Parcelnet

Skytower said,

I’m going to stick my original Parcelnet post in this comments section, so that the whole saga can be understood in its full context…

————————
Sunday March 20th, 2005 – Next cock-up

Nice, as well, of Parcelnet, to leave them hung onto the side of the wheelie bin. Yes, I live in a nice peaceful village – but even so, it only takes one dishonest person to have made it away with it. Helpfully, they’d posted a card through the door with “behind bin” (pedantically, it was on the side of it!) written on it. In fact, if they’d have been arsed to have moved the bin forward by about two inches, they could have hung it on the back of the bin thus hiding it from view – but then, parcel delivery people aren’t noted for giving a fuck about other people’s items, let’s be fair.
————————

Hopefully this makes things a little clearer – especially for Ands, who may now understand that this wasn’t my only gripe with Parcelnet – actually there are at least 3 on this site. The issue I have is leaving items where any old Tom, Dick, or Harry can nick them. I’m more than happy if the delivery people either a) take the item back to the depot, or, even the dreaded b) leave it with a neighbour and stick a card through my door – which is still preferable to leaving it where anyone can walk off with it.

Anonymous said,

I am a parcelnet courier NOT A LAZY LAYABOUT as you call yourself and if it wasnt for arseholes like you our job would be a lot easier. you obviously have nothing better to do than moan moan all day whilst looking in and out of your poxy fridge a little advice GET A LIFE BIRDBRAIN

5av10ur said,

Just had my first attempted delivery by Parcelnet today. Not only does the card not have a consignment number or a contact number on it but the parcel has been left at some random address that I have not even heard of. I get a lot of items sent with various different courier companies and none seem as bad as Parcelnet.

However, I doubt that it is the fault of the drivers – it is more likely that Parcelnet don’t pay them the right way which leads to these situations. Judging by their website the company has been constructed from Lego by a 4-year old child with learning diffculties. I will be advising the companies that I use to change courier.

Anonymous said,

I’ve got an arguement with them now! Idiots tried to deliver yesterday when I was out for an hour, wouldn’t attempt to redeliver that day and now refuse to deliver today before 10.30! I’ve just put a nasty complaint through to the company I bought the goods from who are sending the goods out again with a reputable courier. When I phoned to see why they couldn’t redeliver this morning I was met with anidiot saying he wasn’t going to get into an arguement with me…I then spoke to the “head office” who seem to thinl that had he got in an arguement with me, it would have turned nasty….not very welcoming is it?

They have goods I have paid for in good faith, I want those goods and so far they are refusing to deliver.

tin said,

i found this winge site whilst trying to find a contact number for parcelnet so thought i’d join in the kicking since i cant find anyone form parcelnet to talk to.
i had a parcel delivered when i wasnt in but no card was left i contacted amazon who gave me a contact number that is someones home phone number. i cannot get in touch with the courier and now not it looks like not only wont get the parcel for christmas but have no idea where it is. the parcelnet website has no contact numbers – its just a completely lame service that is way below the minimum you would expect. anyone know a contact number or have any idea where my parcel is? maybe mine is an exceptional case but from brief searching shows it doesnt appear to be.

Su said,

Ok – you’re not going to believe this, but having emailed both Parcelnet and Amazon, they managed to track down my parcel and it’s just arrived 10 minutes ago. Well done Wayne (my courier) who’s just taken over from the last one, and rescued my parcel and my Christmas. So, now I have to say that Parcelnet aren’t as black as they’re painted.

Happy Christmas
Su

courier said,

i am a courier for PARCELNET that most of you are havign a go at.
dont u think that if we were allowed we would push the parcel from Amazon through the door,we dont want the parcel in our house overnight,as much as you want the parcel.
there is no need to threaten the couriers sayin that they are idiots.
they are tryin to do there job,
another classic is when you know the customer is in the hosue when your knocking on the door,and they cannot be bothered to open the door, reasons are too many to mention like eating dinner,having a brew,watching tv,making the bed,in the back garden,anymore you can think of while were at it..
we have heard all the excuses going.
so please if your gonna complain to the couriers about them not doign there job right,have you ever thought it was an awkward customer before you that has held them up.
because they couldnt be bothered to get up off their lazy ass !!!

Chrissie said,

My boyfriend works in the warehouses for parcelnet, and I can assure you that the parcels do leave there on time. It is the couriers who are the problem, not parcelnet. If you look in your tompson pages or yellow pages you will find a phone number for your local depot. But you do have to live near one for this to be. Anyone who lives in kent, should have their local one in the thompson pages and the yellow pages. Because I do. I can’t wait to tell my boyfriend about this hate site for parcelnet.

Bob said,

I have never had a parcel delivered to me by Parcelnet. Not, that is, if you consider delivery to be putting the parcel safely into the hands of the addressee or to someone else at the delivery address or even to a neighbour.

What I have had are parcels abandoned halfway between my front door and the street (total distance 2 metres) as if merely thrown from a passing vehicle.

Example: Two people are in the house all day. One of us opens the front door to go out and finds a parcel lying on the path up to one metre away. It’s been “delivered” by Parcelnet. We try the doorbell — it works perfectly.

Many times expected deliveries have not arrived. I query the supplier who claims to have sent it. Parcelnet claims to have delivered it, but can’t produce a signature or any other proof. Was the parcel abandoned on my pathway and some opportunist thief has had it away? I have no idea, all I know is that I haven’t received my goods and have to go through a lost item claim and then the supplier has to resend the item.

I understand Parcelnet is cheap to use. But what long term advantage does a supplier get when parcels repeatedly go astray?

Parcelnet reputedly pays a maximum of 65 pence per parcel to its part-time delivery drivers. We all know the old maxim about “paying peanuts … get monkeys”.

One local Parcelnet delivery driver allegedly claims to deliver a hundred parcels an hour. If “delivery” involves driving along the street throwing the parcels over fences and gates without getting out of the vehicle, that’s probably a realistic claim.

Conclusion:
Suppliers — Don’t use Parcelnet to send your packages.
Purchasers — don’t buy from suppliers who use Parcelnet, and tell the suppliers why.

Speed of delivery: parcels found abandoned near my doorstep usually have despatch dates up to three weeks earlier than the parcel “arrives”.

Customer service: don’t be silly. Try contacting them or their delivery agents. But we do have one numver you can all try, Its a number for there Peterborough depot – 01733 330575 (Parcelnet Peterborough) Good luck because you WILL need it with these bunch of monkeys!

Anonymous said,

Why don’t you just name a safe place to leave any deliveries. You can agree this when you order the goods. It’s what I do – and it works!

Steve said,

I worked for a driving agency for a short while and was sent to parcelnet a few times to deliver sacks full of parcels to their so called couriers ( most of which are bored housewives with a mini metro who have to take the kids to school before they start delivering). The instructions for the delivery of the sacks were “if not out of bed leave sacks in porch” or “if out leave in front garden”. I`m not suprised some of you dont get your goods, it`s probably been nicked by the driver or someone passing by the garden. I`ve worked in the parcel delivery industry for about 20 years and I`ve never seen such an shambles in all that time.

PS. My wife says thanks for all the nice clothes from NEXT.
Joke……..LOL

pete said,

I’ve been left a Parcelnet parcel and I cannot read the phone number!
I have tried phoning what I think it might be, but there is no mention on the answer service I got that it was a Parcelnet courier.
I reckon you couriers would be well set mentioning this if you are going to leave your mobile number for us punters to call!
Of course, it might not have been the courier’s number, in which case, I would offer the advice of leaving a legible number!

tmd63 said,

I have placed an with Amazon which they dispatched on Jan 31st through Parcelnet. When it failed to arrive on time I contacted Parcelnet who stated that there was no delivery due at my location. I again contactewd Amazon who state that the parcel was dispatched and repeated my delivery address. Parcelnet however refuse to accept that the parcel was given to them.

This can only mean that when the parcel was handed to Parcelnet by Amazon, they promptly threw it into someones bedroom to rot. You have heard the story in the papers of the postwoman who stole the post for over 5 years? How can a company lose a parcel like this. It would never happen using DHL or Parcelforce.

My only advice is to never use Amazon’s free delivery. If you must order from Amazon, only use the standard delivery. It may cost you a little more but at least it will be delivered via Royal Mail or DHL(the operative word here is DELIVERED).

P.S. Amazon have been extremely helpful with this problem and have dispatched a new parcel via Royal Mail for the lost parcel in Parcelnets system.

P.P.S. I work for a very large multi-national company and I have advised them to instruct our suppliers to never use Parcelnet as well as to never use them ourselves. Parcelnet, by their own incompetence has lost the possibility of ever earning or obtaining a large corporate order for deliveries.

Adrian said,

Amazon are really not doing themselves any favours. I ordered a book and got it delivered to my home address – expecting a royal mail slip so I could pop the next morning before work and pick it up from the depot. But no some “Parcelnet” note with no name on it (who was this for – me or one of my 3 house mates???) and a mobile phone number to ring. ok…

ring, ring…
(really boarded disinterested voice) “”ullo. what?”
“Hello. I get a Parcelnet note that asked me to ring this number”
“er… go on what’s you address”
“49… blah blah”
“you gonna be in this morning?”
“I have to pop out for an hour be anytime between 10-12 is okay”
“ok”

12.15pm
ring… ring…
“You were supposed to deliver a parcel this morning. Its now after noon”
“Just round the courner”
“Is that 2minutes?”
“er… just round the courner. 15 or something”

12.50pm
knock, knock…
“sign here” (even more bored by this point)
“why weren’t you here at the time you said”
“look mate, do you want your parcel? you expect me to fly”
“no I expect you do what you said you would this morning”
(blank look. turned round and walked off)

twats.

expect no more orders from Amazon. Saving £2 is not worth it.

mark langdon said,

i was working for parcelnet for ten years,but today i was sacked as i left 2 parcels for a customer in a garage which was safe and secure.i closed and locked the door afterwards but this was not good enough for this lot.. no warning just told to fuck off

twats

sharon said,

I completely agree with bob I worked for parcelnet for 8 yrs and the field managers are absolutely useless and they realy do think they are gods and can treat you any way they want as, quote ” there are plenty of people willing to do your job if your not happy” this just leaves you feelin undervalued and unnappreciated which then in turn (as I am sure any of you who have worked for a crap company) gives you a cant be arsed feeling. Parcelnet is a crap company run by crap management.

Susie said,

I have just had the same problem with Amazon. I was really worried the parcel had been taken from my doorstep (I live in flats) but it did seem strange to me as nothing has ever been taken before. I have since discovered that Parcelnet won’t leave parcels you have to sign for them. Ok, so where was my parcel? I phoned the number that someone gave above and spoke to a very nice lady who gave me the number of the nearest parcelnet depot: South London: 0208 6466 646. The lady there told me my parcel was due for dispatch today- a week after it was supposed to arrive. Fair enough, receiving my DVD is not life or death, but it would have been nice to have been told it would be late, so that I didn’t waste time emailing Amazon every day!
Hopefully my parcel will arrive this afternoon… fingers crossed!

Andy said,

Update….

Having just contacted the local depot I was told that its the couriers that deliver the parcel (usual rubbish) any way after inputting my tracking number she told me that I am not known at this address…. WTF I work in a fuel terminal and are deliverd to by couriers every day ! Not happy to say the least.

Steve said,

Thanks to all the previous contributors who are producing a useful compendium of phone numbers. If anyone knows a phone number for the Carlisle area, please write in.

What kind of organisation is Parcelnet and what management do they have? From previous comments, recruitment and selection seem dubious. Why is their web site so poor, with no phone numbers of addresses of depots? Why do their drivers fail to complete the telephone number to arrange delivery or collection? Why do Amazon use them?

Its all a bit mysterious.

jay-cardiff said,

wow, i have had some really mixed fortunes with this company, i’ve had loads of problems but when i moved house every parcelnet delivery turned up with the same old boy next day every time come sun or snow, that is until now again, it appears someone else is delivering to the area, parcelnet claim “sorry we haven’t recieved this package to deliver to you.” and amazon say “we have sent it, don’t worry it will be there in the next few days.” “it should be there anytime soon, don’t worry.” “any time now” and finally the latest “have you checked with your neighbours?.” a week later parcelnet still claim not to have recieved the item yet amazon appear to be informed they have, what the f*ck is going on?

Tracy said,

I saw this site when my parcel was only a day late. Now it’s over a week and still no parcel from Amazon. I’ve contacted them only to be told be patient we definately sent it, and to wait til at least the 29th almost 2 weeks after i ordered them damn books.
Well I just emailed them back to say no parcel, no “sorry we missed you” card and nothing left with any neighbour.
And the payment has gone out so I had best be seeing some books soon before I lose my temper and start mailing the managing director of Parcelnet to see how she explains her shoddy service.

pete said,

Lets all be completely honest.. Parcel net are fucking clown shoes and we should stop whining and bombard Amazon et al who use there services to stop using them..

Also if you are still getting jib here’s some contact numbers:
Kent: 01795 667858
Rotherham: 01709 830800
Peterborough: 01733 330575
Birmingham: 0121 3733795
Bridge-end: 01656 766458
Surrey: 0208 6466696
HEAD OFFICE!! (West Yorkshire):01274 625625

tony jones said,

track your parcelnet delivery free on 0800 919535 and then press option number 5
this is a national free call for couriers working for parcelnet,call this and piss them off
they fuck us about,lets do the same to them

Ronnie - Cornwall said,

Hi.
Just been reading the comments on Parcelnet.
Found this site while trying (unsuccessfully) to find contact number for the company.
My partner has been waiting for three weeks to have a return picked up by Parcelnet. 6 calls to the originating company who promised to have the return picked up (Parcelnet have yet to pick up) Have now posted the item direct to originating company (Bon Prix) who are not even noted on the Parcelnet site.
Have written to Bon Prix suggesting that they change their courier service (if courier is the correct word) and gave them a link to this page.

jay said,

have complained to amazon and told them i won’t be using them again after numerous parcelnet f*ck ups however they apparently are very helpful and amazon apparently recieve very little complaints about them so if delivering to the wrong street is good service then thanks amazon

Tracy said,

Last week I had a card put through the door by parcelnet stating “we have tried to deliver 1 parcel, your parcel has been left in the garage”. This cannot possibly be the case as my garage was locked and normally always is. To make matters worse I was not expecting a parcel so I don’t know if someone else was sending me something and there was no courier contact numebr or parcel reference number to track down the goods. The only number on the card is for information on becoming a courier !! so I still have no idea what the goods are or in fact where they are !! not a good service.

Adam said,

On the 31st March Parcelnet came to deliver a package to my house, however no one was in to accept the package. So they left some crap form only saying they have left my parcel at 14 Blue Paper Box. Blue Paper Box is not my bloody road!! IDIOTS! There is no road any where near me called Blue Paper Box! So i thought mayb they left it at number 14 in my road which so happens to be no where near my house so why the hell would they leave it there!? Anyway i checked and they said no we havent had anything form Parcelnet. What a surprise! I’ve tried e-mailing them twice and they say they will get back to me about it and never do! their web site is absolute SHIT!! A kid could have done better than that! Where the hell are theiir contact details? This company is having a laugh! In fact how can you call them a company? They get on my nerves my package has been missing since 31st March! What a bunch of twats!

courier said,

just to add all couries should leave they name and phone number on the card, this is ewhat i do, this allows customers to ring me and i can call back or if they can not find the parcel i have left then i can tell them exactly whare it is.

mark said,

dear wonderful courier… i was sacked by my field manager for leaving a parcel in someones garage,i was self employed by she said they were withdrawing the work..i dont have a degree,but withdrawing the work means no work,no pay,in the real world this means sacked… on the drop cards,theres a box to tick for garage,but now the field manager said we can not leave them there anymore.. i have worked for this company when it was owned by sears (usa) over 10 years ago
you worked good friday as you have to,with no extra payment,just the usual 45p per parcel and usually you would then have the monday & tuesday off,but this year they said that you have to go and get your parcels on tuesday and you can deliver them or carry them over till wednesday,so dont try to make out your a top bloke for doing it..if you have a law degree then you would know that if you work a national holiday,then you are entitled to extra payment,
you cant have much of a degree as you who not be working for such a poor paying company

Temporary courier said,

Hi all ,
I am a temporary courier for parcelnet and I provide sickness and holiday cover for my local area .
Last week I agreed to cover one area for 10 days
At 10am on Monday morning I took in a delivery of 168 parcels covering TWO rounds – the nearest drop on one round was 15 miles from my home and the second was 25 miles !
Both areas were unfamiliar territory.
Luckily my son-in-law is not working and he agreed to do one round .
We were both out from 8:30am most mornings , worked all over the Easter weekend except Sunday and we delivered the final parcel this morning , we didn’t get home until dark and lived on takeaways all weekwhich is quite costly .
But my gripe is not with Parcelnet it is with the couriers who just leave parcels willy – nilly and on show to Joe public , do not bother to opbtain a signature od put cards through the door .
As you know Amazon req a signature for every parcel and I delivered one amazon parcel the other day to a lady who was amazed that she had to sign for a book from amazon as her courier just hops out of his car , engine running and dumps it on the doorstep .
Wonder how He obtains a sig ???
To all of you who do get late parcelsI would say only this –
Parcelnet is like a red rose – sweet smelling and looking good , infested with
pricks and full of shit !
But I love the job and love getting out and not being stuck in a chair all day .

Lorraine said,

I have been a courier for PARCELNET for four years now. I have been reading peoples comments on poor deliveries but I have to say I have no complaints and most my customers praise my work. The only thing I can say that I dislike about the running of the company is the procedure to deliver to us, as im typing this, my driver has only just turned up (12.30pm) and I know I will have parcels to deliver before 1pm but its going to be impossible to deliver them unless Im wonderwoman! I only work school hours because I have children, as some customers think that we HAVE to deliver a parcel when they request it like 7 o’clock at night!! Hello we do have a life without parcels you know!!!

Temporary courier said,

P.S I printed this off for my driver who picked up my returns this morning and it cheered his day up to read about Parcelnet in this way !!

mark said,

no one complained about my deliveries either,all i did was leave a parcel in a garage for a customer ,wrote garage on my manifest together with the drop card number from the card i left… no complaints made but my field manager stated that i was not allowed to leave a parcel in a garage… it have a box on the drop card marked garage,so you tell me about field managers
no one can slag off a courier,but parcelnet management can not run a parcel delivery business as good as parcelforce or dhl

jay said,

degs, most people here are complaining because there items don’t turn up at all or items they didnt order turn up or even are delivered to the wrong house/street not because they don’t agree on a delivery time, i would say get another job but seeing as you seem incapable of reading maybe you’re unable to do that, its the capable people working there i feel sorry for, if you’re worried about petrol prices maybe you should be doing a job that doesn’t involve driving- d’oh!

jay said,

what about catalogues, i know a good few people who deliver catalogues, is similar plus some catalogues use there own people for deliveries same as your doing but not actually working for parcellost so can’t be any worse

degs said,

RE jay.. never had any problems reading or with delivering parcels ..just understanding why people need to be so awkward ..deliver at a certain time ..its only a parcel and aslong as its delivered to a safe location then advised on cards its simple ..have you ever done this ? not arsed about petrol..diesel for me ..

degs said,

they need to go to specsavers jay ..

Courier Milton Keynes said,

I have worked for Parcelnet for 5 Years as a courier. I am very happy with my job. Where else could I get such flexible working hours. I pride myself on delivering my parcels correctly and on time. Most of the other couriers working from the same sub depot as myself do the same. My field manager is very helpful and visits me regularly and tries to address any issues I might have. Parcelnet is gaining new clients all the time, so we must be doing something right!!

sharon said,

Is it realy true that next are going to be leaving parcelnet?? If so YIPPEE!! without next parcelnet will go under just what they deserve. And courier at milton keynes you must have a good field manager, a miracle in itself, anyone else out there got a good field manager??
And the only reason parcelnet keep getting contracts is because they are cheep and greedy, they even took on world books who noone else would touch. Their greed will eventually be their downfall and I will be there to watch and enjoy.

Lewis said,

I’m tired of bus driving and thought Id give Parcelnet a go as a car owner/driver. For some reason they are reluctant to tell me what the they pay per parcel?

Any drivers want to spill the beans, please thankyou?

mark said,

plus they pay you 30p to deliver their bulk catalogue deliveries,about the same that the post office charges for a letter,but you will get 40p for a next directory as it is 3 times the size of a grattan/ffreeman/look again catalogue.

parcelnet is owned by a german company called otto versand who bought direct line (grattans courier) and speedlink (freemans courier) when they bought grattans from next who used to own them and freemans from american company sears.

they merged the 2 courier companies and came up with parcelnet.at the time,a lot of lorry drivers were laid off when they merged and now the same thing is happening as the company drives forward new sub depots,where the courier has to drive to ,to collect thier parcels each morning.
there are plans in the neath depot that a bulk catalogues will be sent there and the courier will then have to arrange thier own transport of the cats from the sub depot to their homes.
the field manager will deny this,but keep a watch in june when the cat season starts….
if you complain,the answer is simple…. if you dont want to do it,there are plenty of people who will

just give parcelnet a wide berth… save yourself..just say NO

Helen said,

Also having problems getting my parcel from QVC, delivery attempted on Thurs 27/4 and Tues 2/5, only work on Tues and Thurs every week. Card left but when i phone number on card I just get a recorded message saying to contact me relevant helpline, phoned QVC but they were non the wiser, card left on 2/5 says wil deliver on 4/5 which is a Thurs again so will be at work. AAAAAAAARGH!!!!!!!!

Lewis said,

Thanks for the info Lorraine!

Karen said,

I am a courier and just found this site. I can sympathise with the customers of Amazon etc but when we get 45p for a parcel we are certainly not going at specific times which would actually cost us to do!

Parcelnet are a load of greedy bastards – we have not had a review of our pay since Parcelnet was formed. The Barbie Dolls (that is our field managers) just give the standard answer – ‘that is the rate of pay – take it or leave it’. Sure thay have had a pay rise in the last 6-7 years!

As regards the phone numbers on cards customers are moaning about – these are our own home numbers. Parcelnet do not pay us anything for using our phones, our fuel comes out of our parcel fee, we get no waterprooof clothing, not even a clipboard. Whereas the Barbies, they get a car, all their fuel, a mobile phone and even clothes from NEXT.

So customers, please dont complain to the couriers, we are doing the best for what we get paid. Better to contact the company you are buying from and tell them what a crap organisation Parcelnet is.

Suzi said,

I’m having the same problem with Bon Priz as someone mentioned above. I’ve been trying to get my unwanted parcel collected since before Easter. But is it Parcelnet’s fault? The clothes have to be returned to Bon Prix “within 14 days” to get a refund. If the courier doesn’t come within the 14 days, Bon Prix don’t legally have to refund me. They seem to be a particularly scummy company anyway – rude on the phone and not replying to emails…

Lorraine said,

You have a point sam, Im sick of trying to squeeze big boxes in my car and I have an estate! I used to have a van but wasn’t happy with what it was costing me in insurance, diesel etc, so had a car. Used to struggle in the van when I had catalogues to deliver as well as parcels, I dont know how im going to get on in this car when catalogues are back (uurrggghh!). And the readers digest are an arse of a company as folk have not ordered stuff and its wasting our time and money! I am sure to check my payslips in future from the comment left by sharon as I suppose she is right as I never check as I trust (trusted) them. Does anyone get SQUASHED and BATTERED parcels in their delivery and the customers look at you as you are to blame or summat?

courier said,

reply to comment 58-mark, my degree is fine, i decided to start a family before starting my career so dont knock me. I am also studying for a second degree, shame you didnt get my brain then you wouldn’t be here complaining you would have a better job. As for getting paid more for working a holiday doh your self-employed you pay yourself. And NEXT have given us the contract until 2013, in the last year Readers Digest, book club, amazon, QVC, M&M sports just to name a few have all started using parcelnet so something must be working. I think these bad comments amount to a very small percentage of what people think, most complaints i get are not about parcelnet but the companies, its not parcelnets fault if next send the wrong item or amazon insist on a sig, or people dont bother to decline the editors choice so complain about receiving books they didnt order.

joanne said,

courier – You wait till parcelnet shit on you like they did mark, as for getting the contracts for readers digest and book club that is only because noone else would touch them. They are a cheap delivery option for a lot of companies but I think what a lot of us have a problem with is the way parcelnet treat couriers especially the barbies!! aka field managers they realy act like they are gods and this has to whittle down from their management who clearly give them the go ahead to act like this. It is all down to the “if you dont do it there are plenty willing to” attitude by the barbies that leaves a lot of couriers feeling underappreciated and down right pissed off.
At the end of the day it costs nothing to say thanks your doing a good job every so often!!

caroline said,

I came across this site having done a google search for parcelnet, as I’d ordered an item from Amazon, who alledged I could track my delivery. No chance of that since Parcelnet do not offer a tracking service. I became somewhat concerned when reading others’ experiences here about where my parcel would end up and I am delighted (not) to report that they came up trumps. Returned home yesterday to find a card through the door saying that they had left my parcel under the black recycling box outside the house, they neglected to detail the fact that underneath the parcel was a nice pile of damp leaves, damp from the massive monsoon-esque thunderstorm the night before, another one of which was due that afternoon.!! Not sure my netgear router would have survived a downpour under a plastic box with drainage holes in it… I will be writing to Amazon to suggest they use a different Company that pay their couriers to deliver the parcel more than once, so they dont feel they have to dump it somewhere. PS: I am going out with a courier (not Parcelnet) and fully appreciate the position this Co puts them in if they dont get paid to drop more than once. Cheers

Lorraine said,

I ve got to be honest, my FIELD MANAGER at the moment is a nice, helpful person, maybe dont answer my calls half the time but nevertheless, helpful. Thats more than I can say about my previous one, of which on the phone tells me I have to get my own cover (like if im gonna advertise for one in the local paper or shove notes through doors…NOT), or say goodbye to my holiday which i,ve worked damn hard for! But nice as pie to my face though, mind you! This new field manager (naming no names!) gets me covers of whom sometimes I have to interview and show the ropes, but dont mind because I get paid for it! We should all have field managers like her!

