Hi, This is an issue I'm having with Parcelforce at work. We had a package that we needed to ship from the UK to Belgium on a next day service. This was originally booked in for collection from our offices on 18th December last year, and the package didn't eventually arrive until 27th December (it may have been the 28th, but the tracking information is still not updated). I complained to Parcelforce over the phone because I had performed due diligence in searching for the best shipping service and our parcel hadn't arrived next day. The tracking information hadn't been updated either, which was contrary to their statement that they offer a fully tracked service. The service I selected was Parcelforce Global Express service. I was told over the phone that it wasn't a next day service and that they only quote "from" next working day. If I'm honest I was quite shocked I'd been caught out like that, and amazed that it would appear as though a company the size of Parceforce would intimate they're offering a speedy service and use wording to absolve themselves of any responsibility if the shipment was delayed. They also confirmed that they had in fact farmed it out to Fedex - Personally I think that if a company is masquerading as a shipping company they should be upfront about using third parties as this would naturally play a part in altering my business decision to use them as a company or not. For instance had I known they were using a third party and the delivery date was not guaranteed at all, and that they don't in fact offer a fully tracked service I would have not chosen to use them. I was advised to send a mail to [email protected] (I don't even believe this is a true e-mail address as it sounds like something they would give out to get rid of customers). E-mailed it a couple of times with my complaint. Had no response, and finally settled on raising a dispute with Resolver. To their credit, they did respond quite quickly. The first paragraph of their response outlined that "most" shipping companies describe their services as "from" but they offered me 50% refund. I went back to them to push our case for a full refund, and they then responded with the most astonishing thing I've ever heard - I disagreed with their earlier comment that most companies describe their shipping services as "from" and listed a few companies that did offer guaranteed services. Their response was that I was mistaken and confusing carriers and couriers. I believe what Parceforce are saying is that they are a carrier and the other companies I used as examples are couriers. My question would be - What is the difference? From looking on line, all I can find is that a carrier collects lots of parcels and delivers them all on one van. Whereas a courier collects your parcel on a given date and delivers direct to the delivery point? That's where I get confused because if Parcelforce are saying they are a carrier, the delivery service I selected was a pickup service delivered to my delivery address. Surely that puts them half in the carrier camp? Personally I find their response in arguing over semantics and terminologies to be quite laughable for such a company, because as a layman how am I supposed to be aware that they are a carrier, and what the difference is between the two? If someone selects a global fully tracked express service with collection from our door, surely it would be reasonable of me to expect that they would provide that sort of service?

Hi, I've got a problem with the delivery for an eBay item I purchased from Japan, and hope someone can provide some helpful advice. I received a letter from Parcelforce saying the package was subject to Import VAT of £14.08 plus a Clearance Fee of £13.50. My problem is that these charges are wrong, not incorrect, but wrong. The sender uses a tracked mailing service, and the address label on their packages ( I have bought similar items from them before) shows the value of the contents. My guess is that someone has misread the value, which is typed not handwritten, hence the request for import fees. I went to the Parcelforce depot with copies of the payment receipts, Paypal etc but they wouldn't even let me look at the package unless I paid the money. The value of the item is $10.00 including postage, so well under the limit allowed. I suggested they open the package to see the receipt to prove my point, but they refused and said if I didn't pay the item would be returned to sender. Provided the sender pays to have it returned, otherwise the item will be 'disposed of'. Yes, I am aware that I can pay the fees and then try and reclaim them from HMRC or whoever, but surely this is unfair, and assumes I've got £27.58 spare to pay out. Things would be a lot easier if I didn't care about receiving my purchase, but I'd like to have what I paid for as its unique. I've contacted the sender, on the off chance the package does go back to Japan, but I got the strong impression the item will just be dumped by Parcelforce. The sender is willing to re-ship, but that'll be another story. I can't be the only one this has happened to - has anybody got around this problem please?

