View Full Version : Parcel delivery costs CAS
I remember there being complaints at the cost some companies were charging to deliver up here. It seems as if the CAS is doing an investigation into this and want examples.
This is a link to the BBC report on it and that has a link to the CAS site http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-16230578
I've completed the survey with some of my examples.
Whilst I admire the effort and certainly agree with the sentiment of this campaign, I can't help feel that the absolute best result that can be achieved is raising the retailers awareness of Royal Mail prices.
I can't for a second believe there's anything that can be done to legally force universal pricing across the UK.
Royal mail do not deliver the big things!
The last few things I have been stung the Caithness is a remote area extra postage charges have been a washing machine and a largish tv.
I can't for a second believe there's anything that can be done to legally force universal pricing across the UK.
If such a legislation can be enforced towards Royal Mail, then there is no reason why all Carries could not be forced to do the same thing. Pricing by Weight and not Postcode is the way to go.
Article in todays Herald about this. Only the introductory paragraphs available free on line.
DeHaviLand
19-Dec-11, 17:50
If such a legislation can be enforced towards Royal Mail, then there is no reason why all Carries could not be forced to do the same thing. Pricing by Weight and not Postcode is the way to go.
Thats just about the stupidest thing you've ever said, and you've said a lot. Are you advocating that the Government takes over the running of all parcel couriers? Because if they dont, they can have absolutely no say in how a private company chooses to charge its customers.
Thats just about the stupidest thing you've ever said, and you've said a lot. Are you advocating that the Government takes over the running of all parcel couriers? Because if they dont, they can have absolutely no say in how a private company chooses to charge its customers.
That might be your opinion, mine is the exact opposite and that your comments are really silly and childish.
No one ever said anything about the government. It is not the Government who makes the Royal Mail charge for weight and not postcode. It is Ofcom that do this and they have the power to do the same for all Carriers if they wished to.
luskentyre
19-Dec-11, 18:25
Isn't the issue that most national carriers only deliver as far as Inverness, and that requires a local courier (like AJG) to do the rest? Surely that's going to cost more?
Having said that, I hate getting stung for extra postage and will definately shop around if I can.
Isn't the issue that most national carriers only deliver as far as Inverness, and that requires a local courier (like AJG) to do the rest? Surely that's going to cost more?
Having said that, I hate getting stung for extra postage and will definately shop around if I can.
It might have something to do with it but not much I think.
The reason I say this is this. I used to get a Monthly Delivery from a Company in Manchester and they charged me £6.50 for next Day Delivery and they used CityLink. As CityLink do not deliver beyond Inverness thay passed it on to AJG.
At the begining of this year the company who I bought off sold out to a Bigger Company. They in turn changed to another Carrier and I was then advised that they could no longer do Next Day Delivery and the Delivery Charge was now £25.
I pointed out to them that CityLink would deliver for £6.50 for next day delivery so why cant they use them. I received a reply that it was company policy to use only the one Carrier and that I lived in a remote area so the Charge would be £25.
So I told them that they would get no more orders from me and neither they have.
So I believe it all depends on who the Carrier is. Some are good and charge a reasonable amount but others are out for all they can get.
DeHaviLand
19-Dec-11, 19:29
That might be your opinion, mine is the exact opposite and that your comments are really silly and childish.
No one ever said anything about the government. It is not the Government who makes the Royal Mail charge for weight and not postcode. It is Ofcom that do this and they have the power to do the same for all Carriers if they wished to.
Ok, now you're just getting even more stupid. Do you even know who OFCOM are? The office of communications have absolutely no powers over parcel couriers. And for your information, seeing as you seem to be decidedly lacking in any, OFCOM receives its regulatory powers from, guess, thats it, the Government. Oh do keep up.
Ok, now you're just getting even more stupid. Do you even know who OFCOM are? The office of communications have absolutely no powers over parcel couriers. And for your information, seeing as you seem to be decidedly lacking in any, OFCOM receives its regulatory powers from, guess, thats it, the Government. Oh do keep up.
There you go again talking about something you know nothing about.
Ofcom does regulate The Royal Mail and Carriers. Ofcom is completely and utterly independent. They might have been given their powers by the Government but the Government can NOT tell tham what to do.
