Recommended Delivery Companies

[Ninanina]

Where possible, and certianly any items of value, I always use the Post Office Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm Service. This service is handled quite differently than 'normal' post

I have found this service first class. It is not the cheapest service but that matters not when you get first class service, fully tracked, signed for, good £'s cover for loss and a very quick delivery. If I cannot use that service then I always use another Post Office/Parcelforce service

I have NEVER had a problem with any of the Post Office/Parcelforce services and will continue to use them

I have had experience of Yodel and would certainly not recommend them, a real nightmare

[struth]

Yup special delivery is good as you get decent insurance thrown in. Ups I like too for big fragile stuff. My hermes are ok if you pack well and it's not too heavy or fragile.

[Minstrel SE]

Ive had excellent service from DPD and parcelforce...Ive aso had shoddy service from Parceforce just leaving an item at an obscure sub post office/ newsagents with no card through my door.

Its always difficult giving blanket recommendations because it depends on your local driver and his daily schedule/mood

I am quite wary using courier firms when selling and it wouldnt be for fragile high value items. When I do order its in the lap of the gods really but firms like Dell tend to use good enough firms with adequate insurance.

When a turntable lid is on the way Ive got fingers crossed that the seller has packed it well and the delivery staff arent the butterfingers crew having a laugh

I dont tend to use Yodel but some sellers insist on using them and its been generally ok for low value items if a bit slow. I think you get what you pay for and if the drivers are on pence per parcel I dont expect a first class service

[Andy831]

I used these people to sed two parcels to Guernsay and one to Wells in Somerset on Tuesday. They seemed sensible money offered high value insurance and seemed prompt and efficient when they collected.

https://www.ipostparcels.com

[Len Co]

Recently received a turntable via Parcelforce with a damaged lid - well demolished actually. The whole thing had been well packed and wrapped and would certainly have withstood normal handling. I can only imagine someone had stood on it or dropped/placed something really heavy on it, though it was marked fragile. As it was insured the sender made a claim. A month or more later I received a letter from Parcelforce saying I hadn't sent them information they had asked for and the sender received a similar letter. The strange thing is I never received any request for information from them and the sender had sent them the info they asked for - I am more than reasonably sure of this as he asked me for certain details and pictures and told me he had replied to them. In my view Parcelforce are masters of using delaying tactics and obfuscation as well as being overpriced and slow. I can see no reason to ever use their 'services'.

[Len Co]

Recently received a turntable via Parcelforce with a damaged lid - well demolished actually. The whole thing had been well packed and wrapped and would certainly have withstood normal handling. I can only imagine someone had stood on it or dropped/placed something really heavy on it, though it was marked fragile. As it was insured the sender made a claim. A month or more later I received a letter from Parcelforce saying I hadn't sent them information they had asked for and the sender received a similar letter. The strange thing is I never received any request for information from them and the sender had sent them the info they asked for - I am more than reasonably sure of this as he asked me for certain details and pictures and told me he had replied to them. In my view Parcelforce are masters of using delaying tactics and obfuscation as well as being overpriced and slow. I can see no reason to ever use their 'services'.

UPDATE: since writing the above I sent Parcelforce all the information they asked for plus proof of eBay and PayPal transactions together with a pretty stiff letter. I am delighted to say that they quickly made a very satisfactory re-payment to the sender who passed it on to me. So well done there. My feeling is still that they were stalling (or at least very incompetent - ref. missing mails) and I have had a previous pf experience with a parcel that went walkabout for quite a while before finally reaching me. Still not a company I would choose to do business with I'm afraid since I have had cheaper and quicker deliveries and no damages with UPS and DPD.

[struth]

Smashed something coming to me and were not interested in compensating me.. dont really use them except in an emergeny

[TazSob]

Worked for parcel line back in 1998 for a year and it was a very tough job with the quotas they would place on each worker. The supervisor would often hover over you as you loaded or unloaded the vans or trucks and were only interested in how fast you could do the job and didn't care for the way you did it... Lots of mail would go walkies back then too with people re-addressing parcels and packages they thought were of value