to build, you get £50, not the sale price.

With some some of the couriers we used being as bad as a 10% smash it to pieces rate, you can see how that would hurt a business.

Anyway good luck finding a good courier.

 

[Websitehandyman]

I used Interlink direct the other day because they gave the most insurance, think it was £75 but didn't read the SP, must do so next time

 

[Timothius]

citylink etc include insurance.

You need to watch out for the exclusion though.

CityLink have always claimed that insurance is included in their shipping fees, however the amount covered was always based on the weight of the parcel. two bricks in a box had more cover than a playstation or a pair of expensive shoes

you'd need to check if this is still the case, i've been out of the courier industry for a while now

 

[JohnDet]

Our experience with CL is that they apply the rule base GBP10.00 per kg for losses & damage. So if you were shipping items of value, then you lose out, unless you add the two bricks to every parcel. We had 2 losses within 2 months this year, after 8 years of no problems.

We investigated insurance ourselves, but it was GBP300 / year, with GBP250 excess per claim, so we didn't find a solution to fit our needs

Interparcel for example offer a standard GBP50 insurance, and you can as well increase your level of cover, but GBP500 cover is GBP10

Would be interested to hear of other options for insured carraige

 

[PhilWarman]

You have to remember that they are NOT insuring the GOODS. They are insuring their legal liability in case the delivery is lost/stolen/damaged etc.

Anyone sending goods by whatever means should investigate Marine Cargo Insurance (and no it doesnt have to be going overseas) - this covers the goods themselves from point of despatch to point of arrival. It can be done on either a one off or an annual basis..

 

[virginoffice]

we use dpd for our parcels and they insure for up to £100. in the couple of years we have been using them they have not damaged or lost any of our parcels

 

[mailboxexpress]

It all comes down to the courier you use, if you use a cheap courier who shift high volumes of goods your package is just 1 in 1000's.

Instead of paying for insurance just spend that extra money using a local reliable courier who dones'nt group delivery. Smaller/medium size couriers will look after your parcel as if it’s their own.

 

[richfromessex]

We had insuarnce of goods in transit added to our overall insurance scheme, so it has nothing to do with with the couriers terrible cover and overpriced additioanl insurance.

It has only cost us about £300 a year to add.

 

[Deleted member 127702]

We have separate Good In Transit insurance, mainly to cover goods being imported from overseas, but also domestic shipments with City Link, who IIRC withdrew their own insurance a couple of years ago.

We send approx 80-100 consignments per month, up to £10k value, and I honestly cannot remember the last time we had to make a claim, must be 2-3 years at least.

 

[GingerBeer]

We use FedEx and the UK side of their operations insure their FedEx bags up to a value of £250. (Not sure if this is the norm so it would be advisable to check)

 

[midiman]

We had insuarnce of goods in transit added to our overall insurance scheme, so it has nothing to do with with the couriers terrible cover and overpriced additioanl insurance.

It has only cost us about £300 a year to add.

Hi who are you using to cover your goods and are you sending them out by your own transport or using a courier?