Hello Consumer Action Group members, I have been suffering from a mix of problems since last June. Long story short: Summary: 1. I purchased a laptop from Amazon, from a reseller. 2. Laptop's motherboard broke down, and I found out that I can receive a refund/ repair free of charge. 3. Amazon's seller (located in the US) agreed to fix the laptop, and provided US address 4. Sent it via ParcelForce, Amazon reseller cut down every means of contact and I have no clue where my laptop is. Hello everyone, AMAZON I purchased a laptop from Amazon, from a reseller. I needed a new laptop for many years so I decided to invest a hefty sum for a good laptop. I purchased the laptop, and within 2 months, I found out that its motherboard was broken. In order to get a repair, I contacted Amazon support team and they gave me the email address of the reseller. I got the email and I contacted them swiftly. They were based in the US, and told me to send the item to United States. PARCELFORCE After I received their instructions, I sent it to their US address immediately. After a week, I contacted them whether they received it, and the Amazon reseller cut down every means of contact immediately. In vain, I contacted Amazon whether they can assist in the repair. After checking my ParcelForce tracking, I found out that it is still in the depot and the reseller refused to pick up the item. This entire process took two months. Then I found out that there is an option from my Santander bank, which allows for a chargeback service. I contacted Santander and they agreed to look into my case, which took another 2 months (because I was in Korea at the time, and they requested a letter which is sent by post). Now it's October. I contacted Santander again and they told me that due to a mistake from their reps, they told me the wrong timeline and I will not be qualified for a chargeback service. This got me nuts. I contacted Amazon and Amazon refused to handle the case and every one of their reps stopped replying to my emails. I considered the last option, and I contacted Parcelforce to send me my item back. They told me that I should apply for the loss of an item, because they cannot track the item anymore. I did exactly that, and they rejected my claim because I should have applied for the procedure within 3 months. Now I am really angry. Every one of these corporations told me blatantly wrong information and now I am left with -1352 pounds in my budget, huge drain in my time and energy. What should be the next step that I take? Please assist me in the process, that would be incredibly kind of you folks. Best wishes James1738

Hi all, really in need of a bit of advice. I ordered a fancy dress costume from the US towards the end of May paying c£25 for item and same again for delivery via USPS express mail. Despite entering the UK within 2 days it was not delivered 6 days later and is now past the date I needed it by. I have received a letter from Parcelforce saying I need to re-fund them £7 for import VAT and £13.50 for 'customs clearance fee' that obviously I never authorised. The letter said they will return it to the seller after 20 days if I don't pay. My question really is what would happen if I didn't pay and it was sent back, seeing as I no longer want the item? Would Parcelforce demand I pay the fee anyway? Would they charge me for postage back to US? Would they charge the seller?

Hello everyone, I was hoping for some advice. I have read a number of threads on this forum relating to the damage of goods/packages by couriers - who universally seem to want to wriggle and writhe out of any responsibility with pretty flimsy excuses. On this occasion, my issue lies squarely with Parcelforce. Let me set the context: About 4 weeks ago I sold a pair of Bose speakers for £80 on ebay. When the buyer received the speakers, there was a big-ish dent on the corner of the box and sure enough after opening the package part of the wooden speaker housing had been cracked and broken. I refunded the buyer and lodged a damaged goods claim with Parcelforce, which they have since denied on the basis that i hadn't packaged the speakers with enough protection - this is where I feel they are looking for an easy way out. To send the speakers I wrapped them individually in 3 layers of bubble wrap and put them both into a single corrugated cardboard box. Additionally, i put in a few extra layers of corrugated cardboard along the edges. They fit really snugly and could not move around at all. I sealed the box with duck tape, and also taped up the corners and all the joins on the cardboard box for extra strength. Finally I wrote "FRAGILE" on the box in big letters with a highlighter. All in all, I was confident that the package was sturdy and well protected from the normal bumps that happen in transit. I was told by parcelforce that bubblewrap was not an adequate protection, although according to their own packaging guidelines, bubblewarp is actually recommended. They also give the following as an excuse: "Parcelforce Worldwide is a bulk carrier shipping over 1 million items per week, much of the sorting process is handled by automated machinery. As such, while ‘Fragile’, ‘Handle With Care’ or ‘This Way Up’ labels will be adhered to by drivers and manual handlers, this will not be of assistance in relation to the machinated sorting processes." Surely whatever way they choose to handle parcels is nothing to do with the customer - a fundamental requirement of the sorting process that it should not cause damage to the parcels. I guess my main question is has anyone else encountered this defence from Parcelforce, and if so - how did you respond to them? Thanks for your time.