Dickie said,

Just received my first delivery from Next. Never been on their web before. Normallly this comes by Business Express at all hours. I was amazed when it arrived at weekend with a really nice looking courier. She was really helpful and promised to get all my returns and things I didn’t need. I wonder what else they can do for me!!

Good for Parcelnet you have made me a happy chappie.

Sam Spuds said,

Listen guys.
You think ParcelNet are Bad.

We get deliveries of all this shit in Northern Ireland By A Company called FAMAC.
Believe me tey are 10 times worse than ParcelNet.

You guys are lucky… Very Lucky!
And Famac Deal With ParcelNet as their Northern Ireland Couriers.

So we are TWICE Fu*%ed By Them!

ParcelNet are currently looking to open an Office In Northern Ireland, they were advertising in the Belfast Telegraph Job Finder.
Field Managers were getting Over £20K + Car + Meal Allowance + Benefits.

God Help Us All!

Sam Spuds said,

PPs: Some insurance info i found
may be helpful:

http://www.courierology.co.uk/courier-insurance.php

mark said,

how can they pay a field mis-manager £20,000 +car +meal and refuse to pay more than 30p for a bulk cat and 45p per parcel when petrol is £1 a litre.
if every courier refused to deliver the catalogues for 30p ,parcelnet would not get anyone to deliver them.. thats how they get new business like world books as parcelnet cuts the cost down to the bone ,but its only the couriers that suffer
DONT LET THEM TAKE THE PISS…. DEMAND MORE MONEY
after all,the field managers do

Frodo said,

in response to former courier

you state: that there is no legal obligation for ANYONE to be paid for these holidays at all. when you are EMPLOYED by an employer,
i never said that wasnt the case!. however being told you must work on bank holidays is still not ethical or entirely legal as when you are self employed technically you cannot be told you have to work any specific day, the EU and a majority of unions in britain and europe are currently alarmed at the practise of hiring staff as self employed workers and then demanding they work specific hours / dates.
my point had nothing to do with recieving extra pay at all just that if you are forced to work days that are national holidays against your wishes (religious or other) then you should contact the citizens advice
i myself have worked for two companys including parcelnet (can’t name other company in case) who preach this self employed malarkey and am currently involved (minorly) in a court case with the other company who demanded their staff work on xmas day to maximise sales!

parcelnet 7.5 deliverer said,

i drive the 7.5 lorrys and always leave the main depot at 6 am every morning and have over 300 parcels dropped off to the couriers by no later than 9:30 am. everything in the warehouse is very efficient, so can only guess as to the problem – the self employed couriers…. not paid enough

turkish said,

i have just ordered from amazon not knowing they use parcelnet, its been due a while and nothing, amazon emailed me a tracking number but there is no way to track it through amazon or through parcelnets site and this is how i ended up here. im not going to moan about couriers or the depot. but i have made an order and expect it to be delivered on time.

whether im in or not, there is a doorstep, a neighbour or a big enough letterbox for it to fit into, if i had contact from a courier, a note left a call, i would be more than happy to arrange something, i would be polite as always. but i’ve heard nothing from parcelnet or amazon. so what can i do?

Frodo said,

unfortunately the only thing you can do is to keep contacting amazon don’t even bother with parcelnet website or phoning parcelnet (you’ll have more success with a chocolate teapot) contact amazon every 3 days or so and when it has gone past a certain date (or they get sick of you) they will either re-send the item (probably through parcelnet!) or refund you

alternatively you could find the parcelnet manager for your area and threaten them with some blunt instrument, say a banana (changed for legal reasons)

mark said,

ok guys…. are you ready to deliver your kalidoscope bulk for just 30p each – about the same cost as a letter with the postman.

they were paying us that 7 years ago when petrol was 47p a litre

Skytower said,

They were talking about toast and eggs…

As you’d expect, off-topic guff will be removed, seeing as this topic has loads of valid comments that regular readers are trying to follow.

joanne said,

The statement by FIELD MANAGER no 99
Who does give you permission to be “little hitlers”? I felt like I was in another courier meeting, where by the way us couriers are expected to drop everything and sit and listen to our field managers talking shit for 3 hours(if lucky) whilst not getting paid. You may be a nice field manager and if so the following isn’t pointed at you. But I have had five (all moved area none left parcelnet by the way) and they have all acted like complete arrogant arsehole expectin me to just fit round them when they want to see me, NEVER answering their phones or even bothering to get back to me until they want something and what is the “we can always get someone else to do it if you cant” attitude about. We realize you cant keep every customer happy, of course mistakes happen and of course you have a criteria to meet and a boss on at you.
But that does not answer the question as to why so many field managers are incompetent, unhelpful, uninfluential, unconvincing and goddammit unhonest!!

mark said,

in responce to joanne 122,iwhen i was working for parcelnet as a courier,i found that when we had the new field manager,it was she who started to change things and i believe that she was doing it with the idea in mind to prove to her boss,the courier manager ,that SHE could make couriers come round to the companies way of thinking.a case of “dont worry about that,I’LL MAKE THEM DO IT” as when the delivery to the courier changed on 4th jan 06,and we had to travel 12 miles to collect them from the sub depot,run by her friend,we were promised £2 per day for fuel costs and 10p extra per parcel…. when it changed over,no fuel payments and an extra 5p on grattan,look again and freemans parcels only,no extra for NEXT who sends 60% of the daily volume of parcels to the courier… this is why the courier needs to deliver the parcels on the day of supply as on average it costs 15p to deliver each parcel,if he/she has to call the following day it means it costs him 30p to deliver a 45p item and if he has to call 3 times,they make no profit on that parcel.
the sensable answer is,ask the customer what time they would like the item delivered 8am-12noon 12 noon-5pm and after 5pm.if the normal courier only works mornings,then send him parcels with morning deliveries and offer late afternoon and evening deliveries to another courier but offer this late delivery only on mon,wed and friday.im sure that if they offered say 55p/60p for the late delivery,most coriers would say yes,if not,it would be easier to find a courier to do it and they need to find some permanant cover couriers for each area so normal couriers can have time off and be less stressed as each courier now has to find their own cover and no one will work for such low payments for a week.if each sub depot or area had such cover couriers,they could also be used to deliver items to customers who are only home during certain times as my mate works 8-5 in the day and then works 6.30 – 11.30 in a pub,so it is a nightmare to deliver items to him.
what parcelnet needs is field managers who can turn this company into one that can deliver todays parcels today

Skytower said,

A “polite” admin reminder.

Due to a few imbeciles (and if you’ve come back to read your comments, you’ll be reading this instead), comment moderation has been reintroduced. Apologies to those who are adults, and can participate in adult discussion without being looked over, but sometimes this has to be done. People here have issues with Parcelnet, others are posting to defend their company. Let these people have a discussion without me having to interrupt every few posts with bollocks like this.

A further note: posting under several different aliases will be considered as spam, and as such the spam filter will act accordingly.

Apologies for wasting your time thus if you’re one of the legitimate posters.

Lars Nielsen said,

Amazon in Japan offers free delivery to all orders over GBP7.50. And that is prompt delivery with one of the excellent Japanese takyubin delivery companies who re-deliver at a requested time in the evenings and almost never screw up the delivery.

In the UK it’s free delivery on orders over GBP20 and that’s with a slow service and incompetent couriers who cannot re-deliver in the evenings.

Why is Amazon UK’s service so much worse than the one from Amazon Japan?

john said,

I’ve just started working for Parcelnet ( 6 weeks ) as a cover and, having read through the thread, I’m shocked and surprised…. shocked because of the level of anger and resentment at this company, surprised because it bears little resemblance to the Parcelnet I have experienced so far … I hope they don’t have too many nasties in store for me !!
The driver always arrives between 8 and 8.30, except once, when an agency driver arrived at 9.45. My field manager is OK… always tries to help, and rings back if I leave a message… she’s even given me a £5 bonus each time I cover one round because it’s slightly out of my local area. She did say the dreaded “there are plenty more waiting…” threat… they are obviously told to say that to keep us on our toes, but that sort of thing is not unusual in my experience.
None of the customers I’ve come across have complained.. in fact they seem quite fond of the couriers I’ve covered for ( I’ve covered 3 rounds so far ). As for the Kaleidoscope brochures, which were last week, I did a lot of them on my bike…. it worked out at about £6 an hour, with no petrol cost…. not a fortune I know, but I’ve worked harder for less.
I just hope I’m not living in a fools paradise… I agree the website is crap, and I rang the local depot once and the bloke sounded like a complete moron, but he got me the info. I wanted in the end.
Anyway, that’s my experience… I feel sorry for all you couriers / customers if it’s really as bad as you say in your area, but I’ve got a sneaky feeling there may be one or two professional moaners out there…

degs said,

re post 108 mark.. I agree bulk cats should be paid at at least £1.. ffs how much money do they generate for the companies ..and hello do they think more than one delivery is required ?? attempt 3 times .. ha !

Ex Parcelnet Courier said,

Re Comment 132 well said well let’s all stop moaning and get on with the job and dont forget the sun cream.

Lorraine (courier) said,

‘Some’ customers seem to think we live and breathe ‘parcelnet’ and can make a delivery when they want it..eg at night etc…but dont they realise its just a job and we do have our private life to get on with like spend time with the family and household chores. You dont see royal mail coming back out the same day again to redeliver or at night, they only attempt delivery twice until you rearrange a delivery time or charge you 50p to have it delivered to a post office for your convenience! Its hard to get a doctor out on an emergency these days and they are paid a damn sight more than i am!! I bet all you employed people out like to get home at the end of the shift and put your feet up, well so do I! Im lucky as I only get a minority of customers who are like this but most are very reasonable and some do come to my home to collect their parcel if they are that desperate and they oblige. The odd customer has even left me their phone numbers so if they get a parcel just to ring them and not to attempt delivery cause they work odd hours and collect it at their convenience…

turkish said,

137. here here.

all we ever want is to get what we ordered when we are told it will be delivered. i.e amazon saying it’s dispatched the 4th i would expect it by the 6th. and so on.

we expect to get our moneys worth.

turkish said,

139, i think the point is Customers shouldn’t have to incure the extra costs of phoning you to arrange deliver, or to find out where it was left, or why it’s late. we have paid in advance for a service and thats the least we expect. because with out customers you wouldn’t have a job. fyi i’ve never received a calling card, your website looks like a 3 year old made it, so how can i make contact!?

i shouldn’t have to leave a note, when there is somebody in! it’s just a case of ring the doorbell please!

Sam said,

137 – working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week – pull the other one! Unless you are self emplyed that exceeds the European working time directive by far!

Anyway, when you get home after your 12 hours shift you wont want to be disturbed, so why should we couriers be expected after we have finished work go out again at our expense as we only get one parcel fee – 45p – to deliver someone’s parcel who has ordered something knowing they are out all day and made no provision for it’s delivery.

Lorraine (courier) said,

We do ring doorbells on all occasions…why wouldnt we? Thats pathetic..duh…as if we would drive to someones home or workplace, waste our fuel and time, walk up to the door and dont ring or knock…stare and wait, no answer! (i wonder why?) and walk back to the car and do the same again at the next address! I have been to homes and rang the bell, knocked the door loudly and i have actually seen someone in and they couldnt be bothered to get off their fat a**e to answer the door and wonder why they dont get their parcels…….

Lorraine (courier) said,

To set the record straight…I do not leave parcels in the road or on doorsteps…and to let you know…I dont deliver to you do I? So why tar every courier with the same brush, eh? Just cos you have a lousy courier doesnt mean to say we are all like that!! I have been doing it four years and had no complaints so far, from the company or customers about my work. So leave it at that cos this could turn into a nasty debate….

Confused said,

lorraine i’ve had similar experiences in different places with parcelnet and looking at the comments nothing was ever said about you personally dropping parcels off, the thing is they obviously pay peanuts so they obviously get monkeys.
maybe there are a few of you who deliver properly but according to the majority of people on here most people have to hunt there stuff down.
is that right?

Frodo said,

sam you are So a muppet
if im working 12 hours a day why on earth would i expect the items to be sent anywhere but where i work, it doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out.
it’s no surprise there are these problems when parcelnet employ people who could be outwitted by a glass of water

Lorraine (courier) said,

And for the last time…we are NOT employed by parcelnet!!!!!!!!!

field manager said,

Hi,
I am currently working as a field manager for parcelnet and i have been reading the comments on this site with great concern, firstly i would like to say that i agree that couriers are underpaid but as a field manager i have no influence in gaining pay rate increases for my couriers, all couriers moan constantly about poor parcel rates but what does anyone do…. on the parcelnet website there are numerous personnel e mail addresses that couriers can use to express their grievances, i would also like to answer a few of frodo’s comments firstly mr frodo most companies provide home delivery addresses for customers but sometimes it is requested that couriers deliver to business addresses that are accesible, i have a number of couriers that deliver to town centre businesses and endeavour to provide a quality service. All parcelnet couriers are self employed and therefore responsible for fixed penalty payments that are sometimes incurred when delivering to business addresses that are situated without parking facilities, as you can appreciate sometimes it is not feasable to deliver to your premises, many people work long, hard hours and are not always available to take deliveries so i would suggest you talk to your courier and arrange a secure delivery point where your parcel can be left.
Couriers get a raw deal, they are the face of our company and they get all the abuse from irate customers who are unhappy about one thing or another, if you are one of these customers then please contact the company you have ordered your goods from, it’s so easy to attack couriers on this site and i think anyone who has never made a mistake or who has never failed at anything should hold there hands up now ( at this point only jesus christ should have his hands in the air)!!!!! What im trying to say is stop attacking the easy targets ( couriers) and target the source of the problem (and this does not mean the field manager) but the senior management who control the purse strings.

Skytower said,

*puts teddies back in various prams, suggests that there should be no personal attacks, and allows a sensible debate to continue*

Lorraine (courier) said,

END OF………

Skytower said,

Thanks Lorrraine. I’ll be monitoring future posts very closely, and had already edited a couple of posts prior to yesterday – however, I was out all day yesterday, so they all got through the net!

COURIER said,

logistics ………not as easy as you think!…………..there is always someone or something that will stop it from being perfect……….the majority of people who complain are people who do not deseve to be customers……what would they do if they attempted three times to deliver without sucess?…….give some thought to how you can expect to have a delivery when there is never anyone in to accept it……….what a selfish bunch you are!

Skytower said,

To the user who attempted to post a comment as “Ann (Ex-Courier)” – personal attacks will NOT be permitted.

Ann (Ex courier) said,

Re 166 comment actually it doesn’t sum up parcelnet!
All companies have bad eggs! Just accept that Parcelnet handle millions of parcels a year…..they get a lot more right than wrong!

why would one of the most successful companies i.e. NEXT…RENEW THEIR CONTRACT WITH THEM…..BECAUSE THEY KNOW NO OTHER COMPANY COULD ACHIEVE WHAT THEY DO!

turkish said,

to Lorraine (courier) , why should you need to make contact with me, when somebody is in the house all the time!? just ring the doorbell, if you get no answer fair enough do what you do, back to the depot, wait for contact from the customer, but i’ve always had a flat mate in the house, yet i still hear nothing and my item isn’t delivered in time.

explain away please!?

angelfish said,

apparently your courier said he couldn’t finda couple of houses and dumped them in the post office, luckily the man who runs the post office managed to pass them on and was then unable to find a way to complain as the one phone number he found was never answered, you may not all be like that but your attitudes on here go some way to explaining things.
your job is to deliver to people………..yes?
fair enough some people won’t be in from time to time
but a majority of people are complaining because there parcels dont turn up, go to odd places or take a few weeks
every time someone says something you go thats pathetic or make it out its untrue, maybe you should get a job for parcelnets publicity department

Lorraine (courier) said,

Angelfish…so you are saying all couriers should be really sympathetic to and be dominated by customers? Arent we allowed to stand up for ourselves when we get the flack from all you lot! If I have a problem with any of MY customers I will sort it out in my own way. You sort out YOUR problem with YOUR courier! Thats all I can say….

Ann (Ex courier) said,

NEXT HAS RENEWED ITS CONTRACT WITH PARCELNET ………IT IS FOR 7 YEARS…….LONGER THAN USUAL!…………SAYS IT ALL…………..PARCELNET ARE A SUCCESSFUL LOGISTICS COMPANY…….ALL THE BETTER FOR NOT HAVING ON BOARD SOME OF THE EX COURIERS WHO SLAG OFF THE COMPANY ON THIS SITE…….

Jay said,

PARCELNET ARE A SUCCESSFUL LOGISTICS COMPANY? (lmfao)
is that right
PARCELNET ARE THE CHEAPEST DELIVERY COMPANY!
your customers may not recieve their goods as we employ monkeys and pay peanuts. but hey we’re cheap and cheerless!
and i have seen adverts stating “Next are currently looking into starting an exciting new inter company based courier service” and are advertising for supervisory applications so maybe they are keeping certain areas but doesn’t sound like they are confident about parcelforce (like the rest of us)

Lorraine (courier) said,

Frodo said,

i think the only person who doesnt believe next use parcelnet because they’re the cheapest is ann and i think ann is more then a little odd

Ann (Ex courier) said,

re comment 179……..incorrect information…….recomment 180………incorrect information……..re comment 181…….incorrect information……for your information……….they get the contracts because the service level is there…….and these third party clients renew their contracts because they are pleased with the results……..its not just based on the unit price…….most of you on here have no idea how it all works…..parcelnet also provide other services to these companies……your comments are pathetic……no one is forced to work for parcelnet………believe me Ann really does know what she is talking about……..

Billy said,

I too found this site while looking to contact Parcel Net.I have been on the recieving end of parcel net twice, both times have been a disaster. The first time is a while ago so I wont say what happened in case I don’t get it correct. This time they were collecting and were to phone and say when, no phonecall, we were out they called at the house and they just left a card which they haven’t filled out. we rang the No on it, it was an answer phone and full. we rang the No several times over a day and a half and have got different answer phones (different voices some make some female). What an unprofessional bunch. we have been able to leave some messages and have had no answers.

Ann (Ex courier) said,

RE COMMENT …183 AND COMMENT…185……ANN REALLY DOES EXHIST I AM AFRAID……I JUST HAPPEN TO BE A VERY CLOSE FRIEND OF A FIELD MANAGER FOR PARCELNET……..IT IS MERELY MY INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS!…..SORRY IF ANY OF YOU CAN’T SEE HOW PATHETIC SOME OF YOUR COMMENTS ARE…..PARCELNET MERELY DELIVER MILLIONS OF PARCELS …….NONE OF THEM CONTAIN LIVING ORGANS…..SO NO ONE IS LIKELY TO DIE IF PARCELNET GET IT WRONG SOME TIMES…WHICH THEY DO….THEN I DARE ANYONE ON THIS SITE TO NAME A LOGISTICS COMPANY WHO IS 100%….IT DOESN’T HAPPEN…..THEY ALL HAVE THEIR PROBLEMS SO WHAT….PARCELNET GET IT WRONG SOMETIMES………..HARDLY THE END OF THE WORLD…………..IF HOME DELIVERY FAILURES GET YOU ANGRY THE SOLUTION IS EASY…………….DON’T BUY ON LINE OR MAIL ORDER………GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND BUY IT IN A SHOP

Lorraine (courier) said,

APPLAUD..APPLAUD! ….Ann, your comment 186 was perfect! I couldn’t have said it better myself! Why are the people on this site slagging us off…we couriers just deliver for the company…and are NOT PARCELNET EMPLOYEES!!!! If you have a problem…get in touch with parcelnet and sort it out! Dont blame us..we dont take the order, pack it, send it to the appropriate depot do we? We (I) deliver on the day I get my delivery from parcelnet. And if something is missing in my delivery I inform parcelnet and then leave it in their hands, whatever happens from then on is not up to me. Who are people to judge me and my work when they dont know me or know how I work? ONLY my customers know that and I dont get any complaints from them…when I do..then I will do something about it! And as for the next contract…my field manager confirms that it has been won and if she is pulling the wool over my eyes..well..we’ll just wait till 2007 to see whos telling the porkies shall we?

TortElvis said,

why are you getting so wound up if you don’t work for parcelnet ann?
if this makes you so wound up that you start talking about yourself in the third person maybe you should avoid forum and chats.
you claim to know this person and that person but if you feel all warmness and light about parcelnet why did you leave?
who said anything about wanting a perfect logistics company, i think everyone would be happy with a reasonable one

Ann (Ex courier) said,

re comment 191……..who is getting wound up…..certainly not me ! Third person?….sorry lost me there!……..PARCELNET ARE A GOOD COURIER NETWORK…….WELL RESPECTED IN THE MARKET PLACE………AND BRANCHING OUT IN OTHER AREAS OF LOGISTICS AND WAREHOUSING ETC….. RE COMMENT…179……PARCELNET HAS TEAMED UP WITH PARCELINE…..NOT CALLED HOMELINE THOUGH…..THEY ARE CALLED HOMECALL…..!….AND TOTALLY DEPENDANT ON THE COURIER NETWORK AND DEFINATELY HAVE NO INTENTIONS OF MAKING THE COURIER EXTINCT!…….IN FACT THERE WILL BE A GREATER DEMAND THAN EVER………….BUT THERE ARE A FEW EX COURIERS THAT WILL NEVER WORK FOR THIS NETWORK EVER AGAIN…….ANSWER ME THIS QUESTION………………..IF YOU ATTEMPTED TO DELIVER A PARCEL….NO ONE IN ….NO NEIGHBOURS TO TAKE IN…….NO SAFE PLACE TO LEAVE IT……WOULD YOU GET FRUSTRATED?….YES YOU WOULD….ESPECIALLY WHEN IT HAPPENS THREE TIMES!……..PEOPLE WHO ORDER BY MAIL ORDER EXPECT IT TO BE DELIVERED…. BUT OFTEN GIVE NO THOUGHT ON HOW THEY ARE GOING TO RECIEVE IT……THEY EVEN TELL THE CALL CENTRE THE TIMEBAND THEY WOULD LIKE IT DELIVERED …..KNOWING DAMN WELL THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE IN……..HAVE SOME THOUGHT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO TRY TO DELIVER YOUR GOODS…THEY ARE ONLY HUMAN………AND TRYING TO EARN A LIVING ….THEY ARE NOT AT ANYONE’S BECK AND CALL…..THEY ATTEMPT A DELIVERY…..AND TRY TO DELIVER….EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE OUT…..YOU ASK WHY I NO LONGER WORK FOR PARCELNET…..
WELL ……SIMPLE REALLY………….I AM TERMINALLY ILL……

Lorraine (courier) said,

Well said Ann!!

Ann (Ex courier) said,

Well well there was me thinking ELVIS was dead……..Well I have said all that I want to say on here…….Its obvious that there are some people on this site that just can’t read….THAT THE PROBLEM IS THAT THESE PARCELS CAN’T BE DELIVERED BECAUSE THERE IS NO ONE AVAILABLE TO TAKE THEM OR NOWHERE TO LEAVE SAFELY…..I didn’t make any reference to what time they are delivered! odd times? don’t recall making that comment..sometimes couriers can’t deliver because they don’t recieve them….and don’t blame them that they are late……try contacting the company they were purchased from…..they don’t always release them on time!…..and with reference to third party?………you are entitled to your opinion……but unfortunately you know I am correct in what I say………..I rest my case……

Frodo said,

ann you don’t have talk a load of self righteous waffle, i don’t think tortelvis was just talking about you, and the point is this bizarre idea you lot have that we’re all complaining about you all not redelivering when the problems are
A:non-delivery
B:attitude
C:late delivery
D:attitude

Skytower said,

Don’t mind me. Just wanted to be comment number 200…

Frodo said,

Just shut up lorraine!!!
handbags at dawn eh?

not actually accusing you lorraine, in fact i never have.
like i stated yonks ago i have had one extremely reliable courier who worked for parcelnet for about 3 months,she left because of the fantastic pay(thats sarcasm ann), since and before then every courier and parcel has been a nightmare here and in my business partners office (which is in a different city).

turkish said,

im certainly not wound up ann, i simply would like a company to honour its commitments to its staff.