It is you who do not know who or what Ofcom are.
You will now no doubt call me Stupid once more but I dont care one JOT. Go ahead but I will not read it as I have had enough, so I have added you to my Ignore list so I will not have to read any of your ramblings.
Mystical Potato Head
19-Dec-11, 21:02
There you go again talking about something you know nothing about.
Ofcom does regulate The Royal Mail and Carriers. Ofcom is completely and utterly independent. They might have been given their powers by the Government but the Government can NOT tell tham what to do.
It is you who do not know who or what Ofcom are.
You will now no doubt call me Stupid once more but I dont care one JOT. Go ahead but I will not read it as I have had enough, so I have added you to my Ignore list so I will not have to read any of your ramblings.
Hope you dont mind me refreshing your memory here but you did reply by calling DeHaviland"s comments silly and childish so that makes you about even.
If you thought DeHavilands comments were childish,well just have a read of your last sentence.Straight out of the primary school playground,its my ball and you're not playing with it anymore because you disagreed with me.
orkneycadian
19-Dec-11, 21:04
Twas on Radio Orkney this morning that CAB have finished their survey, and published their results this morning - Something like 93% of folk have reported being ripped off by companies trying to charge extra!
Twas on Radio Orkney this morning that CAB have finished their survey, and published their results this morning - Something like 93% of folk have reported being ripped off by companies trying to charge extra!
In the article i posted, it said that CAS (CAB is in England) has reopened the issue until, I think, 15th Jan.
DeHaviLand
19-Dec-11, 22:21
There you go again talking about something you know nothing about.
Ofcom does regulate The Royal Mail and Carriers. Ofcom is completely and utterly independent. They might have been given their powers by the Government but the Government can NOT tell tham what to do.
It is you who do not know who or what Ofcom are.
You will now no doubt call me Stupid once more but I dont care one JOT. Go ahead but I will not read it as I have had enough, so I have added you to my Ignore list so I will not have to read any of your ramblings.
Now, I dont know if you're being deliberately obtuse. But I'm going to try again. OFCOM does not regulate parcel couriers. The Royal Mail yes, but certainly not parcel couriers.
But of course, you wont read this, so you can just go on living in your little fantasy world, where you think you know absolutely everything about Royal Mail and couriers. And every time a thread comes up about parcels ( frequently) you'll go on it and shout loudest in the hope that everyone will think you're right.
Merry Christmas .!..
First item on BBC Reporting Scotland this evening. Caithness gets a mention as being often thought of as being an island because post code is same as Orkney.
bluechesse
19-Dec-11, 23:46
Isn't the issue that most national carriers only deliver as far as Inverness, and that requires a local courier (like AJG) to do the rest? Surely that's going to cost more?
Having said that, I hate getting stung for extra postage and will definately shop around if I can.
Yip, Im pretty sure that that’s EXACTLY the issue. No body else delivers further North than Inverness, so they subcontract the Inverness - Caithness bit to AJG. And guess what? AJG don’t take your stuff North out of the goodness of their heart. They charge for it. That charge is passed on to you, hence more expensive delivery. And why not? Its costing them more to deliver it to you than it would to deliver to somewhere further South. This isn't the fault of the company selling the goods!
Many larger companies won’t use the Royal Mail simply because they get a better deal from a courier when sending things out in bulk. The comparatively small number of deliveries they need to make South of Inverness is but a drop in the ocean compared to their total output, so the few orders they lose out on due to the high postage cost's isn't going to make much difference.
Sorry, but them is the facts! I’m not saying it's fair, I dont like paying extra more than anyone else, and I’m sure there are certain companies taking the Michael with the extra charges, but I’m afraid you get nowt for nowt in this world.
Look on the bright side, Petrol and Postage may cost a lot more up here, but the cost of living in general (house prices,
council tax etc) is a hell of a lot lower than down South. Im pretty sure that makes up for the odd parcel you need to cough up 20 quid for!
Maybe we should remember what we actually gain by living in an area like Caithness, instead of moaning every time someone dares to charge a bit extra to deliver something to out rather remote doors steps.....
orkneycadian
20-Dec-11, 00:34
Its costing them more to deliver it to you than it would to deliver to somewhere further South. This isn't the fault of the company selling the goods!
