UPS does that here - with no option for re-delivery.
And they seem to have the cards they put through the door pre-written - so quicker than waiting for the door to be answered and the parcel signed for. So they don't bother ringing the bell...
The shop they use is some way off, has poor parking, and assistants who take ages to do the 'paperwork' when you collect.
Actually, I really do think that the politicians who derived this scheme (which was long before anyone had thought of selling off RM) genuinely thought that the resultant competition would be good for "consumers"
I'm sure the administrators have had the Christmas lull planned as the "ideal" time to pull the shutters down for a week or two, makes it a bastard for the workforce, but sounds like it was hardly unexpected.
I don't tend to have much arrive via City Link, they've not been *un* reliable whenever I have, but I much prefer the advance notice and ease of control offered by DPD
I'm sure some of the others think they now have similar offerings but (and I'm looking at you Royal Mail) sending an email from a dont-reply email address, without any consignment number or obvious way of contacting you, to say that an item that has been crawling its way from America for a fortnight will be delivered in two hours time *after* I've already left for work doesn't help me or them ...
I think there's space for a couple of Hermes/Yodel type services, with some suppliers you know they won't use the chuck-it-n-scarper outfits, sometimes you never know who'll be delivering, choice would be nice.
I'd have thought the administrators would have arranged a "pre-pack" if they thought anyone was waiting to open their wallet ... The Christmas Eve administration date smells of being planned in advance.
I had an order from CPC 'sort-of' delivered by Citylink before Christmas.
Placed the order, had email confirmation, nothing happened for 10 days. Chased CPC - who blamed Citylink. Then CPC did some 'digging' and reckoned that they (CPC) had only consigned one of the items in the order (a dryfit battery - hazardous item & all that) - but not the battery-operated Christmas lights, or the batteries to run them. CPC couldn't get Citylink to answer the phones - so didn't know where the parcel was.
CPC were apologetic - but reckoned they'd re-send, except that all the Christmas lights were now out of stock - so would I just like the batteries ?
I told them to cancel the order - which they agreed to do. Two days later - local courier turned up with a badly bashed box containing the dryfit, the christmas lights and the batteries to run them....
Especially those who are subbies who, because of the season, are going to be out of pocket for a bigger unpaid invoice than they would have been any other month of the year!
Then they interviewed a driver. He owns the van, had to pay to have it painted in their colours, and likely won't get paid for the last few weeks work. He's just another creditor, after all.
Quite - it's not new. But has happened so often with UPS here when I've been in, it must be accepted practice by their management. As they will know if something has been delivered or picked up from a shop later.
Because they've shifted the parcels *for* Xmas, and after that it's going to be quieter.
It's the best time to leave as few possible parcel recipients hung out to dry. And don't forget they've been losing ~£20m a year for as long as anyone can remember, so claims it's a viable business are a bit way off the mark.
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