WARNING - non delivery of online orders

[C24]

Please be aware and do not get caught as I seem to be.

I ordered some camera gear online and the site promised "next day delivery". The seller is using a courier, DHL advertised onsite but DHL have apparently taken over Yodel and are using them. The seller takes the buyers money when goods are moved to their courier.

Purchase date was the 6th, delivery quoted as the 9th. The seller acknowledges that they have experienced serious problems in addition to mine and are due to change their courier.

6 phone calls; 5/1 emails to courier/seller resulted in 4 delivery dates (latest 16th). I will give a final report when the issue is resolved but anyone thinking of making a purchase, please beware.

[Mike]

Sorry to hear about your problems but who is/was Yodel ?

I did 12 years in the parcels industry until recently, but have never heard of them - did they have something to do with White Arrow/Home Delivery Network ?

[pikey01]

Yodel are possibly the worst courier service known to mankind. I have been on the receiving end of their 'service' and they lost 3 of my parcels, they also sent one of them straight back to the company i made the purchase from without even trying to deliver it. They also recently appeared on BBC Watchdog after quite a few complaints by the general public at large.

[jakdaw]

Yodel formed 18 months ago from Home Delivery network buying DHLs home domestic side of their business. Previously Home Delivery Network had formed from a merger of Reality (previously White Arrow) and Business Express. Hope this helps!

[Mike]

Yodel formed 18 months ago from Home Delivery network buying DHLs home domestic side of their business. Previously Home Delivery Network had formed from a merger of Reality (previously White Arrow) and Business Express. Hope this helps!

Thanks for that, I'd forgotten about Reality and Business Express.

A company called Parcelinq (not to be confused with Parceline/Interlink/DPD) has taken-over from the Home Delivery Network up here (Highlands) - does anyone know anything else ?

They have brand-new white Mercs with a rather poor-looking red "Parcelinq" written on them.

[Dan214sqn]

Yodel are possibly the worst courier service known to mankind. I have been on the receiving end of their 'service' and they lost 3 of my parcels, they also sent one of them straight back to the company i made the purchase from without even trying to deliver it. They also recently appeared on BBC Watchdog after quite a few complaints by the general public at large.

closely followed by hermes

[C24]

Yodel formed 18 months ago from Home Delivery network buying DHLs home domestic side of their business. Previously Home Delivery Network had formed from a merger of Reality (previously White Arrow) and Business Express. Hope this helps!

I cannot vouch for the accuracy of my info but I was told by the seller that DHL bought Yodel.

The seller's site has a DHL icon to be clicked for tracking purposes, this opens a site bannered "Yodel". In my case the operation is from a Loughborough depot [ don't we know someone from that area?? ]

The Yodel vans are a yucky green colour, I know because during my confinement at home this week, 7 of them have been sighted driving past my house!

More info tomorrow after 2100hrs [the latest that Yodel are supposed to deliver]. I expect a travel weary item which will be returned by hand to the seller. But today is Sunday and I could nip down the road to offer a prayer

[jakdaw]

C24 you are mistaken Home Delivery Network bought DHLs UK domestic delivery side, as DHL werent making money from it, the new Yodel brand was allowed to use the DHL brand for a transition period and both previous companies operated as they had for about 18 months, both operating a UK wide everyday delivery service, before final merger of networks which is happening as we speak, with redundancies. DHL have nothing to do with the Yodel brand.

[C24]

Thanks jakdaw, I was merely repeating what the seller told me.

It gets more bizarre. I have just found a Yodel note in the letter box

"15/7 8:20." Sorry I missed you today when I called. It is unfortunate that the driver did not call louder! At that time I was making coffe in the kitchen, the door bell about 4 feet from me.

[This is the only communication that I have received from Yodel. As previously stated above, I expected, nay, hoped for the 16th as promised by the seller yesterday].

The good news is that the 10p/min phone line has agreed to deliver on the 17th.

I would like to make a comment but I would be excluded from the site - hacked off! will have to do.

[davedubya]

Yodel are appalling. Avoid any company that uses them.

[C24]

Yodel are appalling. Avoid any company that uses them.

Sadly davedubya, the seller's website has the icon "DHL", Yodel only flags up after order placement.

I have just checked for delivery info and nothing flagged for delivery today but who knows.

I am about to place an A4 sheet by the front door:

Ref delivery 20xxxxx/xx

YODEL,

much louder please.

[davem]

Can you please let us know who the retailer was?? If they start to lose business through using Yodel then they are more likely to switch to a more reliable courier, so should impact on Yodel where it will really hurt at the moment - loss of business.

There are PLENTY of couriers out there at the moment vying for business.

[C24]

I have waited until I could post the end of the story. The short version follows:

I raised the matter with Trading Standards who confirmed to me that the responsibility for delivery as advertised was part of the contract and all chasing was up to the seller not the buyer. A letter had already been sent [recorded delivery] to a named Director and the Company Secretary giving notice of their breach of contract [Also a copy to credit card company and finance company].
Many emails and phone calls were made after the Sunday non-delivery until;
I checked the Yodel tracking site at 0630hrs on the 17th to see whether they expected to deliver that day as promised by the seller; nothing shown then but at around 0830hrs the legend, 'Out for delivery' - 0734hrs from Loughborough Service Centre' was displayed.
During the 17th, four emails were sent by me to Yodel and 4/5 telephone calls were made to the seller's Customer Service number. At 1730hrs Yodel made the delivery.

I took these images of the box as received.

1.


2.


3.



The internal packing was loose so that the item's box could move about and water had penetrated to the 'bubble wrap but fortunately not to the item itself. I estimate that the goods parcel had been handled 14/15 times over 11 days.

A second item had been ordered on 27th June which was on back order but promised for 16th but not available due to short delivery by the seller's supplier. This was cancelled by me just after the first item arrived.
Yesterday at 1305hrs, over the phone, I ordered a replacement for the second item from a London Nikon supplier, paid via my credit card and received it safely at 1115hrs [the courier Royal Mail ]
I have used Jessops shops with full satisfaction over some forty years. It is unfortune that their online business is so flawed.

next week - the sun will shine and the planes will fly I hope that this thread helps someone

[The Phantom]

You hadn't mentioned before that the goods were ordered from Jessops. That is terrible. You think a big company like that would be giving a far better service - as their choice of courier is going to be giving them a very bad reputation!

[XPLUMBER]

I have been watching this story unfold with great interest, It's terrible that you've recieved such awful treatment.

We had a very disgruntled YODEL Courier arrive at work on Tuesday only to be told to go away by the receptionist, his attitude was extremely poor and if indicative of the whole outfit, I can see why people are speaking out against them.

[vortex003]

Just read this thread and although your experience has not been terrible,i must say that i have just purchased a new laptop through Currys,and as the model wasn't available in store near me i chose the home delivery option.Yodel were the agent and i must say that my item arrived within seven days in excellent condition (i would have expected nothing less mind you).I even left the driver a note to 'phone me and i would leave work to meet him when delivering (i work near home),but he dropped it off with me at work - saving me leaving the site.

(I do recall seeing a video online where a Fed-Ex delivery man chose to throw a computer or something similar over a fence,rather than open the gate - i guess there are some rather choice individuals working for all the couriers - no matter where you are)