UPS Warning - Don’t Bother!!!!

[Weeman1973]

A word of warning for those dispatching HiFi using (F*ck) UPS - please think again.

I paid £22 to have a turntable delivered, with insurance- they delivered it alright, in pieces!!

Over 2 weeks on & lots of emails & calls to a less than useless call centre & I eventually get a mail from the head of UK, telling me the damage was caused because I didn’t pack it well enough - nothing to do with them playing football with it. The receiver commented on how well it was packed & surprised how it got damaged.

They returned the table to me, wait for it with more damage than when it was originally received - they’re not even willing to acknowledge this even though I have photographic evidence!

Regardless of not paying for the damage, they’re not even going to refund me the original £22 I paid for insured delivery so I now have a knackered TT that was worth around £400 before they got their hands on it that I have paid £22 for the privilege of being returned to me.

Total shower of s*it with no concern for the customer at all. I’ve also since found out that they don’t have a complaints department - probably because they’d be overwhelmed!!

Anyway, my rant over but just a word of warning to others who might think using a so called reputable company is worth the extra - well it isn’t so might as well use Hermes or DPD

[Shovel_Knight]

Sadly, this is a familiar story. They somehow managed to severely damage a piece of equipment which was packed using custom styrofoam inserts and double-boxed!! The boxes were intact but apparently they knocked it so hard that the internal components were displaced.

Also their delivery policy is extremely annoying (at least in Ireland). They don't issue corporate phones to their drivers, and if you live in a gated estate, the driver would just wait in front of the gate for a couple of minutes without calling you -- and then drive away! DPD drivers at least always call AND they also give you an accurate time window for delivery.

The only courier company which is worse than UPS, in my experience, is GLS.

[Haselsh1]

Thank you for this. I always try to use DPD, excellent folk.

[hifi_dave]

I send parcels by UPS every week, worldwide and have done for the past 12 years.To date, everything has been delivered on time and without the slightest damage. You must have been unlucky.

[Weeman1973]

I send parcels by UPS every week, worldwide and have done for the past 12 years.To date, everything has been delivered on time and without the slightest damage. You must have been unlucky.

Hope you never have an incident because one thing’s for sure they won’t pay out so wouldn’t bother paying for insurance

[anthonyTD]

I have used UPS for years too, and on the odd ocasion they have been responsible for completely trashing some of my own equipment!
I have also used Fedex, with similar results, the diffrence i find with both these couriers is; Fedex usualy pays out, with limited hassle, once they establish its they're fault, UPS will argue tooth and nail not to pay you out, no matter what!
I could give examples but too long and winded to put here, safe to say; ALL couriers have off days, and for future refrence, anything you send with these companies has to withstand a metre drop, yes, a metre drop, from any angle, and survive, try that with a 40kg plus amp, even in its own flight case, and see how that goes!
Just pack things as well as you can, and hope for the best, that's all any of us can do these days.

[Puffin]

Take them to the small claims court. As the summons has to be sent to their registered address (which may or may not be their head office) it will most likely go unanswered and you will be able to get a judgment. When you go to enforce it forget about any county court enforcement and apply to the high court for the sheriff's officer to enforce it. It will cost more, but you get all the costs back when they get the money. I am sure you have seen the telly programmes where mostly they are successful.

[Spectral Morn]

Had one heavy item delievered by UPS with no issue.

For everything else I use Parcel Force, never had a problem todate.

Hermes, had stuff thrown over my back wall. If an Ebayer is propsing to use Hermes I say no, I will pay extra for Parcel Force.

I am sorry for your hassle, and I hope you get compensated.

[joolz]

We have sporadic trouble with all the major delivery services, except Royal Mail/Parcelforce. We live in the sticks, and sat nav is not your friend, paradoxically, if you can read a map we should be easier to find.
Most multi-drop drivers are probably minimum-wage, and chased by their management to get lots of drops done in a day - they work to a rule of averages - should get delivered sometime.

[Mr Underhill]

EAR arranged pickup and the box was serviced and returned. Six of the valves were broken as well as an internal support bar.

As this had been organised by EAR they dealt with the company and the repair; once completed I drove up to Cambridge and collected the amp.

I always thoroughly over-wrap items, and take photos of the process, just in case as a result.

I am sorry that you have not had any positive result, but you have strengthened my resolve to not use UPS for anything that is anything but brick like.