Caution using RM to ship international

[Ships and Stars]

Bit of a rant here. I've had largely wonderful service using Royal Mail within the UK for many years. However, the last two items I have sent internationally were both sent to the wrong countries from the RM Langley sorting hub near London. The first was an £650 Thuraya satellite phone which was supposed to go to Austria. They sent it to Australia. After about six phone calls, RM insisted Australia post would forward it on to Austria. Australia post said it was an internal matter and only RM could request it back. I never saw it again. When I went to file a claim, RM said they only cover £50 max for mobile phones. I received £50 about two months later after losing hundreds of pounds. Fast forward to October this year. I sold a night vision tube to a fellow in Belgium. I used a waterproof label and everything was clearly marked. It went to Greece. RM claims they will send it on... can't do anything until the 26th of Nov. I'll have to reimburse the buyer and money is very tight at the moment. Another loss. I will be truly surprised if the buyer receives it. This will be the last time I use RM for anything international. Who do people use for reliable, accountable international? DPD? Fed Ex? I won't touch RM international with a barge pole anymore.

[don4l]

There are two options for shipping high value goods internationally.  You can try to negotiate good rates with one of the big names like FedEx, UPS or DPD.  This can be difficult, because they all have hugely variable rates.

 

There are companies who specialise in shipping who act as a middleman.  They are much better at getting a good rate than I am.  I've been using this method for years and I've never lost a package.

We  also use DPD for shipments to Europe, but we also use them on a daily basis for UK shipments.  We still get a quote for every European shipment.

[Allinthehead]

Well that's bloody brutal, and you're well entitled to your rant. I've had no problems using Dhl. Used them today to send a camera to Germany.

Richard

[Ships and Stars]

Thanks Don, DPD has always been brilliant from my experience. I've used RM primarily because they are very local. They've just opened a DPD drop off locally though. The middle man sites I'll start dealing with are Parcel 2go and Parcel Monkey. I don't ship the volume needed to open an account with any of the major shippers. Thanks again. 

[Ships and Stars]

17 minutes ago, Allinthehead said:

Well that's bloody brutal, and you're well entitled to your rant. I've had no problems using Dhl. Used them today to send a camera to Germany.

Richard

Thanks Richard, I'll give them a look as well. Can't absorb any more of these losses!

[vlaiv]

Can't help much there except to somewhat confirm your experience.

Two months ago I did my first purchase with FLO. Got tracking code and everything and a month later - item arrived (hows that for speedy service) - of course it was sent to Bosnia first and then returned to UK only to be sent to Serbia after that (proper destination).

This was one and only time I've purchased something from UK retailer, but not the only time I had that happen. My TS80 APO went on a trip to Romania once , and that gave me quite a scare, as such item can go out of collimation in transport, but luckily everything was fine and it reached me after three weeks. I purchased a number of items from TS in Germany and that was the only time shipment made a detour.

[Ships and Stars]

Vlaiv it's nerve wracking when expensive items go missing in the post. I hope this one makes it!

[Space Hopper]

Thats a shocking story and i'm sorry to hear you've lost out because of it.

If ever i've sent anything abroad (which is a rarity) i've always used DHL and in certain cases paid the insurance fee just to make sure.

[Ships and Stars]

Yes, I've insured both. They didn't tell me about the £50 limit on phones until I tried to claim. The NV tube is mostly covered, but I'll lose some on that one, assuming they accept my proof of valuation. I shall see... thanks for the DHL tip, that's two votes for them.

[don4l]

2 hours ago, Ships and Stars said:

Thanks Don, DPD has always been brilliant from my experience. I've used RM primarily because they are very local. They've just opened a DPD drop off locally though. The middle man sites I'll start dealing with are Parcel 2go and Parcel Monkey. I don't ship the volume needed to open an account with any of the major shippers. Thanks again. 

You can always get quote that include collection from your premises.  This will add a bit to the cost(Usually about £15).  If you are shipping to other businesses, this isn't usually a problem.  Joe Public, though, hates paying any delivery charges at all

[upahill]

3 hours ago, Ships and Stars said:

Thanks Don, DPD has always been brilliant from my experience. I've used RM primarily because they are very local. They've just opened a DPD drop off locally though. The middle man sites I'll start dealing with are Parcel 2go and Parcel Monkey. I don't ship the volume needed to open an account with any of the major shippers. Thanks again. 

UPS will let you signup and ship without volume. I used to go through Parcel2Go but they have a habbit of emailing me demanding more money as the courier measured the boxes and weighed them and they were over what I said (one parcel was allegedly 54kg instead of 21 - an impossibility) so I dont trust them.

UPS billing can be a little weird at times and the website is not the easiest to use but I have nothing but praise for their service and 100% happy customer rate so far.

[Thalestris24]

One thing about sending abroad - take note of the format of other countries' addresses (Royal Mail lists them). Always put a return name and address on the reverse of a package. As for post going to the wrong country - I've no idea how that happens! But always write countries names clearly and in capital letters. Never use labels for valuable items - use a 'documents enclosed' packing envelope instead.

Louise

[swag72]

With DHL my new QSI did a bit of an EU tour coming from the UK to Spain..... I had the tracking number and watched it go to Belgium,  Hungary and Romania...... eventually made it back to the UK and it started again. Journey was much more direct this time...... UK to Spain. It's nerve wracking to watch 😊

[Geoff Barnes]

I order most of my gear from FLO (it's much cheaper than buying here and much more choice) and as I'm in Oz it can often take up to a month to get here if I choose the cheaper Royal Mail option, though nothing has failed to arrive eventually.

However, using the DHL option almost always gets things here within a week of ordering, so although it costs more it does get here quicker.

Which carrier I choose just depends how quickly I need the item.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I once had a package (low value) sent from UK via RM. It ended up in Belgium of all places. I got a replacement within 3 days. Someone in Belgium must have thought they had been doing drunken online shopping.

[Ships and Stars]

Thanks all, fingers crossed!

[Carbon Brush]

At work for overseas shipping we use mainly UPS. But also TNT and DHL sometimes. Always through one of the 'middlemen' as it costs much less than booking directly.
Provided you have the actual carrier tracking number, you can track the parcel.

The nice thing about these (international company) services is that you can get a good idea of where the parcel has gone.
For exmple I can track a UPS parcel from pickup to delivery in for example the USA.
I can get times of events at the local depot, the outbound airport, the USA arrival airport, customs progress, then the local delivery network.
As a general rule there are never any 'ask again in 3 weeks' response. Yes parcels can go astray, or get delayed, but at least you can a quick answer and nail down the event.

Unfortunately usually RM does not link in with the delivery partners overseas and 'ask again in 3 weeks' is the general response to a non delivery enquiry.

Hope this helps, David.