Postage - sorry

[veekay]

Sorry peeps a minor rant. I am sure I read somewhere that the excessive postage being charged for delivery up here was being looked into but I cannot remember who, what why or when. Perhaps if someone does recall this information they will let me know.


The story

I had to order some stuff from further south, not far south mind you only east kilbride. The package was to be delivered by courier and the cost £35. It did not arrive. I made a call to the company and was informed that the courier hadn't turned up and that the package was being sent Royal mail special delivery. The package arrived the following day cost £9.05. Needless to say I was straight onto the company to demand a refund and they queried why! I have had a refund but had to chew a few ears before I got it

[gollach]

Does this help?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-16988134

[Kodiak]

Simply put you should always ask for any item to be delivered by Royal Mail. Please note I say Royal Mail and NOT Parcelforce. Parcelforce might be part of Royal Mail but their Pricing Structure remains the same from when they were independant and do charge different rates for different areas.

Royal Mail do Not charge any extra for delivering up here and delivery costs are the same for all the UK, including Islands. Royal Mail are the Only Company who wil and do deliver to any and all addresses anywhere within the UK.

Some Couriers charge an arm and a Leg to deliver even a small packet to Caithness and £35 is not unusual. Also nearly all Couriers stop at Inverness and pass the delivey on to a 3rd party courier.

[lisagrace]

parcel force do not deliver to thurso, they pass it to Royal Mail once it gets to inverness. I had a parcel which disappeared and neither would accept responsibility and were insistent that i had signed for it, it turned out royal mail had delivered to the wrong address and the occupier had signed for it but didn't take it back when they realised it wasn't for them

[Kodiak]

parcel force do not deliver to thurso, they pass it to Royal Mail once it gets to inverness. I had a parcel which disappeared and neither would accept responsibility and were insistent that i had signed for it, it turned out royal mail had delivered to the wrong address and the occupier had signed for it but didn't take it back when they realised it wasn't for them

Actually you are only half correct.

Parcelforce hand over Parcels to Royal Mail if they are under 15 Kilos in Weight.

Anything above this weight has to be delivered by Parcelforce as Royal mail are not allowed to deliver anything heavier than 15 Kilos.

[Big Gaz]

The main thing here is trying to get companies etc down south to agree to use Royal Mail in the first place. So many refuse to do so because its easier to just sit on their ass and wait on a courier turning up, who no doubt would have offered a great contractual price to get all the work from that company in the first place, so why the extra cost?. Royal Mail make too many demands to do regular pickups (unless it is worth it) and a few companies try it on by overcharging and sending via Royal Mail anyway. I've heard a rumble that DPD are looking at taking Royal Mail over, whether or not this is true but this company can deliver a 9 kilo package from Germany in 3-4 days for €9.00. Try sending something to Germany from here at that weight and you'll be cheaper taking it as hand luggage and enjoying a weekend break into the bargain lol

[poppett]

Two items ordered on the same day........Royal Mail next day delivery, Courier still waiting a week later....update is it is still in transit between hubs.

I do try to get companies to use Royal Mail wherever possible, but one was so determined to use the courier he said he would send it for free...........and we are still waiting..............as this was lost somewhere in Caithness. Now the dispute drags on as to who makes me the refund.

[Kodiak]

Two items ordered on the same day........Royal Mail next day delivery, Courier still waiting a week later....update is it is still in transit between hubs.

I do try to get companies to use Royal Mail wherever possible, but one was so determined to use the courier he said he would send it for free...........and we are still waiting..............as this was lost somewhere in Caithness. Now the dispute drags on as to who makes me the refund.

There should ne bo argument of who pays for a refund if an item goes missing in transit, no matter how many carriers have been involved.

You bought it from a retailer and they must make sure that you receive the item you bought. If it goes missing then the seller and the seller alone is responsible to give you a refund.

Then it is up to them to make any claim for the missing goods from the Carrier they originally paid as they are the Customer of the carrier.

If the Carrier believes that the item was lost by a 3rd party carrier then they claim from them and so it goes down the line.

So if you order and pay for goods from a seller and they send these said goods by a carrier and they in turn go missing you claim a refund from the seller.

If you are told by the seller that you must claim from the carrier then.........They are 100% Completely Incorrect as it clearly laid ouy in the DSR (Distance Selling Regulations) that the seller has a Maximum of 30 Days to complete his contract, ie get the goods to you.

If he can not complete his contract then the seller is obliged to refund all money paid in relation to the contract including the postage and packaging.

Click the link below to get the official DSR PDF :-

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft698.pdf

[poppett]

Thank you so much Kodiak for the link.

I can now approach this debachle with a new outlook..........and the law on my side.