Many larger companies won’t use the Royal Mail simply because they get a better deal from a courier when sending things out in bulk. The comparatively small number of deliveries they need to make South of Inverness is but a drop in the ocean compared to their total output, so the few orders they lose out on due to the high postage cost's isn't going to make much difference.
Test -
1 kg packet - Royal Mail - First Class £3.71 - Second Class - £3.15 - Neither with VAT - Presumably covers all of UK, including, for example, London to Manchester.
1 kg packet - DHL - Within UK, non surcharged - £13.95
1 kg packet - Hermes Economy (cheapest) - Within UK, non surcharged - £3.99 + VAT
1 kg packet - Yodel 48 (cheapest) - Within UK, non surcharged - £6.59 + VAT
1 kg packet - Interparcel (Cheapest) - Within UK, non surcharged - £6.99 + VAT
1 kg packet - Citylink Economy (Cheapest) - Within UK, non surcharged - £7.49 + VAT
How much of a no-brainer does it have to be? :confused
bluechesse
20-Dec-11, 00:57
Test -
1 kg packet - Royal Mail - First Class £3.71 - Second Class - £3.15 - Neither with VAT - Presumably covers all of UK, including, for example, London to Manchester.
1 kg packet - DHL - Within UK, non surcharged - £13.95
1 kg packet - Hermes Economy (cheapest) - Within UK, non surcharged - £3.99 + VAT
1 kg packet - Yodel 48 (cheapest) - Within UK, non surcharged - £6.59 + VAT
1 kg packet - Interparcel (Cheapest) - Within UK, non surcharged - £6.99 + VAT
1 kg packet - Citylink Economy (Cheapest) - Within UK, non surcharged - £7.49 + VAT
How much of a no-brainer does it have to be? :confused
Yup, but thats full price. Do you think a large company sending hundreds of parcels out a day are paying that? Like any other form of business, they will be able to negotiate a better price based on bulk.
If the Royal Mail was always cheapest, then all but the most idiotic companies would be using them. They will use couriers if they are sending very large items that the Royal mail wont handle, or if there is a financial incentive to do so.
Also, and I may be wrong here, but is there not a limit to the value the Royal Mail will insure your goods for? I requested a company send me bits for my bike by Royal mail once (purely because its easier to pick it up at the Royal mail depot if I missed the delivery) but they refused as the value was over the limit they could insure for with Royal Mail. Had things of a lesser avlue from the same company before via Royal Mail so Im pretty sure this was not just an excuse.......
orkneycadian
20-Dec-11, 00:59
And how much do you think the couriers will cough up for your lost bike bits?
bluechesse
20-Dec-11, 01:10
The value of the items if they go missing. Thats the purpose of insuring items? I THINK the Royal mail limit is about 45 quid for standard delivery. Its a lot more for special delivery items, but then the postage price goes up accordingly.....
If such a legislation can be enforced towards Royal Mail, then there is no reason why all Carries could not be forced to do the same thing. Pricing by Weight and not Postcode is the way to go.
My understanding is that this was a condition imposed when royal mail got privatised, a means of maintaining a level of service to the public that was there before.
I think there are many reasons why other couriers shouldn't be forced into offering services they don't want to/are unable to deliver
Isn't the issue that most national carriers only deliver as far as Inverness, and that requires a local courier (like AJG) to do the rest? Surely that's going to cost more?
Yes, I think that's the main reason.
But bluecheese has hit the nail on the head. We live up here, we've got to take the rough with the smooth.
A train ticket from Birmingham to London is cheaper than one from Caithness to London. That makes perfect sense to me. You pay for what it costs.
We've been spoiled for years with this "one price anywhere" policy of the Royal Mail. To demand a private company deliver you a parcel wherever you want it is akin to demanding a taxi from Thurso take you to Inverness for the price of a local run.
There is NOTHING that can or will be done to force companies to deliver nationwide at fixed cost.
DeHaviLand
20-Dec-11, 12:07
Isn't the issue that most national carriers only deliver as far as Inverness, and that requires a local courier (like AJG) to do the rest? Surely that's going to cost more?