Lorraine (courier) said,

May I rephrase comment 205: I meant to state that parcelnet’s system is NOT at all brilliant nor any other delivery company as I have deliveries from other sources myself and wouldn’t rate them either and dont need to be told this by anyone else.

maz said,

Well…i have just found this site and WOW, im so glad im not the only courier with this company that has an endless list of problems with the company and field managers, can anybody tell me the real mileage a couier should travel to a sub depot, i have rang all the appropriate numbers etc and to no avail, not one person can tell me, basicaly they make the rules up as they go along and it suits them and them alone.

maz said,

Thats what i thought, only problem is its over 6 miles and they are saying ‘do it’ or else the usual words come out, ‘we can find somebody that will do’ me and a few other couriers feel we are being held to ransom, they sacked a sub depot, put us on home delivery for eight months, which in itself was better for petrol but late every day, and so we were rushing like mad to get the b41pm’s out as you dont start delivering till gone 11am it only gives you 2 hours and when you have eighty odd, well you can imagine what its like, then to be told we have a new depot and you WILL do it, is not fair in my eyes, why cant we stay on home delivery, and there is a depot nearer to us but the field mananger said no way, no help no reason as to why not, she lies and doesnt know her arse from her elbow, and we dont trust her to do anything, she is always cocking up our wages, which are bad enough anyway. i have been with the company for 6 yeaars and i will tell you its gone from a lovely job to you being very nervy as to doing something wrong all the time, they pick up on the most stupid things all the time but totaly ignore the way you are treatedand all the crap you do do for them and inconvenience they put You TO, ITS A DISCRACE NOW, BASICALY DO IT OR SOD OFF….
Something needs to be done, we dont have a good manager and we cant complain to her boss as she is so up hers she will just agree with her and you know you wont get any where, what are we supposed to do, i’m sorry for babling but any couriers will know what its like, you get so frustrated with it all, maybe we should have a massive courier meeting and gang up, maybe try a union or something….any ideas, all we want is to be treated fairly and honestly……just my opinion,

maz said,

re 201:- i agree with you, the most maddening thing with next is the b4 1pm and after 1pm, why the hell do they ask for it and Never be in, they think the after 1 means ‘the courier can read my mind and they will know im not in from work till 6.30pm when i get home from work, they also say after 1 and then a coment leave with a neighbour or in greenhouse or something….whats that about, why go in the afternoon if not gonna be in anyway, how stupid are they, i say next should get their arses into gear and say if you want b4 1 be in from 8-1 of after 1 you must be in from 1pm till whenever as i only work till 2pm, any after ones should be in technicaly, its so frustrating when you leave a card and they ring you at night and say oh i just got home from work can you bring it now…..er no way…they wouldnt do it with any other courier company would they, they would make sure they were in so why us…….not a happy bunny…i had a call last night at 10pm for a return, how inconsiderate are some people, i know i should turn my phone of but i need it on for my personal use.

Tina Richardson said,

I would like to say that i am a (part-time/cover) courier for Parcelnet. I have a real problem with my Field Manger who doesnt seem to give a shit about the fact I have 2 children and a husband who I would like to have a ‘life’ with outside of work, but yet I am bombarded with parcels to deliver after 12.30pm (cut off 11am) ( I also work in lunchtime hour at my eldest school) and therefore am behind at the end of the day as I have to do school pick up, come home put dinner on for when my husband gets home and therefore do not wish to be out delivering into the early evenings. I cant say that I have ever experienced any problems with customers (yet) but it’s just the Field Manger isn’t at all helpfull and will not help my cause but is more than willing to put me forward to cover someone else and give me all the catalogues to deliver. I have been doing this now for 7 months and am really getting fed up with the way I am being treated and also the fact I do not recieve a regular income as a permanant courier and basically feel ‘used’ so therefore I will be terminating my services for Parcelnet and will not reccommend anyone to work for them.

Lorraine (courier) said,

Good info tortelvis…I may consider that! But then, you will have customers complaining about that…the cost of calling the mobile and when they try to call at night, you will have it switched off and they will say ‘why have a phone if you dont have it switched on?’….You cant win can you!! What I do with my phone maz, is, after 6pm (as i print on my return sticker..call between 8am – 6pm) I leave my calls go to the answer machine and they will leave a message and if its personal for example….your family, they will say ‘pick up..its only ***’…all my family and friends know this so it saves all the up, down, up, down answering the phone all the while when you’re trying to eat your tea!! I know how frustrating it all is maz, I experience the same as you. Hope this helps!

sharon said,

Thanks Lorraine It just seems that most couriers are in some way being held to ransom by parcelnet with the “if you wont do it there are plenty that will” shit. The thing that people forget as well is that the self employed DO have rights not 100% sure as to what but I know they do.
A lot of my customers used to txt me I only had one customer who refused to ring my mobile and as he was quite elderly I gave him my home no with instructions not to ring after 6 oclock.

maz said,

130:- Ah 6 weeks yes i was enjoying it then to, give it time my freind, you sill soon be talking like us, mind you if you are only cover you may get away with it, but if you get a permanent round you will soon get the wrath believe me….sorry to disapoint but when you have done it for this long you get wise..

sharon said,

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues. You can call the Acas helpline on 08457 47 47 47 from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday

Skytower said,

IMPORTANT NOTICE

From approximately 6am on Saturday July 1st to 6am Saturday July 8th, all comments will be held back from appearing on the site automatically, and will be placed on hold. This is due to being on holiday. From the 8th, all comments queued will be checked, and approved (if okay), and normal service will resume.

Apologies in advance. It is only a week, after all!

maz said,

If anybody would like to talk to me via email you may email me with pleasure, i know parcelnet read this site and i think we need a bit of privacy. mazholt@fsmail.net here’s hoping we can get something sorted for us we couriers.

max said,

227, we do the job as it suits us, time wise and the bit of flexability it gives mothers time to look after their children, some people can only work part time, and i for one enjoy it as im outside and getting fresh air as oposed to sitting in a crappy office all day, i have done it for years and i don’t want to leave i just want to be treated fairly, if you worked for the company you would understand but clearly its easier to sit on your bum and judge people and is so easy to say just leave, why should people leave a job they like just because the company cant get it right, are YOU happy in your job, how many jobs have you had then, i bet at some point in your life you have stuck it out in a job you hated purley because you need the money or are you a peron who makes peoples lives hell at work to……mmm i wonder, it’s that easy is it….

mark said,

Any couriers who wish to aim for a fair rate for the work that we all do, contact me.

max {courier} said,

Here is something that i thought was interesting,
How to tell the difference between an employee and a self-employed person

The following factors will all help you decide whether you are an employee or self-employed:-

does your employer tell you what work to do and how to do it (even if you are left alone to actually carry out the work). Does your employer provide you with work, or do you have to go out and find your own work to do. If your employer controls the work to be done and provides the work, you will be an employee
how you are paid. If you are paid a regular amount of pay at regular intervals, rather than being paid per job done, this indicates you are an employee
who is responsible for getting the work done. If you have to find someone else, such as a sub-contractor or a friend, to do the work if you are unable to, this would indicate you are self-employed. If your employer finds someone else to do the work if, for example, you are off sick, this would indicate you are an employee
who provides tools and materials to do the work. If your employer is responsible for supplying main tools and machinery and materials, with you responsible for supplying only a few of your own tools, you are likely to be an employee.

If after reading through the factors under the heading How to tell the difference between an employee and a self-employed person you think you are an employee, then you will have a contract of employment. This does not have to be written down. A contract of employment is agreed between the employer and the employee and can be a verbal contract (see under heading What is a contract of employment).

Interesting eh, i think we are employed, they just say we are self employed to get out of paying tax and insurance, and so we won’t have any employee rights as they know dam well they wouldn’t survive the unions….

max {courier} said,

Employee’s right to written details about the employment contract

All employees, regardless of the number of hours they work per week, are entitled to receive a written statement from their employer within two months of starting work. The statement should describe the main terms of the contract of employment. You are entitled to the statement even if your job finishes before the initial two months, as long as the job was supposed to last for more than one month.

An employee who wants a written statement may request one verbally or in writing. It is usually best to request the statement in writing and keep a copy of the letter, so that you can prove you asked for the statement.

What written details must be given

The written statement must include by law:-

the names of you and your employer
the date you started work
the amount of pay and how often you will be paid, for example, weekly or monthly
the hours of work
your holiday entitlement, including how many days off you are entitled to and what your holiday pay will be, if any
how much warning (notice) you are entitled to if you are dismissed and how much warning you must give the employer if you want to leave the job
the title of the job
where the job is based, for example, whether you will have to work in more than one location
what the disciplinary, dismissal and grievance procedures are in the workplace
what sick pay you are entitled to
whether you can join the employer’s occupational pension scheme, if there is one.

The above information does not have to be included in the written statement of terms and conditions. It can be given in, for example, a staff handbook which all the employees can have access to.

An employer may try to dismiss you for asking for the written terms and conditions of your job, even though you are entitled to this information by law.

If you think that your employer may dismiss you if you ask for the written statement of terms and conditions, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau.

MARK said,

as a former parcelnet courier,sacked for leaving a parcel in a garage ???? or would not let the field manager give me shit!,i always read this page and can not believe the likes of ann when she defends parcelnet… i know offer my services to other carrier companies and i am better off.
if you follow parcelnet company news,you will find that they have now merged with parcel line to develope home call.parcel line have their own vans and drivers and with this new venture,they would not need sub depots or lorry drivers to deliver to couriers homes.
so if i was working for parcelnet,i would be asking questions about this merger to make sure that within the next 12 months,they will not be dis-using the self employed couriers and soley using thier own drivers under the company home call.

couriers beware as the management of parcelnet are very sly and would do any thing to regain the next contract which runs out in 2007

Lorraine (courier) said,

You’re right there maz! I asked about the pay and about a rise per parcel and all my field manager could tell me was ‘All I know is the catalogues have gone up’ and if I get a large parcel which I have to make a purpose journey for she did say If I told her I had to deliver it specially, she would pay me extra! Progress eh? But as for a rise she couldn’t tell me anything!

Lorraine (courier) said,

I truly sympathise with you degs…I gave my next cats to my cover to do! I cannot believe they get heavier each issue…and I was told they were trying to make them smaller and lighter…that was about 2 years ago, and to me I think that they have at least doubled in size! Getting smaller, my a**e!………

parcelnet worker said,

hi all . i work for a parcelnet depot .and yes i agree the size of the next directory is stupid .but also think of the warehouse staff and drivers who have to lift these cats each day.to load on the vans / deliver to all you couriers. not just 1 courier but our depot serves over 250 couriers.a driver may drop off at a sub depot and then have 10 drops after that and sometimes this driver never gets any help from the couriers/ sub depot apart from oh put these in the garage.ect.help your driver and he certainly will help you ..

maz {courier} said,

I farm mine out as i get at least 700 a time, i refuse to do it because of the amount of parcels i get on top once they start ordering, it’s way to much for one person to do, i also value my car suspention, although once the daily’s hit it’s just as bad, i can’t fit up to 30 a day in daily’s as well as 80-90 parcels a day in my car, it’s just stupid, i certainly won’t be doing them, this is why they are getting away with it, because we do it….i know for a fact that some areas are refusing to do them, come on people, if we don’t make a stand now we will always be walked all over, we all have to say no now, even to dailys, they are way to heavy for anybody and dangerouse, ask yourself how many times one or two have fallen out of the car door or boot onto you or your foot, yes it bloody hurts, and all the ink of them gets on your clothes and won’t come out, this is slave labour, i won’t do them…..is anybody with me….we need more money and now, before we touch them, demand more, remember you are entitled, …..

Lorraine (courier) said,

I know maz…i’ve had endless papercuts to my hands from these next catalogue packaging…….and I have had one or two drop on my toes when opening the car door as well!….damn things!

maz {courier} said,

242:- if you work for a depot why dont you complain to the management, your more likley to see them than us, we never see ours, i do help drivers and i am not a lazy person, and i do think drivers are put upon too, specialy if you don’t have a tail lift on your truck, what do they expect you to do, will they pay you when your of with a duff back, if your not an agency worker you are employed then you will be protected for sick pay etc and your probably in a union, if you are then lucky you, at least you have the right to say no and be backed, we don’t, we just get threatened with the sack, and don’t forget we don’t have fork lift trucks, we have two arms to unpack every box and load the car up with hundred of these dam things on our own and we have to get rid of the boxes and go to the tip, etc, i am not having a go at you i know you get the rough end of a bad deal to, if parcelnet ever looked at what they were doing to staff i think they wouldnt sleep at night.

temporary courier said,

P S . And who cares what the mokeys from Parcelnet see on here ??
I am shaking in my boots here ! – and when I say monkeys I do not mean all the nice overworked drivers I meet or the guys at the sub depots , or the lovely girls on the helpdesk – I mean the FM’s and above .
Hope you all have a good week – see you then xx

maz {courier} said,

I have never said all FM’s are hitlers or barbies, and i have said that i know you have a difficult time and you also have a job to do as we do, i can only presume you are one of the minority that looks after your couriers. you can’t blame couriers for having a pop, they wouldn’t be on this site saying what they say if they didn’t have real reasons, maybe the FM in their area’s should take a closer look at what they say and how they handle their courier’s that’s what we are saying, as you say we do work very hard and do go out of our way for alot of different reasons, and fm’s never see what you do do, they just pick a little things, but when you don’t get help from your manager just barked at all the time and no offer of help for anything, well you work it out, would you like it, no of course not.

All we want is a fair pay, and treated with respect, how is that to much to ask. And as for asking for a pay rise, yes we all do it all the time, and no we don’t get it passed on we just get the usual responce, sorry no can do, no pay increases at the moment, that’s not helping any body is it. i’m sure your one of the nice one’s we know they are out there we just wish we had one ourselves, you have to understand that the bad ones, do treat us like mud, and it’s the old saying, ‘tared with the same brush’ and i can’t speak for every courier either, i know we have our bad apples to, like you say always keen to complaining never to compliment, well i can tell you now,i do my job properly and have very happy customers, i never argue with them when whatever company cocks up their order when they are shouting at you, im always polite too every single customer i meet, always with a smile and i always leave saying ,your welcome,, even if its chucking it down.
There are so many issues to be raised that it’s mind boggling,all we want is to be heard fairly, i know this looks like a bitching session, but who can blame them, the fm’s don’t listen to them so what are we supposed to do.
If my fm was more respectfull to me i would give back more than a hundred percent and some, but it’s got to the point where you know what the answer is before you ring and wonder why you bother.At the end of the day we are all human and we ALL make mistakes at some point or another nobody is perfect, couriers or manangers, but i just wish we could be heard with an open mind and help those with real problems instead of brushing us to one side.
I know all the drivers in my area andso on, and i for one love them all, i get on very well with them, they have just as hard a job as everybody else, and they to have huge issues to, they need to be heard to.

I won’t leave the job because beleive it or not despite all the politics i love my job and it suits me, so why should i leave, speak to any courier that’s been doing this job for years and they will all say the same thing, yes we do have the odd one who keeps quiet and just does the job, we all did that at one point, but over the last 18 months the problems have just gone from bad to worse, that’s why we are here on this site, when i first read this i was so shocked at the responce of other couriers i had to keep reading, all i can say is i was so happy i wasn’t the only one, and the other couriers i know were to, we thought it was just our region, but no, its all over the country.

Well we all have the right to free speach don’t we so why can’t we say what we like, every body can say what they want here, no holds barred, if you have an oppinion say it….we are aloud…

Lorraine (courier) said,

I wish I had 41 cats in one street! Three at most if I’m lucky!…………..

Another field manager said,

Just a warning to all couriers ALWAYS check your wages, ring the, help? (name change me thinks from speaking to some of the dummies on the other end of the phone) desk and go over your wage with them.
FM

Skytower said,

MOD NOTICE: Please resist the temptation to call yourself something like “courier” or “field manager” to avoid being confused with other posters on this board. I’ve edited the above two comments to “another field manager” as a result.

I’m obviously not expecting people to use real names, but bear the above in mind when posting comments (particularly if you are a new commenter).

john { courier} said,

I have been told to have a look at this site by another courier, i agree with most of what couriers are saying, we do not get a fair hearing, my FM is just as bad but you have to plod on, i do agree with maz, we do need to do something and now, if you were employed you wouldn’t take it and after reading all this i am angered by the fact they are all as bad, obviousley one or two are ok, but on the whole things have to stop.
I don’t think people should be hurling personal insult’s either, some people sem to be attacking Maz….i don’t know why she seems to be the only one trying to help us at the moment, and putting the ground work in, i am going to mail her as you obviously can’t say to much on here, i don’t want to be told to ‘get a life or get a decent job’ that’s not what this is about, if your happy in your work, stop looking at this site, it’s of no use to you, unless you just like stiring up trouble.

Karen said,

Re Temporary courier: Oh the igorance of new cover couriers you say your field manager gives you extra payment (Have you checked??) Someone sounds very proud of themselves stop bragging about how many rounds you are covering or how much your wife earns we dont care.
You will just finish doing the 10 zillion catalogues you are doing then you will get another delivery of catalogues to be delivered to same streets you have just spent weeks delivering to.
You seem arrogant at the moment, see how long that lasts when you have to spend your wifes hard earned money on fixing the suspension on your car.
Finding a new job is not that easy and we all dont have or want to depend on our other halfs, its called self respect!!

maz {courier} said,

I have sent a few and have not had one single reply, if you look it’s all the same email address, customer services, not their direct email, so if they are filtered before they are forwarded, well you know they wont get them, i sent mine two weeks ago, not one reply from any, go figure………are we surpised.

Parcelnet directors, get a backbone and speak to us……….

mark said,

Do you see the story of the fruit pickers who got their point across ( very low wages ) by targeting the big customers Sainsburys, tesco etc etc who just do not want that sort of bad press.

Would we be better to do that to Parcelnet with such companies as Tesco,Amazon, etc,etc to explain what Third World wages we actually get.

I know that you could argue that we could shoot ourselves in the foot if these clients leave, but I am sure that Parcelnet would take more notice of these companies than us.

I personally would be looking at .85p per item as a just amount.

I read in another Message Board about 18 months back that £1.25 is the maximum Parcelnet allow for each item and that anything they can get away with paying us is a bonus!

Any thoughts ?

temporary courier said,

P S To the guy with the two terriers , please can I have my finger nails back ?

temporary courier said,

My point being is do I really care Maz – it’s called irony ( and that don’t mean what you do to shirts )

temporary courier said,

I do respect everyones opinion – my previous FM was a right cow – always trying it on wages wise and I used to get woken out of my pit by a nice driver who said he had a round for me , that my so called FM ( Forgetful Manager ) had kindly arranged for me to cover but didn’t bother to ask me if I could do it .
Now I have an excellent FM who keeps me informed and respects me and at last I have one with a sense of humour
So I am just venting my joy on here rather than my previous annoyance

temporary courier said,

Hey welcome new driver to happy Parcelnet – good time of year to start – cracking weather

degs said,

5p…..we got another 5p…….yippppieeee………………………………makes it all worth while ……(not)….hahhha

courierx said,

Hi all – just discovered the site – nice to see the discontent . Been a courier for 7 years and havent had a pay rise in that time. Only do this part time, have a real job too ,but it pays the school fees. I am truly fed up with it and am ready to leave – but would love to embarass parcelnet before I do – lets organise and get some extra cash.

joanna Watson said,

Hi

Having just stumbled across this, I would like to ask if there are any happy couriers working for parclenet, or is it just me!! Having worked for them for a year I have had no problems at all!! it works round my two kids at school and I have been able to take my 3 year old daughter with me saving on childcare costs. (lots of sweets and comics though) the people I deliever too and area’s I work in are nice as well, the only moan I do have is why cannot people have door numbers and ones that can be seen!

frank said,

hi as an courier for parcelnet next have renewed their contract with parcelnet so bad luck folks we have to carry on with next for another 8 yrs so i wont be long in leaving parcelnet as i have had enough as for field managers some are good (bill b) and some dont give a s**t like someone i know ([MOD EDIT: name removed]) as for pay rises well i have asked about them there was to be a review this year in march so whats happened nothing and we just carry on as normal and for the next cats when you get your bulk one and get paid 40p plus 5p bonus if delivered on time and next charge their custoumers £3.50 enough said

me said,

Quote:

We find the service offered by Parcelnet to be excellent and this is primarily the reason why we are using their services. The vast majority of our orders are usually delivered well within the expected delivery time, however, occasionally a package may be damaged or delayed, perhaps even lost during the delivery process. This is not a common occurrence but when it does happen, we take full responsibility and will endeavour to find a solution.

another courier said,

Are you having a laugh, do you not think it looks a bit to obviouse that that post is done be the managaing director….re 284…285…
come on parcelnet, we ain’t stupid…

notice they dont comment on the van driver churning up other peoples drives…..

frank said,

about the next cats they are thicker than the last ones as next have added a new furniture and electical section into them and still pay us couriers a pitance

MARK said,

how do parcelnet still find people like 253 to work for them for only some small pennies and he is happy with that because his wife has a well paid job,he can now have a poor paid job… i wish i could be like you,but i have this thing called pride.. just delivered over 2500 cats for hdnl and got paid 56p each one and they were smaller than freemans cat.. now thats progress
unless all couriers and sub depot operators stick together and demand a pay rise to 75/80p per parcel £1.00 large £1.50 heavy and large and 50p normal cat and 75p next cat then you will always be stepped on,i know that there are such fools like 253 who would do it for the current rates,but parcelnet can not run a logistic company with only a handful of fools.
this is something that you MUST WIN,,,best of luck to you all

Sharon said,

Agree with mark and glad you found a better paid job after being treated so badly by parcelnet. I just received my next catalogue and it is massive, couriers you deserve so much more. I like Mark have now left parcelnet after being treated badly for so long by them.
I wish Maz the best of luck but fear a lot of people are all talk (not you Maz) and live with the fear of “having work taken off them” (SACKED) If they speak up, but if the majority stand together the minority will join. GOOD LUCK Maz keep us posted

MARK said,

i was a member of the T.G.W.U and it cost me £8.00 a month,but because the other couriers working out of the sub depot wound not join and standby me,it was a waste of time.
best of luck maz.. hope the other couriers will stand with you and not5 against you for your round

Maz said,

Do you really think i get cats and not sort them before we get them, i bet you got more than 2 days to do yours??? then you cant do them all as we only got 65% of them got the rest a week later.

I don’t understand why some people are acting as though we are stupid, we are getting a bum deal, nobody cares at parcelnet, we need the union, and now, it only takes a few minutes to sign up so come on guys lets get to it, email me ill give you the details etc.

There is more in the pipeline to…wink wink…

john said,

Parcelnet are looking for couriers in northern ireland, can anyone tell me what way you are paid and how much

john said,

It is supposed to start in N.Ireland on the 1st September . Anyone know how much they pay?

Christine said,

We have just had our Next Cats ‘Mop-Up 1′ delivered to the sub-depot. I have 22 boxes and am expected to put them in my car over 2 days. How the hell do you fit those in a car along with all the parcels, particularly when the Next Sale is in full swing??

Left message for my FM to arrange delivery to my house, but of course the call has not been returned.

We have never agreed to pick up bulk cats from the sub-depot and needless to say there is no payment! Suggest you all refuse to damage your cars by trying to load bulk Next Cats in with your daily parcels.

If anyone from Parcelnet is reading this, the point has come for you to do something about delivery of Next Cats.

degs said,

Mention fuel payments and they take no notice…

Maz {courier} said,

I don’t know why you are being told it would be a week later, we have to try and deliver 3 times over consecutive days, i for one would not hold onto a box for a week, we only get paid to try once if we come back we have lost the money they would pay us for first time. i think you may have a cover courier there, maybe has not been trained properly, mind you saying that who the hell is, no field managers bother to train anybody and if they do its bear minimum.

We do apprecate that you had the run around as we the couriers have the same problem and we actualy work for them, we never get hold of our fm, they ignore us or bark at us. be patient with the couriers we are getting a very raw deal and bear in mind we dont get any pay for petrol or car alowance etc, we get a box standard rate for a parcel, less than 50p and if we go back again we have lost that money, you may be able to understand now why the couriers are struggling at the moment, with the price of petrol and no extra pay for this we can’t afford to keep traveling, parcelnet will not acknowlede this as they dont want to pay us any more money.
They go on the fact we are self employed so they abuse the situation all the time.