First off, let me explain that I am in Shetland. So other courier services like DHL or FedEx is not an option. I had some documents I need to send to Philippines very urgently for a visa application for a honeymoon. I walked into the local Post Office on Friday, 7 June 2013, and got it sent by Parcelforce Global Express service, which is a "guaranteed" service. I paid £60.60 and was told it will be there on Tuesday, 11 June 2013. Standard Global Express service to Philippines takes 2 days but being in Shetland, it takes an extra day. Saturaday is counted as a working day, so a Tuesday arrival sounds right. So imgaine my horror to get home from work yesterday (Monday, 10 June 2013) to find the package sitting on my door mat! Instead of making its way to Philippines, it went 10 miles the wrong way! So I have to take it back to the Post Office today and was told "this shouldn't happen". The address on it was clearly typed and on the customs form, the "from" and "to" address are both correctly filled in. What do they mean by this shouldn't happen? Clearly it is not the mistake of just one party as it will have to go through sorting before being handed to the postman to carry to my door. I as told by the manager he will make sure it will go correctly this time. However when I just checked (10 hours since handing it to him), the tracking number is still not registred on their system. While I know I can claim back the postage I paid for late delivery (not hopeful as there are many stories of failed claim against Parcelforce on the internet), there is no vaule to the contents and thousands loss if the visa cannot be approved in time. I had emailed them a few times today, but I got no response as well and strangely Parcelforce is not regulated by Ofcom, so I cannot even complain to them.

Hello Ten days ago, Parcelforce delivered a parcel for me to my next-door neighbour's doorstep. No card through my door, nothing. She came home from work, saw it there and moved it to my doorstep, thinking it was a mistake on his part. Two days later on my return home from working in Salford, wondering where my £110 parcel had got to, I contacted the Beauty firm who had sent it to me. This is a proper company, not an Ebay person. They emailed me a scan of the signed-for document. It's signed by a "P Thopso0n" and a squiggly circle signature. Having googled, I can see that this is not even a real name. It certainly isn't any of my neighbours. All of whom I trust implicitly. Wondering where I stand legally, as the parcel was not signed for by anyone, let alone me. I'd have thought they'd take it back for redelivery, or hand it to the Post Office [literally opposite] or the local sorting office [a one minute drive away] I've paid in advance and have nothing to show for it, through absolutely no fault of my own The parcel was left on a doorstep. No card through my letterbox. We live on a main A-road on a busy High Street in a market town. If the parcel was moved to my doorstep, it is visible from the main road. It was not there on my return two days later. Any thoughts on what recourse I have? Many thanks, CAGers

Hi everyone, I've read a few posts on here with similar situations to mine, but didn't really see any outcomes, so I'm hoping someone here will be able to help me out! I ordered a PS3 from a private seller on ebay, and paid through Paypal, and was given a parcel tracking ID for parcelforce. On the night of the 5th of Jan, I tracked the parcel and was very pleased to see that its status was "Loaded to vehicle for delivery". I assumed this meant it would be with me the next day, (the 6th) and spent all day waiting for the package to arrive, anxiously keeping an eye out for the van to stop or go past the window. It got to about 16:00 when I started to give up hope that my PS3 would arrive that day. I checked the tracker one more time to see if the status had changed, and to my amazement it said it had been delivered! I noticed that there was a new option for me to 'see proof of deliery' so I clicked the link, to find that the parcel had apparently been delivered at 14:06 to M Cooper, followed by a signature stating 'M Cooper'. The strange thing is, M Cooper is me! But it was definately not my signature, and the parcelforce man had definately not rang my doorbell! I've read that, although they are not supposed to, the delivery men will sometimes sign on your behalf, and leave the parcel somewhere outside, but it's nowhere to be seen, and there was no card through my letterbox! I thought maybe a neighbour would bring the parcel round that they had taken delivery for by mistake... but then, why would they sign for it in my name?! I'm so annoyed, not only that the delivery man would hand the parcel over to someone at the wrong address, with no proof that they are the owner of the parcel, but also that someone would do that! I've e-mailed parcelforce, but have so far just recieved an automated reply saying that they aim to get back to me within 12 hours, which will be Monday now. Just wondered if anyone else has experienced anything like this, what they did, and what was the outcome? Many thanks, Mitch (the real one! )