Having said that, I hate getting stung for extra postage and will definately shop around if I can.
It may look like the issue, but in reality its not. Back in the days when DHL, Lynx Express, and other national carriers had vans travelling to Caithness on a daily basis, there was still a surcharge for delivery to there.
The most expensive part of parcel delivery, is that part from the final depot to the customers door. In Caithness, because of time constraints, and the 100 miles between depot and customer, your parcel may be one of only 40 on that van. Now that same sized van, delivering to a more populated area, nearer to the depot, can conceivably deliver 120 parcels per day. Thats the sole reason for the surcharge. Caithness/Sutherland is the most sparsely populated region of the UK, and without the surcharge, it wouldn't have been economical to deliver to there.
In fact, thats the reason why the major carriers are no longer delivering directly to Caithness, as rising fuel prices means it becomes less economical.
AJG on the other hand, are working on economies of scale. Rather than 5 carriers coming north with say 200 parcels between them, AJG can take all these parcels to Caithness in one truck, and distribute them in say 3 vans.
The national carrier, lets say DHL, will have assigned a portion of the cost of delivering a parcel, to each leg of the parcels journey. ie from manufacturer to depot, depot to hub, hub to depot, depot to customer. The percentage allocated to the final leg of the journey, will then be paid to AJG for making that delivery to the customer.
Was the issue not about companies offering free or fixed prices to mainland uk then charging extra for the highlands ?
A pet hate of mine !!!
Yup Caithness the island!
The "ok you are not on an island, but its classed as a remote destination, therefore we will have to charge you lots, while everyone else gets it free" situation.
Or we will be sneaky after argueing with you and class the product out of stock and refund you the price rather than deliver the item because we forgot to put in the clause for highland delivery...bung it back on the website within an hour with the clause attached ..we still win!
The second senario is the one that really irks me.
chocolatechip
20-Dec-11, 18:35
I've orderd DVDs and CDs from HMV and I've never been charged delivery as it's FREE DELIVERY as quoted next to the item your looking at or even on the statement. But other companies such as Amazon charge for delivery. Caithness is part of the Main Land, its so DAFT having to pay extra for Delivery charges!! I'm just going to stick with the companies I know that don't charge alot thats what I can say. But I felt sorry for that man in the Isle of Skye having to pay an extra £75
bluechesse
20-Dec-11, 18:55
It may look like the issue, but in reality its not. Back in the days when DHL, Lynx Express, and other national carriers had vans travelling to Caithness on a daily basis, there was still a surcharge for delivery to there.
The most expensive part of parcel delivery, is that part from the final depot to the customers door. In Caithness, because of time constraints, and the 100 miles between depot and customer, your parcel may be one of only 40 on that van. Now that same sized van, delivering to a more populated area, nearer to the depot, can conceivably deliver 120 parcels per day. Thats the sole reason for the surcharge. Caithness/Sutherland is the most sparsely populated region of the UK, and without the surcharge, it wouldn't have been economical to deliver to there.
In fact, thats the reason why the major carriers are no longer delivering directly to Caithness, as rising fuel prices means it becomes less economical.
AJG on the other hand, are working on economies of scale. Rather than 5 carriers coming north with say 200 parcels between them, AJG can take all these parcels to Caithness in one truck, and distribute them in say 3 vans.
The national carrier, lets say DHL, will have assigned a portion of the cost of delivering a parcel, to each leg of the parcels journey. ie from manufacturer to depot, depot to hub, hub to depot, depot to customer. The percentage allocated to the final leg of the journey, will then be paid to AJG for making that delivery to the customer.
Thats a good point also. That and the fact that to deliver 40 parcels in a densley populated area you need to drive about, say 5 miles. In a remote area like caithness, it is likely to be more like 50 miles between the doors.
Agree with Dadie though, being told its free, then hit with a surcharge is annoying.
well this post is ironic,complaining about delivery costs, again,yet i posted a thread a few weeks ago regarding yodel an your happy to see them go. this was my point they are national so no sub carriers. an from the quotes supplied 1 off the cheapest,however there is no dhl up here now dhl domestic was purchased by home delivery creating yodel. its the home vans we still see. an last time we got a hermes delivery it was left on doorstep in pishing rain.
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.