Im sorry you got the run around but the couriers have the same problems and more.

MARK said,

when i was working for parcelnet during the fuel protests,i contacted my field manager and suggested that we double up and deliver on monday,wednesday and saturday only to save fuel.i was told that this was unacceptable and i must deliver on a daily basis,no matter what,this is the mentallity that we had to put up with… by the thursday,they we low on fuel…sad or what..
parcelnet do not help their couriers in any way…every field manager i have met always start the job with a “i will make them do it,or ill withdraw the work”

Alan said,

maz,
why on earth do you still work for parcelnet if they are so crap, pay is crap, catalogue volumes too heavy, F/M’s treat you like crap, everything about company is, according to you, crap!! crap!! crap!! so why you still working for them, if I was so unhappy in my job I would be long gone, instead all you wanna do is moan and organise a revolt involving other couriers, well if your so disillusioned put your money where your mouth is and leave….. and let everyone else make up their own minds about their future with parcelnet. Also you can’t be that busy ‘cos you seem to spend half your life on this site MOANING and BITCHING.

temporary courier said,

I suggest that anyone who is unhappy at the pay rates should set a charge that they feel is worthy of the item and refuse to deliver it unless the price is right ! – After all we are all self-employed !
The current rates you get is what Parcelnet are willing to pay – all these comments of ‘ ask for a rise ‘ sounds like Parcelnet are your employers , they are not – Name your price and refuse if inadequate .
Also , good point Alan ( 310 ) very nicely put – but it’s not just Maz lol

r.w courier said,

someone has died after an accident.

Anonymous said,

I have worked for Parcelnet for over five years and i must say that the way the company is managed is dreadful!
The company wants to be up there with the big boys but to be honest they will never achieve this due idiotic managment desicions. Obviously i can’t speek for all managment but the ones i have had direct contact with only care about number one (the like it or lump it approach) I’m not a number!!!!! Ok i get paid to do the job but thats where in ends!
This company could really, really shine it’s got the protential but unforturnatly no one pointing it in the right direction.

liz said,

Just a word from a peed of courier, payment to us is so low ssome days its just not worth going out as it just does not cover the cost of running the car and secondly has any other courier moaned to next and there area manager about how heavy these new next catalogues are. There doing me in.

Area manager just has nothing to say about this

Maz {courier} said,

310…have a good read of the site my freind im not the only one, even after your nasty coments people are still saying what they want, not influenced by me that’s for sure, and i dont sit on here, i have a life you know, you stop bitching about me and have a cup of coffe, there are more important things going on at the moment dont you think……

I send my condolences to the family from Birmingham.

(lol) courier said,

janey, you deliver for parcelnet yes? Please tell me, how do you get a day off when you want it and know what parcels you are getting the next day? The only way I can do that is get a cover for the day or not to do the parcels on the day I receive them and leave them for the day after and so on. Is that the way? If not, let me know how to.

Maz said,

Well thats all new to me? we have no choice in the matter…it all says deliver today or stated day, and if we dont deliver the day we get them we are meant to carry them over, would take to long…

What does a courier agreement look like, can janey pop it on here for us all to read, it sounds interesting. has any body else got one, i got one of sorts 5 years ago but the only thing it said was that they were to sort out the cover and not us…but they wont listen to you when you bring that up….

(lol) courier said,

Good thinking….I’ll bear that in mind! But do you ever get called up for giving in late manifests? I have in the past and I know if I make it a regular thing, my luck I will get called up on it again.

Alan said,

maz,
firstly i am not a “FRIEND”….. secondly i did not make any nasty comments regarding yourself all i did was state a fact and that is you are one of the people who seem very dissatisfied with your job and therefore suggested that if anyone was that unhappy then surely they would have left their employment sooner, and in regard to recent events at birmingham as described on this site i would think that the focus for anyone so unhappy in their work would have the outlook as “life is too short to be so unhappy”. i too send deepest condolences to all involved in recentevents.

(lol) courier said,

Well said maz!!

Megan (Courier) said,

What an excellent attitude you have to your job………..you are an asset to Parcelnet……………..pity others couldn’t be as efficient as that!

Maz {courier} said,

I had a pigeon walk across a zebra crossing in front of me once, couldn’t stop laughing….lol

Michael french said,

Why is it that some roads only have one nameplate and it always seem to be on the side that I can’t see it and why when asked if their doorbell works they reply ” no ” and don’t seem to bother to fix / replace it or put a little note by it ??

pj said,

Parcel net have just “delivered” – ie thrown over our side fence -some books for my daughter – thanks very much you lazy wankers – the parcel is in in bits the books are ruined and no fucker at their distribution center in Glasgwo wants to take responsibilty – will be sending them back – cant wait for the courier to come round – he will be getting the parcel inserted the lazy piece of shit

mark said,

ordered a parcel on nextday delivery on sunday,monday nosign of it,tuesday no sign of it,wednesday no sign of it,called thursday and told that parcel is with local courier,local courier is my uncle,he has no parcel.call centre woman said that the parcel would be sent out thursday and i would have it friday and they would cancel the nextday charge (good as it was late)… friday no parcel,told that local courier has it,explained that local courier was my uncle,she came back and told me that parcelnet has it but cant deliver until the 16th of august..
maybe its because im an ex courier with them and they are delaying for fun,but here is a person who will not order from grattans,freemans,look again or next,until they use another company others than crappynet.

total wankers

sp said,

I had a phonecall from a parcelnet courrier at about 10am yesterday. Amazon 3 days ago had dispatched a package via. parcelnet, and he had rang me to ask for directions. I thought that this meant that he was on his way and the parcel would be delivered that day.

We live up a rough unmade farm road, and as soon as I mentioned that to the courier (as I thought that it would be of use) he suddenly kept going on about it, and eventually said see you later and hung up.

degs said,

books are easy to deliver…amazon we have to get a signature {}..the post office dont .. why not !

courier said,

Good question…I thought that myself as Ive seen amazon parcels left on doorsteps by royal mail. Why?

Temporary Courier said,

On rounds I have covered I ask people to sign for an amazon parcel and some tell me they do not usually have to .
But I do agree – do Amazon not trust Parcelnet ?? lol

degs said,

oh well me 2 week peace is over back to the hustle an bustle ….oh memo to self ..need more bin bags

mark said,

it sounds like pete from big brother has had dealings with the management of parcelnet……

mark said,

all he goes on about are w@*nkers…. thats not aimed at the couriers,just the parcelnet managers (lol) managers????? ha ha ha

Janey said,

Word of warning – after a problem with her telephone line, a courier in this area let slip that she needed the phone line repairing because she worked as a courier for Parcelnet, and that customers would be trying to ring her.

BT are now saying that she needs a business line for this use, and that she is breaking the terms and conditions by using her private line.

The business line is nearly TWICE as much as a private line, and it also means that things such as Freinds and family discount are not allowed, and as her BT Internet account is linked to her line this should also be a business account.

Wonder if Parcelnet will pay ?

Temporary Courier said,

adding to Janey’s word of warning I got pulled today by a PC who was behind me watching me kerbcrawl for a house name – Now I have to produce documents – good job I’ve hire & reward insurance as he kindly pointed out !

hey said,

hey people rite i work for the parcel net cour help dest,, and let me tel u this, most of the couriers do what they do because this is what they are told to do! if they recieve a parcel that is damaged it isnt there fault, thats how they are got it. they are advised to attempt a delivery, if u dont like it all u have to do is refuse the delivery.
and for the woman needin her phone fixin, when starting the couriers are told they do not need to give out there phone numbers to customers, this is there OWN choice! and the number they ring for the help desk is FREE!!!
amazon parcels need signitures because that is what amazon asked! it isnt the couriers fault!
and these people who moan cause couriers wont deliver the exact time u want em to.. think about it. why order from a home shoppin company if ur realy not going to be home? be realistic! go to town on a sat or summat

Temporary Courier said,

359 – yep – normal motor vehicle insurance is invalid if using the vehicle to deliver someone elses parcels for money – hence hire & reward – if some twat wrote your car off whilst you were delivering you would not be covered by your insurance , you’d lose your car & be prosecuted – , is more expensive but you can claim the excess as on yer tax .

Temporary Courier said,

I agree with you , but you would be out of pocket if one of those twats who are ‘ the best drivers in the world and I have the right of way ‘ runs into you ! .
I ain’t gonna risk losing £15,000 for the sake of a few £100 a year extra and all due to a parcel that I’m only getting 45p for lol .
As for the tax issue , I aint done the maths yet but didn’t pay any last year & I doubt I will this year , but at least I have peace of mind .
Which is more than I can say for Gordon Brown

Janey said,

You must have hire and reward ( or another wording might be used in your policy ), if not you are driving an uninsured car.

Janey said,

Direct line will cover you as part of their normal policy, but its best to ask if you are coverd for what you do, because if you make a claim, sods law says it will happen while you are delivering!

Dont mention the word ” Courier ” as most people see this as someone speeding about from one end of the country to the other driving like a mad thing, just say you deliver parcels for which you have all day to deliver in your own local areaand that there are no deadlines as such.

Also tell them that you do NOT want insuring for the loss/theft of the parcels, this is Parcelnets problem, they are insured for that, as this would really increase the premium.

courier said,

Im with norwich union anyway and when I had a quote for insurance there was nothing stating an insurance covering this type of work i.e goods in transit etc…

Very Miffed said,

How about mine then! They COLLECTED a return from me, I (sorry to say have misplaced the TINIEST return sticker), and have lost it. No info anywhere of a collection, me ringing to arrange – nothing.

thanks to that, i might end up PAYING £240 for the return that has gone missing!
Anyone know the number nearest to Bedford for Parcelnet

steve budd said,

I am a 7.5 tonne driver with Parcelnet and have been for almost two years now. I was alerted to the existence of this site by one of my couriers, and have for the past hour been speed-reading the posts here.

Considering the messages (at time of writing) number 373 – rather tellingly most from the same clique of authors – and the number of successful deliveries made each week by Parcelnet at a guess being in seven figures, I would opine that the Company’s service by any standard would be deemed to be high.

Obviously it would have been pleasing to have waded through the posts (which range from the odd compliment to the downright personally abusive) and read messages of congratulations and little else.

Human nature being the beast it is, if you do a job well your customers tell a few people about it – do it badly and they tell everyone.

Anyone posting on this site presumably is or has been at some time in their life, employed. Could someone possibly point me in the direction of a nationwide Company where they worked, wherein they had no interpersonal issues with any other employee, management were entirely sympathetic and helpful when they encountered a problem and the firm delivered on their promises with a hundred percent success rate? I would be most interested to learn the identity of Nirvana Inc.

I have noted couriers complaining in respect of the pay scale, but would point out that they were presumably fully aware of the rate prior to commencing the job – and if not, why not? If it is insufficient then you have recourse to a review, and depending on the answer the choice of continuing or nay as the case may be. Personally I have noticed that with more and more business being allocated to the “failure” that is Parcelnet, my couriers are earning ever- increasing monies as the volume continues to build. Naturally there are occasions when we all feel put-upon – drivers, couriers and doubtless field managers – tell me another company which behaves differently? I would however say that I have a certain sympathy in respect of the Next catalogues, which in my opinion due to the sheer weight and size should have an enhanced payment. Please be aware that I have to “handball” pallet after pallet of the blessed things, and I know precisely how heavy they are.

I have seen field managers (at least they purport to be, but without a real name it is difficult to know) complaining.

I have seen customers complaining. And really, in my view these are the only justified complaints on this forum which – unless I have sadly missed the point – exists solely to denigrate the undoubted achievements of parcelnet.

Common business practice dictates that in order to win new contracts (and retain them) one needs to be not only cheaper, but better than the competition. Plainly Parcelnet in the main achieve this – hence, and despite what others may have posted to the contrary – Next have renewed their contract for a considerable time to come and others have employed our services.

I have also noted that some contributors appear to harbour an over-inflated sense of their own importance when they state they have recommended their company shun any firm which utilises Parcelnet as the conduit for their deliveries. Were they to hold any real sway in the decision-making process they would be in upper management and as such would hardly be airing their views here, rather they would be taking the issue up directly with the Parcelnet board of directors.

Yes, of course there are gripes. I have problems with BT, Orange, my local council, the government etc etc. Nothing is perfect.

I feel it important to point out that although I may be regarded as a lowly truck driver near the bottom of the food chain, I can include in my curriculum vitae spells as ships navigator, regional sales manager for a national company, and directorships on three boards. I took up my current employment as I had a desire to earn a wage at a reduced stress level, and I thoroughly enjoy my work 95% of the time, which to me is a bonus.

I deliver to my couriers invariably within 15 mins of the same time each day and if it is later they all know that there has been a hitch of the likes of the vehicle failing to proceed or similar – they know I do my best. I occasionally am required to deliver to customers packages too large for delivery via car, and I make it a point to do so wherever possible, even if to a neighbour with a card advising the intended recipient of its location. It is a rare day I have to admit defeat.

Parcelnet has many dedicated employees – whether on the payroll or self-employed – whose families depend on the income generated to survive. Equally, as with all companies large or small, the odd one does slip through the net to tarnish the concern. I suspect their shelf-life is somewhat less than that of a free-range egg in your local Tesco.

Parcelnet are successful, and no amount of posts here will affect that, regardless of what the contributors perceive as telling blows. No-one in their right mind could possibly think a handful of (possibly quite rightly in their particular cases) disgruntled people can cause mortal harm to what is regarded as indispensable by all the firms who utilise us.

Janey said,

Comment by Very Miffed .

What was the item ? who was it from ?

steve budd said,

Sky Tower Moderator

For the purpose of clarity, I would advise I have not utilised a nom-de-plume. You have my name as it appears on my birth certificate and a genuine email address.

I own and moderate or co-own 5 chatsites and appreciate the problems encountered in doing so – particularly when the ones I am active on comprise DSC’s and bars, Admirals, Captains, MDs etc.

This thread has a certain relevance once the extraneous matter is pared away, but in all honesty half of it appears to me to be people sniping at other posters, which rather defeats the object – which in my naivety I took to be the attack/defence of Parcelnet.

I defended my employer from below decks on the basis that I have also been at the top of the tree and therefore can form an objective and rational view from all standpoints.

It helps to be able to view things from all perspectives from the customer, Md, management, foot-soldiers etc – not forgetting that just possibly the originating company may tell the odd porkie in order to pass the blame onto the delivery company.

But then I have seen no evidence in the postings that anyone has yet considered this may be the case?

bill said,

i also made enquires with direct line but no luck

Michael French said,

Janey , I’d double check that you’re covered whilst delivering Parcelnets parcels if I were you – £ 180 seems very low for fully comp .
Have a group 5 motor , a diesel 7 seater , £15,000 value 10,000 domestic & 5,000 business miles & 7 years no claims and mine is a 4 – figure sum .
But that is through a broker though , like I said worth the extra £50 a year for a personal service not some call centre .
Talking of which , anyone work for Next in a call centre ?? – my sympathies , you sound like a hanger full of battery hens – please check your system BEFORE ringing me and taking 5 mins out of my life and then discovering that the said parcel has already been delivered lol

Janey said,

I think you must be asking the wrong questions, I check every year that I am O.K. to use my private car for delivering parcels, and I explain ( to the underwriter if need be, asked to be put thru to one they will look at your individual circumstances ) what I actually do.

Hire and reward is seen as a Taxi driver.

Skytower said,

Steve – you’ve kind-of hit the nail on the head regarding the “aliases” matter – little short of turning this thread into a proper forum (something which I’ve been tempted to do, but not yet deemed a viable enough idea), then there’s obviously no way of using restricted membership. The general beauty of “blogs” is the ability to comment without having to utilise a signing-up process; turning it into a members only site would make it pretty pointless.

The following comment I’ve moved to this thread from one of the other Parcelnet threads to keep things tidy…

degs said,

at least parcelnet leave a card …jees went on to city link site to enquire were my state of the art mp4 players were .. purchased from a well known store ..no not humazon ,,,and was amused to find they had *attempted * a delivery at 18.22pm friday night and a card left …ffs the house was full of people and no bell was rung or card found …..one unhappy chappy tonight …

steve budd said,

Janey

From the weight of the sacks I deliver to couriers – heavily laden with Amazon books I would add – I would gainsay what you assert.

In fact I (together with other lorry drivers) have on numerous occasions complained that the sacks are intended more for chaps who enter phone boxes, change clothes and emerge with their underpants on the outside of their tights. Eventually it is to be hoped this will change and more sensibly weighted sacks will result.

The memos you receive (and I apologise for not recalling your previous posts at this time on a Saturday evening, but I assume you are a courier?) have as I recall merely advised a new contract being taken aboard on a trial basis.

In respect of Amazon, the trial was sucessful and we are now delivering a considerable amount of their books. Next decided to investigate the viability of doing it “in-house” but obviously concluded Parcelnet not only carried out the task more cost-effectively, but better, and so renewed their contract in the long term.

Whilst I deliver parcels (mostly in said sacks) I also see the returns, and there are a great deal of returns from recently-awarded contracts. In particular Readers Digest – with whom we obviously passed the trial period – who presumably are sending out the Editor’s Choice indiscriminately – and many of which are returned as “refused”. Nothing to do with Parcelnet – we deliver and collect as requested by the client.

As for any you may have had a memo concerning and who we do not deliver on a regular basis, I would suggest that the firms involved were testing the water to see whether it was worth their while switching to Parcelnet or A N Other from their current service provider.

You can’t win them all.

Personally I may have created a rod for my own back by posting here without using subterfuge to hide my identity – but then by using a spurious or unidentifiable name I would not feel qualified to comment.

Parcelnet have invested a 7-fugure sum in computerising the entire system, even down to scanners in their lorries. Initial teething problems have been encountered and are being addressed, but once these have been resolved I envisage a smoother-running operation which will attract yet more clients.

Sadly you appear not to be one of the couriers on my route.

steve budd said,

Janey

I am still delivering their goods to the couriers, so what makes you say that?

Even so, any delivery company does well simply to be taken on on a TRIAL basis. There may be a multitude of reasons as to why the trial does not develop into a full-time commitment – competitors undercutting in the short-term for one.

All I know is that my lorry is packed solidly every single day except Mondays, which are traditionally quiet in any event. Why is it that I was asked to work an extra day at Easter, if not for the reason that logistics dictated it would have been impossible to shift all the work otherwise?

If you are still working for Parcelnet, may I ask why you are sniping at them? Surely the sensible course of action would be to make your views known to management, and if no satisfaction is achieved then you need to review your own position. If said position is untenable then surely looking elsewhere for employment would be the logical step?

Denigrating in public the source of your income from the shelter of a somewhat untraceable monicker seems to me rather incongruous. If you are unhappy then maybe you should find another position, but to employ what in my personal opinion amounts to guerrilla tactics whilst still accepting the wages reeks of several unsavoury motives, and it would be interesting to ascertain which of the scenarios fits the bill?

courier said,

comment 393: I totally agree with you. I have the same response from customers. Readers digest are a problem. I hate it when I get them to deliver cause when I attempt delivery 9 out of ten times the customer keeps me there expecting an explanation from me of why they received this parcel in the first place and all I can say is ‘im just paid to deliver the parcel and dont work for readers digest directly, if you have a problem I suggest you contact them direct and sort it out with them as I am in no position to speak for readers digest themselves’. Most of the time they refuse the parcel and ask for no more to be delivered. All this just wastes my time and the customers.

Temporary Courier said,

You’re self-employed Janey not dissing you but hols & breaks are up to you – as for sickness – that’s up to ure field manager – it’s his prob – self-employed is a hella of a lot diff to having an asshole of a manager – if ure so unhappy why not get a job that ure happy with ?? which ties in with what steve was saying – basically like it or lump it ! – Head Chef / Parcelnet courier ?? – Parcelnet courier evrytime lol

Janey said,

Just one example, most people on this site say they get .45p per parcel, in this area, because 30 couriers got together, we get .65p, not a big increase I grant you, but nearly 50% more than most people say they get. Or to put it another way we deliver 1000 parcels £650, you get £450.

For the same work do you think that this is fair ?

Untill you look at the figures, you do not realise how many more expences you have to take out of your monthly invoice, and thats where we come up with the figure of half the min. wage.

The point that I was making to Steve, was that before he makes a comment, he should check his facts, how much would his wages be if he had the same costs as we do, the sick and holiday pay I listed is worth £2,400 ! (working on £400 per week).

I have no complaints about the job, only the pay.

All I ask is that you take a while to look at how much it is actually costing you to work for Parcelnet, the real figure, and you too will be shocked, and be asking for a pay rise.

Remember the memos you get telling you of new contracts, look at the pay part, ” You will be paid your NORMAL rate for these parcels”

Our NORMAL rate is 50% higher than what most people say they get on this site.

steve budd said,

There is one major difference you are missing here Janey. I enjoy my job and although it doesn’t pay as much as some I have done in the past, due to said job-satisfaction I cut my cloth according to my earnings, something I am happy to do in pursuit of a contented life.

Personally I care not how many drops I have to make provided I can realistically complete them all by the deadline. Unlike some, I do not complain when I am presented with “green cards” couriers have refused as being too large – to me it can represent overtime on occasions.

You on the other hand appear to me to enjoy the job but not the rewards and are not shy in telling all and sundry instead of doing something about it, such as complaining to the people above you. If that yields no result then the answer is simple – stop moaning and look elsewhere?

People are never happier than when they are complaining, and my couriers are no different in that respect. If they have a light workload on a Tuesday they complain about not earning any money. If they have a heavy workload on the Wednesday they conversely grouch that it is too much – notwithstanding that I point out it is an earning opportunity rather than a problem. One courier – who has what I would deem a medium-sized round – said to me the other day, “where could I get another job like this and earn the money I do for the few hours I work, and to suit my needs with taking and fetching the children from school?”

It is all too easy for anyone to take pot-shots at Companies, but few stop to think of the pressures on the directors who have to not only ensure their organisation delivers on its promises, but also to continually strive for fresh business in a dog-eat-dog world. They are the ones who have to worry that there is enough money in the bank to pay the wages and the bills, they are the ones who have to answer to the shareholders at the AGM, and they are the ones who have to try and subjugate their own personal worries when dealing with the workforce.

It isn’t all gas and gaiters at the top of the tree. It may be bad at the bottom, but believe me it can be worse at the top. Sometimes in life it is better to be high enough not to get your backside kicked, but low enough not to get your head knocked off!

I had rather hoped this would not turn into a personal thing, which is why I was reticent to post in the first place, however I would state that what I say here is of course my own opinion borne out of years of experience at a multitude of different disciplines as far as my working life goes. Let’s just say I can see all sides of the coin?

courier said,

I get an auth code janey and the helpdesk says ‘another readers digest AGAIN’ or ‘another book club AGAIN’. I bet the most calls for codes are for these companies!

courier said,

steve do you like your job? Cause I have had no end of drivers (excluding the agency drivers) and never been settled with what time they are going to turn up to my house cause they are new and dont know the round. I asked a few times why my drivers are always disappearing and the reply is, ‘they have left’, ‘its a crap job’, ‘cant hack it’, ‘treated badly’, you name it. Tell me please?

Temporary Courier said,

Think steve is right – why moan about the money so much ?
Too much of some peoples life is spent moaning about money – I reckon if you had £1 per parcel like me you’d still want £1.01p just to get one over on me & as for fully comp insurance @ £180 per year & covered while ure delivering Parcelnets property I simply cannot believe it quite frankly , I am not being personal in this Janey – you can think what you like of me – I don’t give a toss
As for Readers Digest’s unwanted – I still attempt delivery , get them to sign , give them a carded receipt & count the £’ssss

Maz said,

Janey, I agree with you, why do some feel the need to have a pop all the time, it’s getting so you can’t have an opinion about anything unless you are kissing parcelnets arse, then that’s ok, again we all have our own opinion, Steve stop griping and listen to what people are saying.
I would like to know what area gets a pound a parcel, i thought all couriers got the same pay scale? so why is it different elsewhere? we all do the same job. Don’t you think we have tried to get more money? never get anywhere, management won’t give us any more, what happened to equal rights and fair pay. Why can’t people worry about getting a low wage when they have worked for the company for years, I don’t agree with Steve at all, it’s all so easy to say move on, why should we when its not really the job thats the problem its the cost of living that goes up and not our wages????

permanent courier said,

I totally agree with you maz…well put!

steve budd said,

Maz

Your assertions are breathtaking to say the least.

Either that or I am on a different planet.

I was unaware that I was griping – maybe my command of the English language belongs to a different era and griping has had its meaning altered – rather I was commenting on 90% of the posters here doing precisely that. I like my job and have no need to “gripe”, and if I did and they were unresolved I would look elsewhere. Where I have had any issues which affected my working life with Parcelnet I have made my views known and thus far have achieved resolution.

The diehards gripe here – still taking the pay cheques incidentally – and do it from behind anonymity without the courage to identify themselves or to complain where they should and where it just may have an effect.