I am experiencing difficulty in finding somebody at ebay who can help me with my suspended account, and therefore I hoped that an expert here could help. I sold an Phillips HD Freeview Recorder on ebay some time ago, which was in perfect working order. a few months later, i logged back into my ebay account, and to my surprise my account had been blocked. It seems that the buyer had decided that the item did not work, and sent it back. Ok, fair enough, it could have been damaged in the post; ebay immediately reimbursed the buyer with £105, and he sent the item back. But I did not *ever* receive the item back. I contacted ParcelForce, and they said they had to destroy the Packet because the buyer wrote an illegible address for return (and did not send it insured either). So now I have no Item, and i am expected to reimburse ebay £105. Each time i attempt to resolve this situation i come to a dead end with ebay. i cannot lodge an appeal because some time limit has expired, and I just keep getting told that I have to reimburse ebay. The last email i sent (explaining everything) was replied to with 'As it's important that eBay maintains member privacy, I can't discuss another member's account with you.', but IT IS my account. Ive called ebay on 3 separate occasions, had numerous online chats with 'customer service' agents, and each time i've been told that all i've got to do is pay back ebay £105 to unblock my account. I would not do this even if i had the money to pay them (which i dont, because i have been signed off work sick with stress-related depression) -because i think its wrong. I personally believe it to be the fault of the buyer in this situation. My credit rating will be affected by this situation, and through no fault of my own. What can i do? should i take ebay to to small claims court? Also, I cannot seem to find any fixed UK address to send complaints to.. can anyone help me with this? thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

Hi Caggers, I hope that someone can offer me some help here as I am going no where fast with this Parcelforce issue. I sold a playstation 3 on eBay and the seller has paid me via Paypal who put a hold on the money until the buyer reports that they have received it. I arranged for postage using Parcelforce 48 hour which was arranged again via paypal and the parcel that they dropped off at the local post office. Well here is where the fun begins. The item was taken to the Rugby post office on 5th October at 11:15AM and I was given a receipt confirming that the post office had taken the item and make a note of the unique parcelforce tracking number. The parcelforce website was then updated and time stamped for an hour later saying that it had been collected from the post office branch. That was 2 days ago and the status still has not changed so I contacted parcelforce via their contact-us tab on the tracking screen. The response back said that the parcel have never been handed over to Parcel force and they had no record of where the parcel was of when it would arrive at the set destination. Obviously unhappy about this, I then called the customer service line who said that the problem lay with Royal mail who has given the package to the wrong courier and that I should go back to the post office and ask them who they have given my parcel too? I then questioned as to why their own tracking screen says that Parcel force have collected it from the post office branch and I was again referred back to the main depot. After speaking to the depot I was told in a not very polite way that there was nothing parcelforce could do, the website was wrong and that there was no way I would do anything but wait and hope. There was no time frame and it could take months for the parcel to be located. If I was not happy with then they I should take it up with Royal Mail who made the error in the first place... Phew! anyway after speaking to Royal mail they have said that regardless of whose error it was, I have paid for Parcelforce and had one of their tracking numbers to the burden with solely with Parcelforce and I needed to go back to them.. Again a call was made back to parcelforce to say that I was not happy and to advise them on what Royal mail had said - the lady then got very irrate and that they it was my fault as I did not post the item within the time frame. Again I explained that I book the drop off on the sunday and took it into the post office on the tuesday which was well within the 5 day time frame clearly printed on my paperwork..suddenly I got cut off after being told that there was nothing they could do... Sorry to go on but I need help here as I stand to lose out at the moment on both the item that I sold and the money the buyer has paid. the buyer has to report the item delivered for me to get the money within 21 days or else its refunded back to him. Any advise here would be great.. really hope that someone can offer me some advise as it seem a little bit like a worse case scenario.. Cheers