Does anyone seriously believe that bemoaning one’s lot on an independent chatsite will make a ha’porth of difference? Do any of the moaners actually think that a large organisation will give credence to opinions from people who not only appear incapable of putting forward a strong enough case to the people who might just make changes, but also do not even have the backbone to say who they are?

As they say across the pond – serious reality check needed here.

Jim said,

Blimey. So I’m not the first then. ParcelNet delivered to a flat two floors below me, equivalent of about eight doors down the road. Happens also to be the flat some of us are in dispute with about the noise. Anyway, they won’t open the door to me so I go to call on the card put through the door, and you all know the answer to that. Trawled for a number (Thanks Bob Jan 11th) and got another for you. The Dunstable Depot (01582 476 633) covers London, and apparently Elaine is the person to speak to. I was given 01582 696 870 as ‘Elaine’s’ direct number, but I suspect it’s just a fob off to an answerphone.

I got my package, through no help of theirs.

steve budd said,

Courier

I did get as far as a partial reply but one of my kittens wandered across the keyboard and I lost it – my apologies to all if it eventually shows up.

In response to your enquiry, I thought I made it plain that I enjoy the job. I cannot speak for others in respect of the attrition rate for drivers in your area, but I can with authority say that the job is not “crap” (sic). I have been doing it for just short of two years and the turnover of drivers at my depot – taking into account serious illness and relocations – is what I would deem low.

In any firm, those unwilling to pull their weight or who do the bare minimum required will always be subject to scrutiny. I am happy to carry out my work above and beyond occasionally and find management – and more importantly my couriers! – appreciate it. Hence I am largely left alone with few questions, and the job ergo is almost like being one’s own boss without the worries that entails. I get into my lorry in the morning, I do my job and I am left to my own devices to a great extent – that to me is the attraction, along with having nice people to deliver to.

I would be mortified if any of the couriers doing the drivers down here were on my route. If anything, they complain when I am off. Please let not anyone construe this as banging my own drum – I simply do what I perceive as my job – even though on many an occasion I have been advised I do too much. Needless to say such advice has been steadfastly – and will remain – ignored.

If you are going to do a job, do it properly and to the best of your abilities, or not at all.

I could easily have applied for countless positions with the qualifications to hand, but I elected to do what I do for the relative freedom it affords me in return for doing it well.

I have had it with taking orders from incompetents – period. Therefore I do not. That is why I am perfectly happy driving a lorry for Parcelnet, my couriers are (I think!!) happy, and by the lack of grief I get from management I assume they are happy.

The only stress I get these days is self-induced when I am running a little late through no fault of my own – but then my personal pride dictates that I endeavour to be at each courier as near to the same time every day as possible and a trifle earlier on Saturdays.

Any driver who thinks working for Parcelnet is dreadful really should spend a week working for the likes of Waverley wines in order to see how the other half lives!

Janey said,

Translation of post 414 – Yes, I am happy in my job.

Maz said,

Steve,

I’m afraid I fell asleep during your last post 414, seems you like to blow your own trumpet a bit to much, this is not a recruitment agency you know? And for your info we all do our jobs properly and resent you implying we don’t do the work properly. Get of your soap box and shorten your replies, its boring.

Temporary Courier said,

Janey – do what I do – do ure own round AM , then a cover round PM – get paid for both & ure fuel

steve budd said,

Permanent Courier

You are very wide of the mark when you opine that I advocate not complaing about your lot. On the contrary, all I have advocated is directing your energies where you might have a fighting chance of achieving something – doing it here among mainly like-minded people will change nothing, other than perhaps you let off some steam.

Maz

I am perfectly aware of what this site is – it is an open forum where people can within the bounds of decency express their opinions subject to the site owner’s censorship.

Just because my opinion differs from yours and many others should not grant you the right to stifle it.

If my posts are too lengthy for your attention span or they bore you there is a simple remedy – don’t read them. You have the choice. However, I do not criticise your prose and i would ask that you afford me the same courtesy.

The trumpet-blowing accusation is not worthy of a response, except to say that this is indicative of people unable to formulate a coherent reply.

I would however take issue with your assertion that I have implied you or others here are not carrying out their jobs correctly. Kindly point out where I have done so – I am most intrigued.

maz said,

425:- Your so right, we all know this site won’t get us anywhere but we all need to let of steam about problems now and then.

Steve,

Yawn, Yawn, Yawn…..

Skytower said,

Can we (at least try to) keep this off a personal level.

Many thanks.

maz said,

Has anybody seen the new manifests we are meant to be getting, more work for us I bet..?

Janey said,

What new manifests are these ?

Temporary Courier said,

The new manifests have boxes to fill , like a lottery card – one for the date , then you fill in one for either left signed or carded then there’s a H: for House No: and a C: for the card No: ( YES the card No: ) then the sign & print name lines .
Every manifest has to go back the next morning – and ivr codes will soon be available online to couriers instead of phoning if they so wish .
Rolls out on 13 Oct to coincide with Parcelnet commencing NI deliveries .
And yes I mean do a round AM and then 1 PM – been doing it for weeks

Temporary Courier said,

Maz – new manifest info is now in ure E-Mail

Temporary Courier said,

Not that I wish to bang on about the subject – this will be my final statement on it .
I saw a group of lovely policemen ( and women ) at a ‘ safety ‘ camera event today on my round and asked the driver of the traffic car if I would be covered by normal insurance and if not , what would I need ?
The reply was frank – it is not just social & domestic , it is for business use even if it is only one parcel a day , therefore you required by law to have hire & reward whilst you are carrying goods .
So I telephoned Direct Line and asked for a quote saying I only did 10-12 parcels a day in my local area and they wouldn’t touch me with a barge pole !!!

packhorse said,

Hiya Degs!

permanent courier said,

steve? have you ever considered becoming a journalist? for the times or something like that? Though, not the daily mirror or the local papers because they are an interesting read.

steve budd said,

steve? have you ever considered becoming a journalist? for the times or something like that? Though, not the daily mirror or the local papers because they are an interesting read.

Comment by permanent courier — Wed August 23, 2006 @ 2:24 pm

I think that comment speaks volumes – there are not enough pictures in my submissions – and generally sums up a goodly portion of the more garrulous posters here, who obviously can neither argue coherently nor persuasively and therefore resort to petty personal attacks.

I have yet to see – despite my request – any indication that I am in fact guilty of saying others in the forum do not carry out their duties properly. That is also a significant indicator that some here are shooting first and asking questions later.

Steve Budd

maz said,

I personaly send anything back that won’t fit due to volume for the next day and hope its quieter to fit it in, if its any bigger than a hoover you should not be taking it anyway, green card it, they know it should go on a van and are trying it on with us as we are cheaper, don’t get taken in by it. and check your manifest for large heavy etc, guaranteed it won’t be under the right band, always ring them to change it. Usually it has a weight on the box, always check for that first.
I won’t go back to a depot, it cost to much in petrol, 12 miles round trip and get offered £3 is an insult and would not cover the petrol so no way hosay…..

Janey said,

I doubt very much if Steve even works for Parcelnet.

steve budd said,

Maz

If you find me non-coherent and off-topic then you really are what I suspect and a lost cause at that.

Janey – no I don’t work for Parcelnet, I am actually the current Cabinet Minister for Parcels. That’s why I use my real name – check it out.

Jeez – you chaps really are something else. Someone comes in with a differing view to yours and the claws are out pronto because the cosy little coterie of carpers has been disturbed.

You appear incapable of advancing your cause, otherwise you would not be languishing here.

It is however worthy of note that in the absence of reasoned debate (which apparently is beyond some) the tactics of the playground come to the fore.

I gave up being bullied a long time ago.

Anyone who actually wishes to check me out, simply ask for my email address.

I have not sniped at anyone, and I therefore – rather naively it would appear – anticipated sensible discussion.

It would appear I erred greatly.

DHL Courier said,

i work for DHL now and again through an agency and basically i have never had any problems apart from some parcels having very poor addresses on them,also if somebodys not in when we deliver a parcel and they phone up the depot and were int he area we have to reattempt another delivery,also were only allowed to leave the parcels with neighbours unless previously aggreed with the customer.my only gripe about the job though is when people dont put on good enough addresses and then expect you to know where it is the most common problem is that the streets are badly numbered so you spend about half your day searching for houses,also delivering to tesco is a pain in the ass aswell when they have one of their trucks in i have to race to the one in alloa in the morning before 2 of their trucks get there in the morning.also do you get people asking you whats in the parcels? i get it all the time lol,
key point is here if u want it delivered pay the lil extra and use dhl or ups or someboyd who will get it there

Janey said,

Just F G or N on our manifests.

Maz said,

I delivered a parcel to a house last week and there was an amazon parcel propped up against the front door, delivered by DHL? just left there, in full view to passeres by. Yiou can bet if i did that it would go missing ha ha.

If the new manifests have more info on it will be a good thing, not a bad one, here’s hoping eh?

maz said,

Oh why did you mention chrismas…..it’s August. I’m not having a crimbo this year I want to go on holiday instead if i can arrange it, should be a laugh getting cover eh? Well you know FM’s think we drive a tardis so why disappoint them?

permanent courier said,

Steve – I have enjoyed reading your last post. …honestly! Thanks for the info on the newsletters as I have not had one yet and sometimes never do! And referring to the loads we have…yes its bizarre as to what we have to deliver and what you have to deliver to customers. They need a rethink…

degs said,

pmsl

permanent courier said,

Thanks!

Maz said,

Thanks Steve that would be handy.
Tshibo…well when i get one of them i know there is nothing in the massive box they have supplied so i open it and take out the minuscule item and tape the invoice etc to it otherwise it wont go in my car. I don’t care if they don’t like it, if they want it delivered it’s the only way to get it in my car if its full.

maz said,

Yup, nobody has complained and i do tell the customer, on the odd ones i do it with the item inside is always wrapped up i anyway so it’s not like i have opened their parcel as such, and they are pleased they don’t have to get rid of a huge box to. they actually than k me. it’s either that or they wait a few days until i can fit it in my car.

permanent courier said,

My daughters leg got bruised today cause one of them damn BCA parcels fell on her as I turned the corner!!

permanent courier said,

Ok…I understand!

packhorse said,

The sizes of the parcels are now my main concern( see my post 439). Have you noticed lately how NEXT are piling more into a bag and they are splitting? Yesterday and today, at our depot, a temp had 1 1/2 cages full but only 60 odd parcels. I wonder how many cages she will need when the volume increases in October. Will we all be expected to make 2 journeys per day to clear our round? At an extra premium of £2, I dont think so.

ps Hiya Degs!

Temporary Courier said,

Does anyone know where I can purchase – Zen and the art of turning your garage into a warehouse without moing house ??

steve budd said,

To the best of my knowledge the client companies package their own goods and therefore it would follow that the penny-pinching by taping two sun-loungers together in order to make a single payment only, is down to them and not Parcelnet. Remember, if I am correct Parcelnet also only receive payment for one package.

Anyway, back to the newsletter. I have a goodly number I rescued this morning, available to any genuine couriers by whatever means it can be transmitted.

However that is a moot point and one which I am unsure how to overcome. The problem we have is that most here use a nom-de-plume borne out of fear of losing their job. There will also be others who still harbour thoughts that I own Parcelnet and am spying. I am not, but anyone with suspicions will not know that.

And I have no desire to sit and type verbatim what amounted to a sizeable issue this time.

So, in order to impart the content, does anyone have any suggestions?

I have no problem with posting my email address here if anyone wishes to provide theirs privately for me to scan and email the mag to them. I have no fear of being called to account by my employer when as far as I see I have not transgressed. But then you have to make a leap of faith that I am indeed what I say I am!!

However, for those not in receipt of the newsletter, I cannot state strongly enough that this one had substance and shows on the face of it at least that Courier concerns are being heeded and hopefully acted upon.

I await your suggestions, as do approx 30 copies of the relevant publication.

permanent courier said,

comment 474: What do you mean about the volume increase in october? Do you mean the normal xmas orders or a new contract with companies of which I haven’t been informed about. Cause half the time I dont know whats happening..Im kept in the dark…

maz said,

Northern ireland is due to start the 24th September, they are recruiting now, there will be a depot in belfast, with bond deliveries, don’t have any numbers sorry. Hope it helps.

packhorse said,

Re:480

Fear not, I just meant the start of the xmas chaos!

maz said,

OOOH crimbo, sends a shiver down my spine that does….

Temporary Courier said,

Crimbo ?? – have worked every xmas day as an adult and will continue to do so – I f**king hate crimbo , but as me birthday is only a few days from it I party all the way into New Year & beyond !!
Read what you guys said about the overfull Next bags , one of them was 474 , I had one that was split this morn …. needless to say it already has a green card on it
And…… had to deliver a bean bag today ( was sat on my passenger seat all day ) and the customer was so , so delighted to recieve it she was bouncing like Tigger – to me it was HORRID – it looked like re-digested Chicken Korma followed by a glass of claret , and an avacado .
If I close my eyes I can still see it lmfao , and she was happy ??

Janey said,

“I have therefore launched a major project to look at the whole area of courier payment to understand how we can reward more whilst not affecting too adversely the overall business” so says RICHARD MARTIN.

Hows about geting rid of FM for a start,Richard, I have never worked out yet what these overpaid clowns actually do.

This would not adversely affect the overall business.

Maybe a good idea for a comp. in our next newsletter, ” What Do FM do ? ”

Heres a start ( 1 ) Dont answer phone

(2) Go on holiday a lot.

(3) …… Have to think about anymore !

steve budd said,

Janey

Do you know what a Field Manager’s job entails?

What do you think the impact would be if they were eradicated?

Such as, when a courier cannot work and cover is required?

If you are advocating one tier – couriers only – then I have to say regardless of the company, it is ludicrous. There has to be a management structure in place. Granted, in life some people are promoted beyond their capabilities – it happens all the time!

steve budd said,

Janey

The FMs I have had dealings with have to my knowledge on occasion reacted in much the same way as you say, but faced with a flat refusal inevitably sort it out. Do not forget, if a round is undelivered questions are asked of them!

I have to say that my dealings with them have been satisfactory and I always try to work with, rather than against them. Admittedly I answer not to them but my depot supervisors, although I much prefer a friction-free life where I can not only get on with what I am paid to do, but hopefully make life easier for everyone involved – including myself!

As for the visits they make to you, I was under the impression they are required to do so every quarter?

maz said,

As for the 3 month visits i can say i have seen her 2 times in over a year, i want to know, who the hell signs my 3 month document when its due as i know i don’t, is that illegal?, I’m sick of hearing that she has no time to visit, it’s only in her interest to come and see me, she says, do you have any problems, thats what I’m here for, when you tell her, well its a blank face, very negative answers and ill mention it in the next meeting…..yeah right, so basically nothing is ever ever done, no feed back Nada nothing. waste of my time in fact, so i can probably understand why they don’t bother coming in the first place, they can’t be arsed is the real answer.

andy said,

I am not a courier although have done some in the past. I work for Drive Assist, delivering cars to customers who have been involved in accidents.
I work 50 hours a week for £5.05 an hour. Sad isn’t it that we all have to scrape a living whilst the big boys and civil servants get richer.

Janey said,

I had to laugh at post 496- maz.

” They have no time to come and visit ”

What the hell do FM do with their time, my FM thinks that her contracted hours of 40 are PER YEAR and not Per WEEK.

I go back to a newletter from three years ago, which described Mrs ……. …… as the new ” FA ” for our area, was this a Freudian slip do you think ?

Janey said,

The problem is Steve, is that you are looking on this situation from a very privileged position, OK, we all know that there are ” Processes ” in any organisation to deal with any grievances, in fact, it is estimated by CWU that an average employee, for which you are one, has 350 rights to protect them.

We on the other hand have no rights whatsoever.

So we will continue until changes take place, if this means embarrassing Parcelnet in public about how we are paid and treated, then so be it.

Changes will come about when large organisations such as Amazon,Tesco and Next who are all very ” Bad Publicity ” sensitive are targeted about these issues, and that is our aim.

So the message to Parcelnet is sort it out now, or have questions from these major organisations such as ” Why do you only pay your staff half the national legal minimum pay ? ” and ” Why are the majority of your couriers driving round delivering OUR parcels in uninsured cars ? etc etc.

PeterY said,

From the looks of the comments so far, I’m surprised Amazon and other large organisations are using ParcelNet. They are the only delivery company that has refused to deliver in the 10 years I have lived on a farm at the end of a 1/2 mile dirt track. Prior to the refusal to deliver, the courier covering the area made arrangements to delivery on one day and turned up the day before and complained we were not there to receive the goods.

Janey said,

Steve, where did I say that you were a member of the CWU, the CWU is a union for post staff and BT workers I was simply quoting from a TUC survey which the CWU promoted that says the average employee of a company now has nearly 350 advantages ( such as sick leave, discrimination , holidays etc ) as compared to UN-Contracted staff.

Now I call that ” Privlidged ” when compared to our status, unless you opt out of these do you ?

FIELD MANAGER said,

Well said STEVE could not of said it better myself……one thing I have to add though……FIELD MANAGERS ARE PAID TO INTERVIEW PERMENANT COURIERS…..(NOT COVERS) IF THESE PEOPLE ARE PREPARED TO DO COVER WORK THEN GREAT… BUT IF THE COURIERS TAKE THE TIME AND TROUBLE TO READ THEIR SELF EMPLOYED SERVICE CONTRACT IT STATES THAT COURIERS ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO TAKE WORK NEITHER IS PARCELNET OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE WORK….WHICH TRANSLATES AS THE COURIER CAN REFUSE WORK IF THEY WANT A HOLIDAY OR ANY TIME AWAY FROM THE BUSINESS BUT IF THEY FAIL TO PROVIDE A COVER THEN PARCELNET CAN OFFER THE WORK ON A PERMENANT BASIS TO SOMEONE ELSE…….AND THAT IS LEGAL!……..FIELD MANAGERS CAN BE ASKED TO INTERVIEW ANYONE WHO WANTS TO NOMINATE A SUBSTITUTE WHERE THEY WANT THEM TO BE PAID DIRECTLY BY THE COMPANY IF THE MANAGER IS UNABLE TO TRAIN THE NEW PERSON THEN THEY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE A TRAINING PAYMENT TO THE COURIER WHO CARRIES OUT THE TRAINING….BE ASSURED THAT PARCELNET OBIDE BY ALL THE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS….

Janey said,

Cant really see what your post has got to do with anything that Steve has said,or for that matter what anybody has said, but hey, never mind, thanks for proving my point, that we have no rights whatsoever.

Are all the FM mafia trained in threats and intimidation when couriers ask for days off ?

LOVE THE SHOUTING BY THE WAY! I THINK WE CAN JUST HEAR YOU OVER HERE!

P.S. Heres a tip – if you got broadband connection you would be able to post on the internet AND answer couriers phone calls at the same time !

SEE YOU!

Sorry see you!

Janey said,

I deliver to a really bad part of this city, red light area etc, whenever anything goes off in the papers, its usually in this area of the city.

What makes me laugh is the flats have main doors about a foot thick, more like safe doors, cctv, intercoms with cctv, no man land doorway, which means only one person can get in at any time.

All I have to say to get in is ” Ive got a parcel for you ” and im stright in.

Makes all this security seem rather pointless !

Temporary Courier said,

And forgot to say – thanx skytower for giving me air time – I appreciate it

Maz said,

‘Quote
‘BUT IF THE COURIERS TAKE THE TIME AND TROUBLE TO READ THEIR SELF EMPLOYED SERVICE CONTRACT?

HELLO…..what contract, are we meant to have one?????????
If so why hasn’t my FM bothered to give it to me…and if that is the case how come not one courier on here knew about this cover problem, new rule you made up no doubt, if you took the time and trouble to read all the post’s you would note that nobody knows this, or is this just another rule made up as you go along scenario generated by parcelnet’s { make it up as you go along courses} ….????? I have a scrap of A with a few words on it telling us we don’t need to get cover its the FMs responsibility if you don’t have one…is that a SELF EMPLOYED SERVICE CONTRACT?
Classic…..

And as for the ‘couriers can refuse work at any time’ of course we can, and have hols, but when you come back you will have no job, if we cant possibly provide cover and we are going on hols, you can sack us and give our job to somebody else, tell me FM how do you see that a a fair hearing??? Well at least you can go on holiday safe in the knowledge you have a job to come back to. We just worry that the cover is doing our round and that they haven’t left.

I for one would like to see this contract, as i haven’t got one i don’t see why you expect me to work to the rules i can not see nor have in writing.

Skytower said,

Temporary Courier – post 514 – no problem!!

And, btw, Janey in post 517 is referring to post 515. Bit of a problem when comments don’t get moderated immediately – tends to throw such numbering out to meadow a bit. Sorry!

steve budd said,

Janey

The reference I made to CWU was based on my interpretation of your post, which could have been taken to mean either I was a member of said organisation or I was an employee. I elected for the wrong option.

Maz -As for couriers taking a furlough and having no jobs to return to, I must confess to not having seen instances of this on my patch. Doubtless it does on occasion occur, but surely this would be the exception and presumably only carried out when a courier is derelict or unsatisfactory in certain other respects? If the contract referrred to by Field Manager exists (and I have no reason to suspect it does not) then you are entitled to a copy and should have been aware of precisely what the working relationship entails. Whether you agree or not to the terms appears somewhat academic, as being self-employed the only real recourse would be to withdraw, which would rather defeat the object.

To Chris, the N Ireland operation is scheduled to go “live” on 24th September and they are recruiting now. I do not have telephone numbers but the recruiting field managers are John Martin and Lorraine O’Hagan. My suggestion would be to try the help desk on 0800 919535.

steve budd said,

Temp

Would you rather they hadn’t have bothered? After all – many of the couriers DO have children?

Damned if they do and damned if they don’t.

Janey said,

How dare you Temp. Courier, the newsletter is very useful, this Summer I wouldnt have been without it, for some reason I was left six copies.

How else would I have started the Barbee ?

Cant wait untill November the 5th, hope they hurry up and send me some more.

packhorse said,

re 525:
John. I work approx 4 hours per day for Parclnet . I am retired from full-time employment.I pay a self-employed NI stamp and claim the appropriate expences via the self assessment tax system.
I am self-employed( ask Parcelnet) but I am not in control of my business, Parcelnet are.

john said,

These are some ot the questions you will be asked when you register as being self-employed.According to the inland revenue you cannot claim expences if you are not in full control of your business,
none of you are when you work for parcelnet

If you can answer ‘Yes’ to the following questions, it will usually mean you are self-employed.

Do you have the final say in how the business is run?

Do you risk your own money in the business?

Are you responsible for meeting the losses as well as taking the profits?

Do you provide the main items of equipment you need to do your job, not just the small tools many employees provide for themselves?

Are you free to hire other people on your own terms to do the work you have taken on? Do you pay them out of your own pocket?

Do you have to correct unsatisfactory work in your own time and at your own expense?

If you can answer ‘Yes’ to the following questions, you are probably employed.

Do you have to do the work rather than hire someone else to do it for you?

Can someone tell you at any time what to do or when and how to do it?

Are you paid by the hour, week, or month? Can you get overtime pay?

Do you work set hours, or a given number of hours a week or month?

Do you work at the premises of the person you work for, or at a place or places he or she decides?

permanent courier said,

I did too skytower and Im self employed…just because I dont have premises and a van with my buisness name on does’nt mean Im not self employed…I offer my services to parcelnet and get paid for it and declare my earnings to the taxman as a self employed person!

Janey said,

I think that Parcelnet are on very, very thin ice, if we are contractors, why havn’t we got a full and proper contract.

My other half used to work as a contractor for WHsmiths Wholesale, delivering newspapers to newsagents from 12.30am to 04.00 in his own van, and was self-employed.

His contract was issued every six months, if they didnt like how you did the job, your contract want renewed.

The contract was 25 pages long, and coverd everything.

This is what we should have.

packhorse said,

John, it’s as simple as this.
I am self employed, Parcelnet provide me with work and the appropriate documentation to do it. I provide the transport and the petrol etc and they pay me according to their rates.If I was in control of my business I would be receiving a lot more than bloody 40p for delivering a 6ft long rug or a hoover or a lawn mower…….
Believe me Parcelnet do have well stitched up.
When completing my self-assessment tax return I deduct my expences from my gross income to leave a “profit” on which I pay tax. I do not have prove that I am self-employed.

john said,

Packhorse
I am a courier delivering parcels just like yourself.
When i started to do this the inland revenue would not allow me to claim expences against my earnings until they where satisfied that i did run my own business.As a result i have the parcels delivered to my home at a time that suits me. I have three rounds , because of the increase in fuel costs etc i do two rounds on a Wednesday and Friday and the third round on a Thursday and Saturday agreed with the company. All parcels are delivered within the time agreed.
I do not deliver parcels on Monday or Tuesday .I deliver 4 to 5 hundred parcels each week.We are talking at the moment
for an increase in the parcel rates,i do get more for delivering a hoover or a lawn mower.You can see the difference when you have full control .As you will know by reading i do not work for Parcelnet

FIELD MANAGER said,

Just a note…..I am a real Field Manager……but not able to reveal my true identity as against company rules…..but I truly believe that Parcelnet is an excellent logistics company…….despite what has been said on this site…ALL couriers would of signed a courier contract for services…..we as managers have a legal obligation to visit the couriers every 3 months……a courier performance file is held on every round it tells us everything we need to know about the service level that the courier is providing…..when the parcel is delivered and what type of delivery was carried out….whether manifests are being returned on time……whether NEXT are satisfied wth service level……whether there are any customer enquiries ie as a result of insecure deliveries…..or whether parcels are being lost as a result of either being missorted or being stolen…..dodgy signatures..etc….we also have a record of what the % of parcels being returned to the company via the courier…
I have 71 rounds in my territory and proud to say I have a very good working relationship with all of the couriers …I pride myself in my work as a Manager and have never in all the years I have held that position have I had anyone complain that I do not endeavour to support them…my mobile is never switched off…..my couriers are very respectful and only contact me after 6 pm in an emergency situation…..sadly I know that there are other Field Managers who earn the same wage as myself who do not support their team …..but please ……do not tar us all with the same brush….

Janey said,

Steve, if the clowns at Parcelnet were doing their job as they should be, we should have all had one anyway, and shouldnt have to ask for one thru the back door, what a shower the people who run Parcelnet are.

Dosnt it tell you something of the fear and intimidation that couriers feel, when they wont ask for one, incase their identity is found out.

I would also ask all couriers to demand to see their own personal file, if only to right the wrongs which I am sure their file will be full of, I have NEVER given my permision for such information to be held, and I will be demanding to know what it is, whats on it, and if couriers finish, whats done with this information.

steve budd said,

Well I have revealed my name – I see nothing in my contract which says I cannot, and in law the only thing enforceable as far as I know is the divulging of industrial secrets.

Before I throw out the newsletters, I will make the offer to scan and send via email. Yes I could be a spy in the wildest of imaginations. I am not.

I also know of no way for me to ascertain a geographical address from an e-address, so if anyone wishes, please indicate and I will post my private email address where you can give me yours and I shall oblige.

Janey said,

It just shows how little Parcelnet know about what goes on in their own business, I have never seen a FM for 18 months, infact, I dont even know if its the same person.

If you are saying that a FM has to prove that she has been to see me every three months, what is this proof, should I sign something?

If this is the case it would be very intresting to see who has Actually signed this form , or when my FM came to see me.

If you are saying that

Janey said,

And there you have it folks, this is what we are up against. a typical rant to a couriers question, my only surprise is that the FM ( or FUBS as we call them ) acutally got up of his/her backside and replied at all.

Did you get a refund ?

sharon said,

Field Manager, you are just proving a point that we all share about you field managers (arrogant arsehole must be your middle name). I tell you what, you are the one with the attitude problem and if you were my FM I would be down at the job centre. Now go away barbie unless you have something constructive to say you are not helping the cause of the FM’s or parcelnet.

FIELD MANAGER said,

You have missed the point completely Janey & Sharon……Parcelnet pay me to provide a good courier network with a good attitude….you are clearly the sort that
I would not want on my team either!
RE COMMENT 549 Its not Parcelnet’s fault that a freephone number is not available for mobiles!……Field Manager’s don’t work in an office……..they are out there trying to make sure that couriers are providing a good service…otherwise we would all need to visit the JOB CENTRE lunk head!
RE COMMENT 538/547 You may well be a permenant courier on my territory and if so your words are appreciated….

degs said,

Unhelpdesk…dont you mean..wasted 30 mins friday and 15 yesterday trying to get through to them to report unsuccessful deliverys to factories which dont open on saturdays (thanks amazon)and its a 3mile round trip each time which is costing me money to deliver if its not open…grrr got fed up of hearing the music…and no chance of any help of the fm…5 days a weekworking only ..hahha

permanent courier said,

re 550…nah…I’d know my FM from miles away! Shes a nice person…I have had three of them so far..first was ok..second..absolutely DIRE..and third time lucky..could’nt ask for better!! You may have been my second!! I think its funny what some of the drivers say about them…its wicked!!

Janey said,

Drivers usually make the same comments about FM.

(1) They call them ( as I do now ) FUB’S, the U stands for useless, can anyone fill the rest in ?

(2) Most FUBS are failed couriers, they coulndnt do the job so they make them FUBS.

(3) A driver once showed me a FUBS full job description and list of duties, I said ” theres nothing on it , its just blank A4 Sheet “

Temporary Courier said,

Can feel Corrie calling – I thought this was gripes from recipients of deliveries from Parcelnet couriers AND the couriers defending themselves – plz tell me where it all went into slagging each other ……………….

steve budd said,

Having been the recipient of personal onslaughts here, I can only opine that it is not only unncecessary and unpleasant, but also shows an inability to put forward an argument logically and persuasively.

In my case it immediately dilutes the credibility I afford the opinions of the poster.

It is also productive only in the increase of systolic and diastolic presure readings.

Janey said,

RE:561

Words that just do not go together,

Parcelnet,Field Manager, Professional.

Words that DO,

Field Manager,Backside,Sit,Allday,P*** Up,Brewery,Organise.

degs said,

wow its gettin hostile in here ..:’(.. lets play nice people

Skytower said,

Comment 561 (FIELD MANAGER): I don’t use the term lunk head….I am more professional than that….

Oh, and I still refer you to comment 557 above. A response would be polite, if anything.

Temporary Courier said,

Well , I got a four-figure cheque last month , this month I get my Next ( STILL TOO EFFING BIG ) cats payment as well as my normal – fair days pay for a fair days work ???
I think so …………..
And why all the bitching peeps ??
Can’t we all play nicely ??

Janey said,

How much do you get per parcel Temp. .45p ( band 2 ) ?

packhorse said,

Good thinking Maz. it is more than a coincidence that Next have began loading more parcels into the bags since the new contract. As usual the couriers end up getting conned. I wonder what the outcome would be if all of the huge time banded deliveries were so tightly packed with parcels that they all ” accidentally” split at the seams and had to be returned damaged. Just a thought!!!

Temporary Courier said,

Lol Janey – no I didn’t mean £99.99p – My round is 50p per item but I have always got a cover round on the go somewhere or another & the rates vary as I live in the countryside , sort of , it is up to £1 but I also get fuel payments & special payments for special deliveries from next when a customer is chasing a parcel .
The cover round I am on now is 19 miles to the nearest drop and 22.5 from my last drop on it .
Subsequently , I use a lot of diesel , but am not in it for the money .
Maz , have you noticed that Grattan have started cramming bags ?? .
And why do Grattan send dinner services through us ?? – this last week I have had three seperate ones for the same customer and every one got sent back damaged !!
And don’t even start me on Tchibo lmao

Eileen said,

Parcelnet courier through parcel over an eight foot high gate at the back of the house while we were on holiday. It containted an electric toaster……so glad it was not glasses!

chris said,

Anybody know what the price bands for delivering parcels and catalogues+collecting returns parcelnet finally have new inproved website where you track your parcels email enquiry

steve budd said,

Perm Courier

I think it likely that Parcelnet are acting on instructions from the originating company, who often do not updaye their records swiftly enough following a returns collection. I get them on occasion with large items, when I recognise an address and wonder what the customer is sending back this time, only to be told I collected it a fortnight before.

My understanding is that far from wasting your time and fuel, you can claim payment for a wasted visit, which I assume in turn is passed on to the offending company.

maz said,

You can ring the helpdesk and they will put a wasted journey on for you, problem is there is no code etc, and by the time you have been to the address with the petrol and time then ringing the helpdesk you certainly wont make any money on it , specially if you have to go back again and then find out there isn’t one so two trips is certainly a wasted journey.

I hate it when next mess up, they send you one day for a return only to find your going the next day with a replacement parcel, that really gets my goat. and with next new customers you deliver one day then guaranteed you will get a catalog for that address the very next day, it’s just not right, remember if you haven’t delivered there before then just take a cat with you too, will save you money in the long run.

I don’t see what the website has to offer anybody, nothing has changed really as its all just boasting about parcelnet, what tracking number, must be a client thing, no help for the couriers, i suppose it is still in the early stages, bet it does not change in the next twelve months though.

packhorse said,

re: 575
I simply do not belive that a company with the volume of Next operate out of one depot We have had no correspondance regarding this and we should have had, as it is reducing the number of parcels which we deliver but increasing their size.

Janey said,

What you will find (as with everything with parcelnet ) its only when you start hiting them in the pocket that they will do anything.

If any couriers get a bag that is larger than the ” Normal ” bag size, ring helpdesk up to upband, when picking up returns, split, according to how many return slips the customer has.

Janey said,

Ring help desk up and claim WJA for returns already picked up, if you have been three times before customer tells you this ( if customer out on all other trys ) claim it three times, i.e. 65 x 3 £1.95.

As far as RD go, you get paid for delivery, paid for return, so thats £1.30 for one delivery, I think they are a great company ( tee-hee) .

Janey said,

Next are third party clients, but we are also third party couriers, any item that couriers consider to large, get helpdesk to upband, or just simply ignore time and date slots due to ” Insufficent Price Paid For Service ” and let the customer know the reason on delivery.

This will not go against you for your bonus, next will soon get the message.

steve budd said,

Skytower

Interesting hiatus!

And I have not yet had the tin-tack for giving my real identity.

packhorse said,

C’mon Janey, don’t be so bashful.
My real name is Peter Ackhorse. There see, nothing to worry about.

dave said,

this is awesome! I was searching for jobs as a parcelnet courier and found this site. won’t be applying now but I do have a bit to add.

I work in customer services for a multi national company that has recently switched to using parcelnet to as our UK outsourcer for deliveries. Small – medium parcels nothing bigger than a large book!

We previously used a company that delivers in vans not using self employed drivers, who we all thought were crap because customers were always ringing to complain about abandoned parcels.

Things are no better or worse now really. we were expecting a big improvement in customer satisfaction, cos like you have said, if the delivery service is poor it reflects just as badly on the company you ordered from as the courier service itself.

As a customer service rep, I can tell you the following,

Even though the delivery service is outsourced, although we didn’t actually deliver the parcel, if there is a problem with delivery we expect and advise the customer to contact us directly (us and we being the people you bought your goods from).

If the parcel has been abandoned in a ridculous place – and we have had some extreme examples of “Delivery” places – then we will register a complaint with the courier company on your behalf. (The percentage of complaints is written into service delivery agreements and it really is monitored by those whose job it is to do so.
It was the high percentage of customer complaints that made us switch from previous suppliers to parcelnet in the first place!!!)

anyway, if your parcel was damaged when you got it we will send a replacement and collect the damaged one.

However, because we can’t guarantee when the replacement will go out (most places can, we just don’t do next day deliver its ten to foruteen max 28 days), we can’t collect and deliver at the same time.
But that is our fault, not the couriers.

If you get something that you didn’t order, ring the company it came from, not the couriers. It is them you have the agreement with and they should pass on any specific delivery information to the couriers for you. So ideally you should only speak to fluffy customer service people who should bend over backwards to help.

Also most cmpanies will either send you a label to return the parcel free of charge at teh post office, or if you ask them to collect the parcel you didn’t order, be really specific about where you are going to leave it, or give them times that you are likley to be in.

The problems usually arise when, like the comany I work for, we can’t call the courier and tell them where to leave it, and we can only pick from a drop down menu or type house numbers of neighbours. It’s our fault the info doesn’t get through. we send out letters to custoemrs giving ll these options (shed, garage etc,) and then there’s an “any other location” box, and people tick this and write “In the black box on the back door step”. Which is enormously gelpfull, except we poor folk on the phone at the coal face have no where to record this information!! we can’t do it because whoever designed the systems we use didn’t build that fucntion in and it has never been updated. We keep hapring on, but the trouble is customer services is outsourced too – we are a separate company and cannot have any real sway- there’s no way to communicate the problem and outsroucing leads to two companies having different objectives for the same thins and trying to work together – it doesn’t work stuff is always fucked up!! phew!!

that said, most companies you order from should be able to pass on your sepcific instructions.

But please don’t abuse the courier if you get stuff you didn’t order – they have absolutely no way of knowing you didn’t order it – ring the company who sent it. If they don’t collect it within a certain period you can keep it, or bin it or whatever you like with it!!!

Also, it depends on the company you order froms policies whether they need a signature or not – it must do because we do not request a signature and customer’s always say – he didn’t get a signature that’s outrageous!! – not his fault its ours!!!

Oh, another thing, if you beg and plead you can sometimes get the company to send your stuff via royal mail – this can somtimes be done – dunno about eveywhere else.

Also the address is sometimes a total mare!! Our company uses royal mails PAF system and has a link with that to ensure all addresses we have are correct postal addresses. You would be amazed how different your designated address is from the one you actually use, and which probably gives a much clearer idea of where your house is actually situated.

Many cusotmer’s give incorrect postcodes and include large postal towns that aren’t actually there ostal town – even though it is the town that’s nearest them!!

this leads to chaos because our contract with royal mail for letter deliveries means we must use this system (it is the royal mail that allocates your address, not the council or anyone like that) everytime we change the address, at a customer’s request, to one that will enable the courier to find your house, it automatically reverts back when the system next updates!!!!!

Crazy isn’t it??

Anyway, in nutshell, complain to the company you ordered from, not the courier company – it is their job to deal with your complaint and replace stuff if it wasn’t where they said it was, or is soaking wet from two weeks hidden in a rose bush.

degs said,

Had a next return an was given a black bag to put a sticker on .. on asking how many were in the bag she repiled 9 boxes …..soooo i took it home and split it into 5 returns … an as for readers digest … what a pain they are !! but easy to deliver

Janey said,

Once again Steve, try and actually read the post, I think you will find that there are six items on that list, and not one.

Janey said,

Yer, right Steve, you just believe what you want to believe, when your ready to join us back on planet earth from whatever world you are in, please tell us……

P.S. When was the last time you had the HGV checked over for unhealthy amounts of diesel fumes entering the cab, just a thought.

Janey said,

Thanks for confirming that for us all here on planet Earth Steve, it does explain a few things about your very odd posts.

Don’t for get to phone home.

Temporary Courier said,

Hear hear Skytower …
And there’s me thinking this was Eastenders omnibus edition and not the Steve & Janey cabaret show – Oh well live & learn .

Skytower said,

Yep, there’s been a few problems but it looks like (touch wood) all is back to normal.

packhorse said,

Thanks Rich,
Would you deliver four hoovers and two fitted wardrobes in your car for £2.60?
One word answer prefered.

mike said,

parcelnet is the greatest

bill said,

merging with that gratton shite was the beginning of the slide into the poor company we are. SPEEDELINK & FREEMANS never worked to these poor standards.

victor said,

One word from Richard and you all go quiet. why dont you air your complaints now you have the boss reading them.
To Richard no doubt Parcelnet is viewed in the market place as a leader in the provison of high quality home delivery services but it seems to be run by Mickey Mouse and his friends at Disneyland.
I would like make one comment one your post re- Ad hoc.
It generally signifies a solution that has been tailored to a specific purpose and is makeshift and non-general, as opposed to general solutions. It can also refer to an improvised and often impromptu event or solution “on an ad-hoc basis”, as opposed to well-prepared ones. When i read all the comments on this site i have come to the conclusion that Parcelnet have not been prepared for the success they have achieved and have made up the rules as they went along.Which has lead to so many unhappy and underpaid couriers.
I have no connection with Parcelnet or any of their employees or couriers

Temporary Courier said,

My FM is off sick ( get well soon M8 ) and I don’t appear to have a FM to cover him.
So Richard , can you please ensure that my cover rounds parcels actually reach the sub-depot rather than just the manifest , or do I have to ring Southampton depot again to arrange it myself ?
My permenant round is 954403 and am currently covering 957054 – if you could sort this out for me I would be grateful , kind regards ….
Meanwhile , back to the real world ….

Hey Skytower , what was the answer – ie: was Megan and Field Manager the same person ?? Have I missed something ??

Lol degs A holiday is when your parcels don’t turn up and have nothing to deliver

packhorse said,

Check out these delivery rates:

Parcelforce – up to 20k £11.65

Business Express – 2k-5k £6 + vat
5k-20k £7 + vat
(no courier service at weekend)

Parceltogo £7.50

Parceline – std b/4 10am £35
b/4 noon £24.50
next day £19.75
Saturday surcharge £18.00

PARCELNET £0.45

I rest my case!!!

Chris said,

I heard it may the 13th Oct the new service starts in in N Ireland anybody know the correct and also how much they pay for parcel
as the courier department at parcelnets head office can not tell me.

FIELD MANAGER said,

This will be my final entry as after reading comment 623 from Skytower…………you are oblivious to the problems that logistics have ……the ‘OTHER ‘ companies have their problems too……..but then of course you dont work for those do you!…….I totally stand by what Richard Martin has stated…….if we took another stance then maybe Parcelnet would not be in exhistence for much longer…….its a tough world out there…very competitive….but ask yourself this…..why did Next stay with us?…..not because we are cheaper….but because we are GOOD at what we do……………and the best thing that you wingers can do is leave Parcelnet……If your attitutude is such then we can do without you…….no one is forcing you to work for us…….is it that you like the fact of flexible hours or is it that you don’t have what it takes to hold down a 9-5 job?

packhorse said,

Re:624

I’ll tell you why Next stayed with Parcelnet. It’s because their couriers are the only ones stupid enough to accept 45p for delivering 1 big bag containing 4/6 parcels.

Maz {courier} said,

‘FIELD MANAGER’ what happened to that being your last post? you may well be one of the nice managers, but unfortunately i and many others are not that fortunate, you too are taring us all with the same brush to, judging by your comments, wingers etc, not nice words, of course you will get criticized if you use these kind of words against us. Also i never said you were my FM and i never said you yourself had a senior courier.

I just got it, we are just numbers to Fm’s, performance results just about sums it up eh.

AND STOP SHOUTING THERE IS NO NEED””” DEAR….

Christine said,

Dear Richard Martin,

I have been a courier for 15 years and have been generally happy. This entry is civilised and for your information.

It is the size of the parcels now that causes the couriers problems. Before Next started treble packing their hanging goods and using much bigger bags, I used to get about 80 parcels per days and did two delivery runs to my area.

Now I only get about 60 parcels and have to make 3 trips per day, so I am earning less and using more time & fuel than I used to. So, as we are self employed, profitability is down considerably.

All of the orginal companies now have bigger bags & parcels and all the new companies tend to have boxes.

It is a lot easier to lift a big parcel into the back of a Transit van with a flat floor, than onto the back seat of a car.

If something could be done to limit the sizes and the pay be reviewed, the job would be good. Furthermore the customers would receive a better looking parcel as the bags are often burst and squashed by the time they get them

I am afraid some of what is said on here about Field Managers is true – I have told my FM the above and and all she says is ‘That is the job now’ and refuses to pass comments up the line. This is when she visits me, as I can never contact her otherwise and she does not return calls.

I hope this is useful information for you, Mr Martin and thank you for reading it.

permanent courier said,

I TOTALLY AGREE with comment 630 by christine….the boxes are well bigger and next parcels pack too much and for the hanging..well..I remember having a memo stating the hanging will be increased to 2 in one pack but when did they sneak the third and fourth one in eh? I was never informed! I think we are taken advantage of and need to be heard by them up at the top, I bet when you are in meetings you probably agree with next (with signing new contract) to do this and say ‘couriers wont notice the difference in the sizes’….ahem…we are not blind and we do have to pick up these damn parcels in and out of the car! How many of you on here get your parcels delivered to your home via a driver?

Skytower said,

After an attempt to post as “permenant courier” (clearly not being content with posting as “FIELD MANAGER” and “Megan (courier)” as well), this user has been blacklisted.

lolly (permanent courier) said,

Degs…I had one also and refused to deliver it! I would have struggled with just that in the car never mind getting other stuff in as well!

Temporary Courier said,

Wtf is a self-employed-couriers-agreement – I mean i can imagine it’s format but I’ve never seen one ! .
If I don’t feel i should be delivering a parcel packhorse then I don’t – but thank you for putting it in green & yellow for me

Lol Skytower – looks like you were right about Megan then !

And where’s Richard Martin gone ?? – in a meeting or was He part of the ‘ menage a trois ‘ as it were ?? ( sorry – not up to Steve Budds level of vocabulary )

Skytower said,

Thanks for posting again, Steve.

In the meantime, Steve – and the rest of you – feel free to carry on.

Temporary Courier said,

Thank you Skytower – I will try to adhere to the rules – & Steve – I weren’t having a go – just not blessed with the same vocabulary

Parcel Ranger said,

Re:633
Pony express I also had a letter from the tax office and had to get help from a firm to sort it out because it went back a few years.

The told me that the tax office trawl through couriers and ask firms for the pay they give to self employed couriers. I know other couriers who have had the same problem.

degs said,

This job has its perks ….saw some nice puppies today…. bouncy white and lively … and even told the owner god I want a husky puppy there so sweet …and they dont bark

Alan said,

Ref comment 621. next catalogues and envelopes, GOLD envelope with RED catalogue and SILVER envelope with LILAC catalogue. Completion date: 2nd October. Hope this helps

steve budd said,

For those confused about the Xmas cats and the Reet Petites – gold for petites and silver for the rest.

For those with trouble distinguishing, on the front where it says “cool xmas” the cool is either silver or gold. Personally I would find it easier to turn the carrier over as the entire rear is gold or sliver.

Temporary Courier said,

What ladders ?? I aint seen any here ( Hopefully I haven’t tempted fate ) and thx for the info on the cats – would’ve done some today but my envelopes are lost in the Parcelnet abyss .

degs said,

QVC have lost the plot with there bandings…. band 2 for a mirror that i had trouble fitting even the unhelp desk admited they were wrong anyone had those kingsize quilts in a box >>??? again wrong banding … someone is screwing up big time … 1 day to go

Christine said,

Re 654. Yes Degs, I have had one of those quilts from QVC – could hardly lift it and yes, it was down as Band 2.

You have to check all the large parcels for these new companies, they are nearly all wrong. Also check large parcels for Next.

Those Bean Bags that come in the grey polythene have been coming through as Band 2 for years! You ring the help desk and they say they’ve changed it, but you have no way of checking!

Also they will say ‘I’ve changed it’. Ask to what Band and they will tell you to Band 4, then you have to say it should be Band 3. They will not change to Band 3 willingly even if thats what it should be.

Make sure you ring in the wrongly banded parcels and make sure they are changed to the correct Band.

chris said,

Has anyone the number of any of field managers or Area managers that cover N Ireland( BT postcode)

roadrunner said,

I have been a courier for a number of years.Its only recently that I
am having problems getting someone at courier admin to answer the phone re. unmanifested parcels without a barcode,or wasted
journeys,payment queries etc.All I get when dialling is”we are experiencing high call volumes please hold and we will answer your
call asap”.Trouble is,no-one answers.
Anyone else having the same problem.

degs said,

I would class a hoover as a large parcel ..likewise beanbags and ironing boards headboards and those 5 in one ladders …also lawnmowers …

steve budd said,

Cherokee

What you have here is a collection of moans and groans, representative of a minute percentage of the deliveries successfully made.

Try ParcelForce guaranteed 3 day delivery. I did twice to Russia, once with a small package containing a digital camera and other little gifts supposed to arrive on Valentine’s day and another a simple letter. Both cost £37 to send, and both took a wek to 10 days to arrive.

I ensured my money was refunded on both occasions.

roadrunner said,

Richard Martin,
If you are still out there,perhaps you can tell me how to get a payment code from courier admin. for an unmanifested
parcel(next) with no bar-code,when all I ever get is”We are experiencing high call volumes please hold and we will answer your
call asap”.

degs said,

no pulses in that depot …

webtrekker said,

Hi folks, just found this site. I’ve been a Parcelnet courier for over 6 yrs now and agree with the many gripes on here. I do it mainly for the time off, having previously spent my whole working life doing shift-work.

The pay is crap, the management are crap, the whole system is crap but hey, have any of you tried shift-work?

packhorse 2 said,

The money wasted on Pulse was easily recouped.
Next were advised to put ten parcels in one bag and the courier will deliver it for 45p. Millions saved!!!!

Janey said,

I still find it strange that people are still on .45p per parcel, were on .65 to .85 a parcel here.

Maz {courier} said,

This is unacceptable, why on earth do we all get different rates, we should all be the same as they are the same parcels, i can understand the rural couriers but it looks like normal town couriers are being underpaid. Why aren’t we all up in arms about it, surely if we all band together and find out what we are all paid across the board then we can get it sorted out. The couriers who get the pound a parcel must be laughing at us who only get 45p.

Maybe Richard could give us the answers to this conundrum, we all do the same job after all…..

Go on Richard give us a clue…..

chris said,

Re comment 675
Victor do you have the number of the one of managers for N Ireland
could you let know are you courier yourself if so how many parcels do you get if so is your area rural countryside are is your round in city area.

steve budd said,

Re: Pulse

I am always happy to embrace new technology regardless of whetherit causes work, provided it improves matters.

However, as a mere foot-soldier, all I can see is that an off the peg solution has been purchased when a more expensive bespoke version should have been sourced which would do the job rather than the disparate system which so far has been abortive.

But like Fairy Liquid vs Happy Shopper – you get what you pay for.

webtrekker said,

I think the Courier Invoices are layed out abysmally. We should get a COMPLETE breakdown showing delivery and collection rates for each band. There is nothing on any of my invoices showing either parcel rates or the different catalogue and brochure rates. I think this is being done on purpose to keep us in the dark.

webtrekker

tracy said,

cant wait 2 hand my notice in,after 8 years and earning the same its time the flee the nest,wot a load of bollocks this company is,u put loads in and gat fuck all back.

packhorse 2 said,

Andy,
This might seem like a contadiction of terms, in short, the job is fine but the company is rubbish.
If you enjoy your independance, take time off for dentist appts. car service etc. great If you like kids, dogs & cats and meeting people, great.
If you want to wreck your car and be paid a pittance for doing it, .if you want no recognition for what you do, if you want to work for a company that does not consider how many or how big your daily deliveries are and actually has an automated sysem in place to deal with the amount of manifest cock-ups each day, then this could be the job for you.

Maz {courier} said,

Victor, been at this job for 5 years
I was told how much vaguely when started, but cats have gone down in this time not up, and never got anything in writing about the pay scale etc.
No increases ever in parcels, all they do is re-gig everything, but it has never gone up. and cats gone down. the only thing that rings true is the next bonus, and that only works out if you actually get paid the right amount of parcels, my wages never ever tally, always missing about 50 parcels etc, you cant get it back either, as they deny all knowledge????
cant work your wages out to the penny as they don’t want you too do they.
I think the manifests are illegal. I have been told they are being changed, yea right two years later and still the same.,
most in my area are the same rate, but we do know some get a pound a parcel, god knows why, its not rural. but they can pay cover couriers a pound when they are in the shit, that’s OK apparently?
basically we are all paid poorly. we must do something about it, its not fair on the worst paid.
these next parcels are getting stupid, i can hardly lift or fit them in my car now they are so big, stuffed to brim. maybe we should let it split and send them back all the time, then they might get the message….

So what are we all going to do about it? any suggestions

packhorse 2 said,

Victor, Ditto the other comments, and I play the same game as webtrecker. It’s seven years for me. When I started I was given a separate sheet, with my training manual, explaining the delivery rates and they have not changed since.
Re:Huge Next multies. I have suggested in a previous post that any time-banded parcel, that they are taking the piss with, should be deliberately split and reurned as ‘damaged’.

roadrunner said,

We need more comments from more couriers,from which a groundswell of dissatisfaction will emerge.Spread the word.

minge_eeta said,

I AGREEE WITH THE COMMENT ABOUT THE SIZE OF SOME PARCELS, IT APPEARS THAT THEY ARE FORGETTING MOST OF US ONLY HAVE CARS, BUT IN REALITY I THINK THEY’RE JUST TAKING THE PISS AND TRYING THEIR LUCK! I’VE ALWAYS SAID WHY TAKE ONE LARGE PARCEL WHEN YOU’LL ONLY GET PAID ONCE FOR IT? WHEN YOU COULD FIT ABOUT 10-15 SMALLER PARCELS IN IT’S PLACE AND GET PAID MORE! SURELY THEY SHOULD GO ON THE LORRIES? I KNOW A GUY WITH A TAIL LIFT VAN AND HE WAS REFUSED WORK BY PARCELNET, PROBABLY COS THEY KNOW US MUGS WILL DO IT CHEAPER!!
AS FOR THE INSURANCE ISSUE, PARCELNET WANTED TO SEE MY DRIVERS LICENCE, BUT WHY DIDN’T THEY ALSO CHECK MY INSURANCE TO MAKE SURE I HAD THE CORRECT INSURANCE TO DO THE JOB? THEY MUST KNOW THAT THE COURIERS ONLY HAVE SDP COVER, WHICH REALLY MEANS THAT THEY’RE AIDING AND ABBETTING US TO BREAK THE LAW! IN THEORY IF WE GET PROSECUTED, SO DO THEY! I BET THEY’D WRIGGLE OUT OF IT THOUGH!!

minge_eeta said,

re:695
that’s true, but that comes under constructions and use which is different, as i know from past experience, i used a company vehicle which was unroadworthy and i got done under constructions and use, the company got nothing, but i let a friend use a motorbike and because he didn’t have the proper insurance(he wasn’t covered to ride bikes not belonging to him, unknown to me at the time!) he got done for no insurance and i got done for aiding and abbetting, because they said i should have checked. he was actually repairing the bike for me. but i never told him to ride it on the road, and the police weren’t interested even though we both told them! (WANKERS!) so where parcelnet are giving us parcels and saying go out in your car and deliver these for us, and we don’t care if you’re insured, as long as the parcels go out! they’re doing pretty much the same thing.

Reidy said,

Fascinated by this thread. I returned from holiday today to find a card from Farciclanet to the effect that a book had been left for me. In my recycling bin. Last Friday. On collection day. I wasn’t expecting any books so I phoned the number on the card – a mobile number – and the guy who answered confirmed he had left “a book” in my recycling bin. When I asked what kind of book it was he said it was “probably from Readers Digest or something and if they asked me for payment just to refuse”. Interesting. I have contacted the company through their website to ask them who is using them to deliver unsolicited packages. I’ll also be interested in their comments regarding their driver’s comments…

degs said,

wow all this fun Im missing !!! yo packhorse stop ya winging you got a transit !!!!

Temporary Courier said,

Steve , re 697 – It is illegal to carry goods for reward in a motor vehicle on ‘ normal ‘ SDP insurance .
I have asked several ‘ bodies ‘ whether or not this is true and they all say it is illegal.
As in previous posts – I am fully comp with hire & reward and have peace of mind etc .
If the parcels get stolen / damaged in an accident I couldn’t give a fook
I’m alright Jack .
Still haven’t got a Field Manager , keep getting long distance phone calls asking if I can cover a round with no geographical knowledge of the area , just a round No and the postcodes it covers !
Thank you for all the extra fuel

minge_eeta said,

hey ho! lorries running two hours late AGAIN! and customers moan that WE deliver their parcels late! did you know that the reason they palm us off with great big boxes is that the 7.5 ton drivers don’t get paid any extra for delivering them, so they give them to us. anyone need some spare next cats? i’ve got shitloads! lol

Temporary Courier said,

Had a guy that I sent a text to to try to deliver an Amazon parcel and all he kept banging on about was the fact that I texted him and not phoned in person , even after I explained that I was only getting 50p for the parcel
Needless to say it got a green card after 3 days and probably will again next time

webtrekker said,

Forgot to add…………NEVER get a cover to deliver your catalogues. The hourly rate is good for cats as you can deliver 30 – 50 per hour easily. Far better get the cover to deliver your parcels and do the cats yourself, in your own time!

webtrekker

minge_eeta said,

HEY STEVE, WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY NICKNAME THEN? IT’S JUST A PART TIME HOBBY! LOL

Janey said,

With regard to large parcels, if Parcelnet got their act together ( not going to happen is it ), and came up with decent rates for these parcels, must couriers would take these items, even if it meant just going out with the one item.

Next are the best example of this, when you get a large item from Next, instead of green carding it, ring Next helpline and explain the situation, that its a stated day item, you will have to make a special journey for just this item of say a round trip of 20 miles, it will take you at least an hour, you work out your hourly rate that your happy with, also explain that if they wont pay a figure that your happy with, you will return the item.

Next will come up with a fee of anything from £3 to £15 , now why cant Parcelnet do this with all other items, after all, its still much cheaper thru us.

One other thing with green carded items, I have never had this confirmed, but I suppose we still get paid for these items, I have never seen any deductions for such items of my invoice, if that’s the case, green card as much as you like, money for nothing.

PS, looks like the Amazon contracts in trouble.

minge_eeta said,

i knew scanning verything on and off the lorries wouldn’t last very long! it’s too time consuming, and the scanners were always breaking down!
i got a parcel on monday, to be delivered to the customer on friday! next of course, but that’s really taking the piss, i wonder if they’d consider paying me for storage?

steve budd said,

Re: Huge parcels

Roadrunner – what explanation do you put on the green card? If it says “too big for car” then your driver, when he returns to the depot should put it in a designated area, where the warehouse staff know it should not be sent out again to courier, but re-assigned to the lorry for him to deliver.

I confess that I have seen parcels with such green cards affixed when they are blatantly NOT too large for even a Smart car, and have a quiet chuckle when it is indeed returned to the courier. Maybe I am just lucky, but the couriers I serve do their utmost to take large parcels. There are occasions when I call the courier out to the truck to ask if it is too large for them (sometimes I am stunned when they say they can manage it) and if they cannot and the help desk is open, rather than offload it and reload it the following day I ask them to make a call and it gets a card on the back of the lorry. Depending on my workload for the day, sometimes another scenario is enacted, however as I understand my posts are now being read avidly by people rather higher up the food chain than I – and I really do use my name – I decline to elaborate other than to say that most times everyone is happy, most importantly the customer.

steve budd said,

Degs

Any company is only as good as the weakest link. I know – I have been at the top of the tree and taken the flak for other’s failings. Admittedly the companies concerned were not in the same league, being £2-3M turnover pa, but regardless, as much as you issue instructions it just sometimes gets ignored.

I do have a distinct advantage (and possibly disadvantage) over most, in that I have been perched on every branch there is on any tree and thereby my thinking encompasses not just my own circumstance but also the footsoldiers and the gaffers.

It works against me in respect of being considered “just a driver” when I like to think that I not only have the customers interests at heart but also my couriers and ultimately the company reputation. I have on occasion been accused of doing too much, both by my “peers” and also “superiors”.

It is difficult at times to take criticism from people for doing too much, who in another era I would have carpeted for being incompetent. However I made my choice and to an extent I have to grin and bear it, although sometimes I kick back even though I enjoy my job for the most part.

It would appear you do not have a “courier-friendly” driver and this I lament. You are obviously not one of mine to be saying this.

Yes, nothing in this world is perfect, Parcelnet is far from perfect, but I work for them because, and not in spite of their faults.

Without blowing my own trumpet, I have on occasion when asked to perform additional work not involving driving, refused. Equally, I have never shirked what I came to do – driving and delivering. Forget the fact I have a Union behind me – I pay the subs – but I fight my own battles and do not necessarily agree with the mainstream.

My employers – and yours, even though self-employed – surely deserve some credit for being able to provide thousands of people an opportunity to put bread on the table?

Am I wrong?

degs said,

They will probably throw a few catalogues in just for good measure …just incase you have any spare time

Janey said,

£1.00 per parcel is what we should be paid, thats a fair price.

steve budd said,

Janey

Do you really believe that Parcelnet would be so crass as to discuss pay and conditions here?

Richard Martin has made a statement, and presumably anything further will be conducted in-house, as is only proper.

It is nobody’s business other than the employer and employee as to the level of remuneration – hence since even before the days of weekly pay with brown envelopes full of cash, they have always been sealed to preserve personal privacy, with only the two parties and the payroll department privy. Unless of course the individual in receipt wished to disclose information. I most certainly would not like my pay negotiations to be conducted in a public forum.

The days when the breadwinner gave his wife housekeeping each week and retained the rest whilst she was unaware of his exact salary are not that far distant! Whilst I am not an advocate, I can understand the thinking.

steve budd said,

Roadrunner

There may be various reasons why they return like a bad penny. I am not suggesting for a moment that you do not tape the green card securely to the parcel, but sometimes I have observed couriers using about 2 inches of Sellotape with the result that by the time I return to the depot said card is nowhere in sight. It also happens that on occasion couriers do not obtain a code for the card, and whoever is in charge of the “green cardery” on the day will invariably simply discard the card and re-manifest it.

On one occasion a wine-chiller cabinet was on my truck destined for a courier working out of my sub-depot. The sub manager – whilst I was out on my route – phoned to get authorisation for a green card and ended up in a dispute as to the weight of the package, which was 22.5kg. The girl on the helpdesk was adamant that the information supplied by the third party supplier that it was in fact 2.5kg, when the true weight was displayed on the carton!

In fairness, it is not the warehouse operatives job to question what they are asked to load onto the lorries, and in any organisation of a certain size there will be glitches. What is important though is that they are rectified, at least as far as the end customer is concerned. For my part, I try to keep my “patch” complaint-free from courier or customer and have no problem in going the extra mile to ensure everyone is happy.

One humorous incident I recall from about a year ago occurred when I was three-quarters round my route, when I uncovered six enormous boxes (which it transpired each contained a fully made-up chair). Thinking someone had loaded heavy and large without telling me or putting the paperwork in my cab, I was rather tickled to see that they were all destined for the same address, and all for the same courier. Said courier weighs seven stones wringing wet and drives an Astra.

Playing the game, I asked her to come outside and tell me if she thought she could fit the packages in her car. As they took up a quarter of the space in a 7.5 tonner, I really struggled to keep a straight face whilst doing so, and was most entertained by her remarks on seeing them. Patently I cannot reproduce what she said. However, all parties were content at the end of that day.

And yes, I sometimes get consignments which are quite tiny (admittedly some are in areas where the courier is likely to get a parking fine, whereas in a lorry you can take a few liberties) but on the morrow I have a blind to deliver which is a full fathom long, together with two coffee tables.

My thinking is that we are in the business of delivering to customers, and as a firm this should be everyone’s aim. Some “procedures” are I feel a trifle too rigid where there is what I would term a half-decent driver or courier involved, and on occasion I have been taken to task for lack of adherence. The customers were happy, therefore as far as I am concerned that is our raison d’etre.

I must admit I am looking forward to the Christmas rush – seeing as volumes have already gone into hyperdrive!!

packhorse 2 said,

It appears that the two main bones of contension on this blog are the size of the parcels and pay.

I thiink that a solution to both could be dealt with in one fell swoop.

If we were paid an additional premium for ‘large’ i.e. over a certain size, as we are with ‘weight’ then, considering the amount of big parcels we have each day, we could find a big increase in pay.

On another subject – SOLIDARITY.

AS suggested in a previous post we should ” spread the word”.

Only a comparitively few couriers know of this site. We should all advise our workmates at our Depots of the URL and invite as many as we can to log in. The more the merrier, there is strength in numbers.

Janey said,

Comment by packhorse 2 –

Just read you post ( 728 ), is this yet another case of Parcelnet “ Forgetting “ to tell couriers of extra payments for parcels.

There IS an extra payment for items of limited weight, but large, for example window blinds, or plastic bins.

It is called the Light and Large allowance, this adds upto .85p for these items, if you can get thru to anyone, ask them the criteria,

steve budd said,

Janey

Richard Martin’s post was I thought reasonable and timely. I could not envisage a Company of our size – of which we are all part – giving a knee-jerk reaction to a few gripes, can you?

A month is a long time in politics, but when people are charged with ensuring jobs are safe, and when an increase in rates will have a major impact on profit I would tender the opinion that it needs careful perusal before committing.

You have had the promise it will be considered and in honesty a reasonable period should be allowed for a response.

As stated in my previous, I am more than happy to set up a secure site for genuine employees to chew the cud, but it will never happen as long as people use nicknames. Ergo, why should Parcelnet give credence to posts here which could be initiated by a twelve year old nerd having fun in his bedroom?

Think about it.

roadrunner said,

Steve,
As you neither know or want to know the helpdesk number,please do not suggest as in a previous post that couriers are not supplying authorisation codes because they may be lax,its because they cant get anyone on the helpdesk.
I do of course have empathy with the warehouse staff and drivers,but there are issues one of which is large parcels,which has been ongoing even before recent increases in volume,and remains unresolved.
You must be one in a million if your saying that you are happy to go and deliver a large parcel on behalf of a courier.I`ve never in all the years that I`ve been a courier with parcelnet had a driver offer
to do that.
Couriers have a certain mettle,grit and determination to get the job done.To say that we dont have the bottle to impart our names or e-mail addresses on here is deeply insulting.
You seem to forget that we have no protection or redress if parcelnet decide to dump any one of us for whatever reason.
We have no contract and no union backing,do you have those things.

Joe said,

Just had my item delivered : ) I watched the woman ring the doorbell and she was already writing her card out by the time I opened the door, but at least it is here on the day it is supposed to be : ) – Well done this time Parcelnet

steve budd said,

Roadrunner

I have to say that I am surprised you have not had an amenable 7.5T driver during your time?

I would hasten to point out that I have never at any point stated I have delivered parcels for couriers – merely that all parties are happy at the end of the day. Due to the fact that if a large item gets a green card I ulitmately get given it to deliver anyway, I prefer to think of it as hastening the arrival of the goods to the customer!

Which really is what we are all here for, after all………..

Janey said,

Sending a number of letters and emails off this week to the main national”s,and the main newspaper titles in each region, hopefully one or more will get published, Im aiming at the “ Tony Hetherington “ columns and the like, you know, the “ Ive been ripped off “ type.

I”ll be sure to metion the £2.00 per hour and this website ( will check with skytower first about that ) ,the obvious bad publicity will speed the clowns at Parcelnet into action.

They usually ask for a comment from the company, if Parcelnet do not reply ( as I suspect ) that usually looks even worse, there is no way Parcelnet can justify such pay and conditions.

Skytower said,

I would suggest that another reason not to publish one’s email address is to prevent spam bots from picking them up. Spam bots have a habit of scouring web pages for email addresses, and then using them to target with oodles and oodles of crap.

If someone did wish their email address to be passed on, probably the best method would be to write it in a way that a bot would not be able to detect it, or alternatively leave a message for me and I could forward it using the site’s admin tools.

steve budd said,

Skytower

You have my email address. Feel free to forward it to anyone who asks. I am nothing if not honest, and you are the only one here who knows I use my name.

I am probably setting myself up for a fall -I hope not- but if there is that much disquiet then I hope everyone involved will understand that just maybe my idea makes sense for all concerned parties.

Quite how I would do it I know not yet, but it has to be a better option than airing gripes here – even though it would be rather stealing your thunder??

victor said,

Steve
You are right when you say couriers are self-employed but unlike you they will have to pay their expences ie fuel etc .
These expences are the same no matter how many parcels they have to deliver,and they must pay them before they get any pay.
A lot of couriers are housewives and retired people who took the job to earn some extra money,not to be treated like dirt by Parcelnet or talked down to by people like yourself.Most of them enjoy their work but the choice is to work or not to work.
You will probably work the same hours each day start at 5-30 am
and ends at whatever.You will paid every week you will recieve
holiday pay, company pension,so why don’t you give the couriers a break.
I came across this forum some months ago and have enjoyed reading some of your novels .

degs said,

Think I need to get rid of the Hummer …no good for doin parcels in …

DDD said,

Constructive critisicm is not a bad thing, the odd sarcasm sometimes goes unnoticed, however, the element of wanting to embarrase the company – what gain is there for that?
Pulse is a big investment that when the fixes and operational models at depots have been rectified will benefit all. The long term aim is to create a better delivery service from beginning to end, and that includes the courier network.

As for genuine issues raised – these may well be taken on board and discussed. Keeping this site sensible may prove worthwhile

Skytower said,

Steve – thanks again for your comments. I’m currently looking into setting up a separate forum on this site, and in the process will appreciate any feedback as to whether such a thing would be in people’s interests. I feel it would serve a better purpose as a distinct section on its own rather than bogging down the blog any further.

And, after all, 750 comments down the line, perhaps it is what is required. Perhaps it’s worth a go? Anyone else agree/disagree?

webtrekker said,

Skytower – I agree wholeheartedly with your idea to set up a seperate forum, as long as the last post in THIS forum points to the new one, so that people directed here from Google can follow the WHOLE argument!

Cheers,

webtrekker

victor said,

Steve
Reading your last post it really does appear that you like to blow your own trumpet. You say you don’t talk down to couriers,in a previous post you said and i quote.

As other posters continue to remind me, couriers are self employed and have a choice. I on the other hand am required to report for duty at 0530 daily, do not have the luxury of being able to complete my working day in 2 or 4 hours , take time off in the middle of the day for a dental appointment, or simply ask my next door neighbour to cover me when I feel like a day off.

If you wanted time for an appointment during the day why did you not use your holiday days you did not claim.
Lots of couriers would love to have five or six weeks paid holiday.

lolly (permanent courier) said,

Very good comment victor!!!! I was thinking that too…you know what…I smell a brown nose round here somewhere…sniff…sniff! do you?

Temporary Courier said,

P S re:- 745 Janey – aint heard you yelp for joy @ the fuel price dropping by 8p a litre !!
Thought U’d be pleased .

Shak said,

I have to say, every single delivery by Parcelnet has been exemplary in my area, however that doesn’t mean it’s a good business.

There’s two things that determine a good business in my view, customer satisfaction and money made. The first point is that any business would be stupid to pass up a cheaper supplier. If things go wrong you can blame them, it doesn’t mean that the delivery company isn’t in the wrong, I just wanted to point out that you don’t have to provide a good service to be popular. Secondly, it is unreasonable to suggest that the prices you charge for delivering parcels have not increased over the last ten years, no doubt they have increased steadily with inflation. To suggest then, that the couriers who have spoken on here saying that their “wage” per parcel has not increased in the last ten years is lunacy. It’s unethical and it is asking for trouble.

Whether or not the couriers who have posted here have represented the majority of your workers is not particularly relevant, whilst working towards my degree (which I now have) in IT, I spent on and off 6 years working in pubs and bars, and the overriding factor in all my training was to be pleasant to customers. Let me clarify, in the pub trade you get a lot of drunk people. That means that you get a lot of people who don’t care who you are, you get a lot of people who are abusive, and you get a lot of people who are plain sleazy towards the female workers (myself being male). Despite this you have to treat the customer with respect, and while you can moan about them to other staff you have to treat every single one of them equally. Saying something along the lines of “I spat in his drink because he had a go at me” will get you sacked. From what I’ve seen, the attitude is, you shouldn’t complain about shoddy service because you deserve it.

I would like to make it clear that services around the world offer same day redelivery and are quite happy to deliver at a time which suits you. Maybe this is because they are bigger, maybe this is because they cost more for the supplier. Nevertheless it is purely naive to suggest that it is impossible to run a service which cannot fulfill either request.

I would suggest that when you estimate costs you take into account the rough percentage of parcels which would need to be redelivered instead of looking at the bare minimum. You then make sure that every field manager knows that they have to employ enough staff during the right shift patterns in order to fulfill requirements. It isn’t that difficult if a customer is charged a little more for evening delivery, or if you remember that people are paid per parcel. Some people will work mornings, some will work afternoons, and there are plenty of people who will also work evenings for the right price.

The main problem I see with the business plan is the idea of self-employment. Whilst this may appeal to some people, it doesn’t seem to have any benefit over contracted workers, except that they have less rights. They can’t be sacked but they can be made worthless by not getting any deliveries. If you have contracted workers at least they work in specific shifts, and are contractually bound to a wage and holiday specification.

I don’t see any problem with making workers sort their own shift cover, it’s common practice in temporary work and pub work, and I’m sure the field managers do in fact have a lot of work which they do, and that their management role does indeed warrant the wage and benefits. However, seeing people paid like this when the menial workers are paid a pittance for a more necessary job (I’m sure the number of managers could be reduced, and they don’t all need company cars do they?) is just pouring fuel on a fire.

There are a few questions I would like answered. Firstly, is there any training given to new recruits and how long? What time of day do the lorries usually arrive at depots? How much does it cost to have parcels delivered? And what sort of system do you have for checking signatures? From what I’ve read it isn’t a very full-proof system.

Almost lastly, it’s obvious that you run a cheap service, however as far as I was aware Parcelforce was meant to be the cheap service, considering it’s provided by the Post Office, and delivery companies were meant to offer extras, either better, faster delivery, or a better service after delivery. From people’s experience with you it doesn’t seem to match up.

Finally, it’s ridiculous to say that there is a minority of problems and therefore it’s ok to ignore it. Firstly, the problems on this board are people who have access to the internet, and have found this site, and actually feel it is worth their time reading many posts, and after that feel that they should comment on their own experience.

Secondly, this site is near the top of the list of Google searches for anything Parcelnet related. What would be a better response would be to tell people reading this what exactly is being done to remedy the situation that they experience (eg training, better rewards, change of staff) and to what extent it will actually fix things. Then people can make up their own minds when something goes wrong. Instead of suggesting that people who have problems are in the minority, reassure the people who have problems properly, even say you will look at their particular depot to see what is going wrong. Doesn’t that make sense?

roadrunner said,

Skytower(re:752),
I agree,and thanks for starting this much needed
forum.

Janey said,

Re post about fuel prices falling by 8p, you haven’t heard me “ Yelp for Joy “ as you put it, because although Parcelnet have not increased our income in eight years, fuel prices have all but doubled.

packhorse 2 said,

Hey! Steve,
Why worry about moles. Let them join in if they want to. If they are Parcelnet senior staff they might read a few things that they should take notice of.

steve budd said,

Janey

8 years ago petrol prices in rural Scotland were 68p a litre. I use this as an example, as I know not where you live. Scotland as far as I know traditionally pays more for petrol (but less for beer), and I am currently paying 84p per litre down South, therefore I would be intrigued where you obtained your figures?

Maz {courier} said,

A forum is a brilliant idea, its will be more open to us couriers and for contacting each other privately if needed, i for one give it a thumbs up, as soon as possible too please.

Thanks Skytower…

steve budd said,

771 Maz

I think you answered all my questions – and yours.

Vincent said,

Maz, permanent courier & Alan,
Thank you all for words of comfort.
Family member of Graham Vincent, Birmingham depot.

victor said,

Steve
I would agree that there is only a small number of the 5000 or so
Parcelnet couriers that visit this site.I would suggest the that most of them enjoy their jobs just like you .But i also believe that the majority of them wether they us this site or not have the same complaints ie pay and conditions
You must admit Parcelnet have loads of problems and you always criticize the couriers but never Parcelnet thats what gets up peoples noses

Maz {courier} said,

re:- 776

Your welcome. Its hard to know what to say. Look after yourselves and remember the good times, god bless. x

courierx said,

I havent had a look in here for a couple of weeks, and was truly amazed to see the Operations Manager had been in to make a comment. Having read the entry it appears that he is really out of touch with what is occurring on the “shop floor” – like most senior managers of fairly large organisations – in my experience.

His comment that appropriate channels for grivences should be used is bordering on the insulting – I have been requesting my FM to ask about a pay rise for the last two years – His answer is Ill speak to the area manager and get back to. This has never happened – not even to tell me “No you can’t have one”. Rudeness and poor staff management in the extreme. How anybody can work for a firm who have not increased pay rates for at least 8 years is beyond belief and I am really starting to question my sanity in remaining with them. How can parcelnet reasonably justify this? I would dearly love to hear a reasoned explanation from someone in power – other than the need to maximise the Parcelnet profits.

Additionally I have a time spread of about 2 hours when the delivery van may materialise – albeit I am informed “it must be with you 15 mins either side of the set time” (heaven if it were) to cap the rubbish rates I have to sit about for anything up to 2 hours waiting for the van to arrive most days – it would be nice to be paid some compensation for this – as I cannnot reasonably do anything other than minor household stuff whilst waitng.

My commitment to Parcelnet is waning fast – and the temptation to dump stuff on doorsteps is on occasions to difficult to resist.

We really need to spread the word get together and put Parcelnet under some serious pressure – if 500+ couriers went sick for a couple of days at the same time they would some nasty probelms to deal with – and perhaps start treating us with a modicum of respect rather than treating us like dogs – with oversized parcels banded as regular, packaging falling apart all over the place, short payments ech month, late deliveries, unsympathetic management, and the massive greed of Parcelnet itself

Courierx

roadrunner said,

Steve(re:773),
Extremely naive of you to presume that the couriers
think,that by setting up a forum the public will take up arms on their behalf,and also to say that the forum wont make a jot of difference
is very short sighted of you.
It is in the early stages and has already attracted the attention of Richard Martin and some field managers.
Slating the company as you put it will of course achieve nothing but it does give a measure of the frustation endured by the couriers .

steve budd said,

Roadrunner

Read back a few posts. I made an offer and undertook to communicate the opinions under anonymous cover to where they should correctly be addressed. This was a non-starter from where I sit as only PH2 expressed willingness.

You can lead a horse to water etc?

There are patently people here who feel I visit the site to foment trouble, and clearly they are entitled to think what they will, nothing I do will influence that.

I will however reiterate that whilst I think Parcelnet are a good employer from where I stand, it is obvious there are real concerns and gripes from others. I have the luxury of being able to vent mine in my workplace and from a position of strength, in that I have no fear of being “given the push” as I can turn my hand to anything, knowing that aside from the odd error I prosecute my duties to the best of my ability – indeed it is precisely because of this that I am now employed by Parcelnet, who asked me to work for them whilst I was doing agency work, having told my previous pay-cheque to shove it when they repaid loyalty and willingness after 5 years with an inability to understand personal circumstances dictated I actually needed to take a holiday for once.

I realise that the couriers are in a different position, hence the need for nom-de-plumes here. I also realise the couriers feel put upon of late, ergo the volume of correspondence here. Admittedly, I do not agree with the washing of dirty linen in public – especially when it is intended to bite the hand which feeds it, regardless of how meagre the reward is perceived.

Maybe those here (thankfully completely off track) would be happy with nothing less than losing their income should Parcelnet lose all it’s clients and disappear?

We all have choices in life, and from where I sit, the people having a pop here appear to still be drawing their commissions from Parcelnet without so much as a blush, therefore for them to still be self-employed by them even with the alleged suspension of the Abolition of Slavery Act, speaks volumes.

All I have ever tried to do here is see both sides of the coin and get across the obverse. It has drawn nothing but personal insults, the attention of people who could terminate my employment tomorrow (but who so far have held this in abeyance), attempts to cover me in opprobrium and clearly a less than implied wish to eradicate what I regard as a measured and balanced opinion.

SkyTower continues to accept my posts, to the best of my knowledge I have yet to launch a personal attack rather than use the Right of Reply, and for that I am grateful.

Admittedly, if you post in public you should expect flak, and it would behove those who direct anti-Steve posts to remember that.

Surprisingly, until recently I was on both sides, however in the past few days I have found my allegiance leaning another way.

I suppose the only good thing to occur today is that Maz is not reading my posts, and I can retire to bed happy in the knowledge that I am not one of the “jerks” (Septic expression if ever I heard one) she refers to.

Anyone else wishing to denigrate my writing – be it because you feel I am talking down, getting up your nose or plain and simple brown-nosing -please do me a favour and read, digest and take a few moments to actually think about what I am saying. I can ask no more.

roadrunner said,

Steve,
I am glad to read that your allegiance is leaning towards the couriers.

steve budd said,

Roadrunner

Sorry to disappoint, but the only side I am on is mine. My posts I think accurately reflect that I feel there are genuine issues which the couriers would like to see resolved, and as those here feel sufficiently concerned re comeback to submit under aliases, I am equally cognizant that they are real fears.

Of course, you do not have a union or pressure group to advance your cause, and again I appreciate this (although at my time of life I much prefer to tackle the horns personally) – hence my previous offer of a chat group, which rather thankfully Skytower is providing.

On the other hand, I also have sympathy with the Company, having as aforesaid, experience of the whole gamut of positions from bottom to top in various organisations. The couriers – not unnaturally – only see things from their vantage point. Why would they do otherwise? Granted, I am simply a driver, but I come into contact with couriers, other drivers and depot management. There are members of all three groups with whom I disagree completely, there are also the majority for whom I have a great deal of time and respect.

There are four things which I have consistently attempted to do. Firstly, persuade people that a forum open to the public is not the place to air “dirty linen”, secondly that there are other factors to consider beyond one’s personal experience, thirdly to try to pass on my limited knowledge of the problems other sectors of the Company have and fourthly and lastly – by virtue of the previous three, to try to help.

This last appears to have been lost on some, possibly due to the manner in which I write being misconstrued or being thought of as verbose – however experience tells me that if one does not cross all the I’s and dot the T’s the result is the causation of greater offence!

Still, it is rather gratifying to be regarded by some as the modern-day cure to insomnia…….

Maz {courier} said,

Can anybody explain to me why main sorting depots can’t get the parcels to the sub depots on time in the mornings for them to get them sorted for the couriers to pick up for 7AM. Surley it’s their job to be out on time, yes we know they may have a problem from time to time but not every day…………

steve budd said,

Courier X

Then perhaps we can agree to disagree on the dirty linen topic? When I first decided to stick my neck out on here I did not for one minute to expect to garner many friends by so doing!

I grant that remuneration appears to be the major issue at present, although personally I have had to have a second lorry follow me all week with work which could not be squeezed onto mine. Ergo, it follows that provided this is because there are more parcels rather than just larger ones, the couriers are earning more money? Forgive me if I err in fact, but I was under the impression that courier rounds (as opposed to the trucks) were relatively condensed in terms of the square area?

Only two weeks ago one of my couriers beamed when they saw they had 16 separate parcels for one address – worth a visit on it’s own surely?

Most of my couriers – who do not appear to be vocal here – use the job as either their sole income or a goodly part of the family earnings, judging by the volumes they receive. My record to one drop on my current route stands at 13 sacks a couple of days ago and 11 thereafter.

I would as a codicil question the pence-per-mile figure quoted by another in calculating a less than minimum wage. It should be pointed out that these figures (invariably computed by the AA, RAC, What Car etc) also include depreciation in the vehicle’s value from NEW. This cannot be applied to used cars.

I personally hope that Richard Martin will come good on what he said for you chaps and chapesses. I have no doubt he will, having gone public and asking for your forebearance – which admittedly he has not received!

Mike French 985929 said,

re: 776 – was hard to know what to say at the time – appreciate your kind comments , only wish I never had to say it Vincent , agree with Maz

Mike French 985929 said,

resigned Maz ??? – come out of the closet
If I get dropped like a hot potato for telling the truth then so beit – Don’t get me wrong – compared to my previous job as head chef trying to teach muppets how to boil an egg the freedom in hours , no stress and meeting people whilst not being in a sweaty kitchen this ‘ job ‘ is brilliant – I love it .
Have a brilliant FM who tries his best to sort things out ( and generally does ) .

Life is good , although there are improvements that can be made , as with everything in life , nothing is perfect for everyone , life would be dull if it were .

Yes I have gripes about this job but the pros outweigh the cons by an overwhelming majority .

I do understand about the money issue , but perhaps I am one of the fortunate ones , so I support your fight , but do not feel in a position to keep banging on about it .

So if anyone from Parcelnet feels that freedom of speech is not acceptable from the self-employed couriers it uses and decides to dispense of my services – then that’s fine by me , I have not got a contract , nor do I wish to receive one .

I identified myself a long time ago Maz , perhaps you missed it , if we all identified ourselves like Steve did perhaps it would add more credence to the points that we make .
I personally feel that the normal channels we would not be listened to , I also feel that whispering snide comments and moaning behind a pseudonym would and is going down faster than a rabbit on a promise .

As for striking – that’s an idea that will never work – they’ll drop you like a hot brick .

Anyway on a lighter note – had a 6.5kg parcel yesterday & it was a little old lady , all skin & bone & hunched over whilst signing for the parcel that I was holding she said ” Oooo I hope it’s a birthday present – I’m 97 today you know ”
Aww how sweet I thought , so I offered to carry it in for her .
Quick as a flash she snatched it from me & said in a stern voice ” I can still cope young man ” and slammed the door !!
PMSl all the way back to the car and thought – good on ya’

steve budd said,

Mike

You have made my day!

Now why doesn’t everyone follow suit? If everyone does, as we both have said, the comments carry weight.

Which depot serves you? I work out of Dunstable.

On a more sombre note, I assume I have seen previous reference to the unfortunate chap who died at the Birmingham depot. All I know is that it happened, nothing further. Can anyone elaborate as to what occurred? Parcelnet presumably cannot comment until HSE have completed their enquiries.

Janey said,

Mike, if you are quite happy receiving £450 per 1,000 parcels, when I receive £650 for exactly the same work, that’s fine by me, but personally I think that its wrong.

And before you ask, no I do not do a rural round, its a normal housing estate round, not town centre either.

If you want proof of this, just take a look at the new business memos you get from time to time where it states that you will receive “ Your Normal Agreed Parcel Rate “, I agreed to .65p per parcel, a fifty percent rise.

Also take a look at the new manifests, there is a box now for pay scales, one at your rate, one at mine, so how many more must be on the higher rate ?

But hey, if your happy with that, that’s ok.

Skytower said,

Steve – I can’t see precisely what you mean, but I suspect that it’s something to do with the original post (right at the very top) being from the 23rd of March last year.

Mike – altered your email address slightly, see above.

Mike French 985929 said,

RE:-803 – thx Skytower

steve budd said,

Skytower

Only just noticed the “latest posts” to the right – which have now disappeared – and moved the mouse over my latest at the time – hence the comment.

As I say, it is not there now and I had not seen it before, but I think it was headed “Cobwebs” (assumed it was your warped sense of humour!) and the previews were in red and brown.

It matters not.

Skytower said,

Steve – yep, when you mouse-over the comments on the sidebar, the date of the original post appears. I hope that explains it.

By the way, not sure where I indicated that the forum was to be for couriers only – indeed, it’s open (or will be) to absolutely anyone. All will no doubt become clear after the weekend.

Maz {courier} said,

Skytower…..don’t worry we all know this is an open site, thats how it should be, not a closed site as some people would like you to do, what would be the point in that?

packhorse 2 said,

Janey,

Can you enlighten me on how to negotiate for 0.65p per parcel ( as opposed to 0.45p ).

Many thanks.

Callum said,

Parcelnet have delivered a router ordered off amazon to a completely wrong address. Now we’re without broadband but the service is still being supplied, all at the fault of the monkey they employed to deliver this parcel. Just look at the fooking address! If it doesn’t match then little cogs should start to whir!!

Mike French 985929 said,

Well it’s a good job they trialled the new manifests before going live with it – looks like it went tits up from what I hear .

Maz {courier} said,

Why what has happened, do you know, i havent had the new ones yet. does this maen we wont get them now….?

Mike French 985929 said,

We ( here ) were meant to have them on 14/10/06 Maz , but as I suspected – this is an arse V , this an elbow (_____O_____) .
As far as I am aware they will not be rolled out until next year at the earliest , which probably means they’ll be live next week

As for the mis-delivered Amazon parcels – I have one that keeps coming to me with a name and a commercial address ( of which there are 15 diff companies in the building ) , no other contact details !
If people are stupid enough to think that we are psychic they don’t deserve to be found lol – & that’s not a dig at you callum , merely an observation of what regularly occurs on my round .

Half of my round is very cosmipolitan with loads of English language schools with students from around the world , especially Asia , who order online from Amazon then go to school every day – then into the coffee shop or internet cafe to order something else – I don’t think that Amazon tell them that it will be signature req: .
On top of that they never reply to the calling cards that are left !

Still – not my loss I still get paid , even if I can’t make contact with them .

steve budd said,

Incidentally, one of my couriers (a reader rather than participant) asked me today what my last name was. My response was that I already thought he/she knew if the question was being posed.

There then followed a brief discussion, including my assertion that just perhaps I was not universally popular here, but what the hell.

However, out of the brief chat emerged the comment that since Richard Martin posted and asked for breathing space, nothing had been heard since and this was viewed as less than satisfactory. I must say that for all my loyalty to the Company, I could hardly disagree with the sentiment.

As one who has defended Parcelnet where it deserved and will continue to do so, I offer my humble opinion – viz – I still believe an open forum is not the place to achieve results or discuss internal matters (hence my previous, superseded, offer to initiate a closed site) I am firmly of the opinion that whilst Parcelnet Management initially acknowledged the existence of this gripe site; and that any further posts would be improper; it would be a relatively simple matter to circulate a memorandum to the couriers via their drivers. This could take the form of “no news yet, but we are still looking into matters and will revert in X weeks” and costs pennies to do.

I do not lay claim to being the best officer, manager or director during my times in those posts, but I must say that when those under me collectively expressed a grievance if I could not resolve it immediately I made a point of keeping them informed as to the progress – or lack of, and if the answer was one they did not wish to hear they heard it regardless.

I do of course realise that senior management mostly have bigger fish to fry during their doubtless long days, but in view of the comments here by patently disaffected employees (whether self employed or nay) I for one would have thought that two minutes dictating a memo to a secretary would be prudent move.

Without wishing to offend SkyTower, I will again make the offer to set up a secure chat group accessable only to verified members, where they can still use nom-de-plumes (although they will have to open an email account which does not divulge their identity) and I would find a method of forwarding the prurient items.

Personally I have a sneaky feeling that I may now just be trying to skate across the St Lawrence before it has fully frozen over, but I have started, so I shall finish.

Up to you guys?

degs said,

i can offer my email throu skytower …and no you ladies cant have it

Mike French 985929 said,

See your point Steve about being open – fully agree
Janey – why hide?? – we live in a free country , have liberty to a certain extent – sounds like ure all smoke without fire Janey = aint heard one posotive thing for ages

Maz {courier} said,

Steve,

You want to do a secure site then why do you advise people to get a different email address for being anonymous, I don’t understand what your site would achieve, anonymous members and nicks, you don’t even know how to verify people in it, which in my opinion is impossible to do as I know allot of people wont divulge who they are or where they are.

The whole point of it being open is the fact every body can read it, non discriminating, what happened to free speech. Please don’t come back at me with a long winding put down, i’m just saying it the way i see it.

Mike, we hide because we need our jobs, not because we are scared of them, we aren’t all as privileged as some and so we have the right to vent our frustration where ever we can and if it makes the directors sit up and listen then all the better. Yes I know it turns into a slanging match sometimes but there are some that just wont leave it alone and thats a shame. You have to laugh really.

Mike French 985929 said,

I apologise – positive is spelt like this lol
Steve – does it need to be just bona fide couriers ? ,
I think that views from all sides would be welcome ( ie:- from the disgruntled to the happy etc. )
Sure – us couriers make mistakes but not as many as the recipients of our labour .
I think they should be included – if it were couriers only we would spend weeks if not months rattling on about the same old…….

A view from the other side of the fence might help

Only a thought …..

Mike French 985929 said,

Appreciate your efforts Skytower – thanks

steve budd said,

Maz

I would rather it was both secure and people used their real names, but we both know they won’t do that. I did have some thoughts as to how to verify whether applicants for membership were bona-fide. Brief enough?

Mike

My thinking was on the lines of a courier-only site where their concerns could be aired behind closed doors, collected and possibly forwarded on.

The consumer gripes about the couriers could still quite happily be posted on SkyTowers, and of course replied to. After all, all of us know that we do our best to get it right, yet daily are thwarted in our efforts by incomplete addresses, people ordering things to be delivered when they are in Tenerife etc.

steve budd said,

Maz

Apologies for missing this. Just noticed you are beginning (maybe you always have) to doubt my credentials.

I have already submitted that I work out of the Dunstable depot, Mike French has alredy emailed me privately and hopefully received my reply.

If it helps to establish my credentials my route is 54 and I also serve sub-depot 75 in Watford. I used to do route 66 in East London. What more do you want?

It makes no difference to me, I broke cover as far as Parcelnet is concerned the minute I came on here with my real ID, and I have yet to be taken aside for a quiet word. Indeed I only discovered that my posts were being read by A N Others from chance via another driver. I would quite willingly offer my personnel number if I knew it without having to look at my clock-card.

Yes I could be Carole the MD- who I met the day of the London bombings and I have to say I was impressed not only by the fact she made a point of coming over to introduce herself, but by her approachable manner. Yes I could be a field manager or even a courier myself.

I am what I say, a 7.5T driver. I would love to be otherwise and able to make a difference, however I content myself with thoroughly enjoying what I do at present, helping my couriers wherever possible – putting their wheelie bins out whilst they are on vacation etc.

One day there will be one of my couriers here who will verify. Until then I have to trust that you are really a courier and not a field manager or the MD, just the same as you have to do with me. Difference is – my head has really been above the parapet from day one.

I just try to make everything better for all – including yours truly, and expect nothing in return except not to be taken for granted.

I trust I have addressed your doubts.

webtrekker said,

Well, after receiving more HUGE ‘Next’ parcels with dozens of boxes in them I have finally had enough and emailed ‘Next’ directly from their website with my complaints about he huge parcels and the way the bastards are robbing us blind.

Don’t know if I’ll get a reply, what do you think?

Maybe we should ALL band together and inundate ‘Next’ with emails – we may have more luck than trying to contact Parcelnet!

webtrekker

webtrekker said,

Really fed-up with Parcelnet now. I’m considering a new job with much better wages and coditions as part of a friendly team. I get driven to work in a nice truck and taken back by helicopter – yes, I’m going to be a Morecambe Bay Cockle Picker!!

Don’t let them get you down. This is a great planet we live on – I should know, I’ve spent a good part of my life on it!

webtrekker

packhorse 2 said,

As I have already posted:

Rip open the huge Next parcels and ‘green card’ them as damaged ,they will evantually take the hint.
Open the Tchibo boxes and rewrap the contents into a small bag, with the advice note then cellotape the address on.

It works for me !

packhorse 2 said,

Crikey!! I don’t know what happened there????

steve budd said,

Re the Next parcels containing multiple items – I suspect it is worth pointing out that Parcelnet probably only get paid for one item as well?

As for the infamous Tchibo packages, I delivered no less than 6 of the new-look ones today to the same courier. If you have not yet experienced them, they are about a yard wide and 18″ on the other two dimensions and they are bound with two black straps. Six of them! Thankfully, they were all for the same address, which was a stroke of luck.

I don’t know about everyone here, but for me it appears the Christmas rush started a month ago – nearly every day part of my load follows in a second vehicle and I am full to the gunwhales.

I must say though, that were I to switch positions my ideal would be to be a courier with a hideously enormous round or rounds which took me a full day to complete, and I would buy a large van to accommodate. I realise that many do this simply as a part-time job for extra pin money, but the way the business has been successful, most decent-sized rounds are now almost full-time. I suppose that if one needs the money, being busy is what you want, if you only want to supplement the family coffers then you would regard it as a chore?

webtrekker said,

Steve, there’s no way Parcelnet will let you have a large round. In my area, as soon as a round starts getting too big, they split the round into two.

webtrekker

Maz {courier} said,

I got a few massive next parcels today, i think they had bedding in to, needless to say when i picked them up by the handles they broke right of, it wouldn’t take the weight. I am going to sabotage them now, I have had enough.

webtrekker said,

Hi packhorse – I only average 40 parcels/day but others in the 80 region have had their rounds split. They still do both rounds but sometimes have to get seperate cover couriers when taking time off.

They are scared to complain about anything otherwise the FM will take one round off them and put someone new on.

By the way, I like your mode of operation! I do much the same as you.

webtrekker

packhorse 2 said,

Webtrekker,
Thanks ! There should be more of us.

Steve,
This is not meant to be sarcastic, but, do the one third of your couriers who receive 100+ parcels per day drive 7 tonners like you ?

webtrekker said,

I have a backlog of cats to do. May do some tomorrow seeing as the fuel price has dropped a bit. Might do the Next 2001 Xmas books………..

webtrekker

packhorse 2 said,

Steve,

What does he do ? Take the two obligatory vaccum cleaners and leave the rest behind or is he one of the wimps who will go back to the Depot half a dozen times and work all day for an extra two quid ?

Mike French 985929 said,

P S It was 38″ X 16″ X 12″ approx

steve budd said,

Packhorse 2

She is a solus courier and takes the work in her garage.

Janey

the Parcelnet “ Love In “ as advocated by one individual on this site, who is not even a courier , has no effect what so ever and is a waste of time and space.

Your comments are beneath contempt and certainly indicate why you hide behind anonymity.

roadrunner said,

Janey,
I think it is a good idea to publish the profit figures and also the Directors remunerations and any bonuses they receive,as we the
couriers need as much information as we can get in order to present a case to parcelnet.

packhorse 2 said,

Steve,( I am not getting at you personally ),

I have had over 100 pcls for the last two days, at least 20 of these are boxes, some are huge boxes. There is no way that I can deliver them in one trip so I leave, what wont fit in, behind and remanifest them. This, then, has a knock on effect to the following day ( no, I will not go back to the Depot for a measly £2 ).

Your courier, with the Ford Focus must be making more than one trip if she is receiving 100+, and while she is doing this Parcelnet will quite happy to send out this sort of quantity which will inevitably include the ‘hugies’.

By doing this she is unwittingly setting a precedent, and Parcelnet will think that we can all cope with these big boxes and will contiue to send them.

Why is there not a dimension limit ? ie at what size does ‘large’ come into play ?

Does anyone at the main Depot make a decision on what size parcels leave for the couriers to deliver ?

Why is there not a Light & Large service for big boxes ? I know it will cost more, but, bloody hell ! we haven’t had a rise in eight years.

webtrekker said,

Actually, since we are all deemed ’self-employed’, surely we can DEMAND the parcel rates to be shown on the invoice. I’ll need to check this with the Inland Revenue.

webtrekker

packhorse 2 said,

Janey.

Before we consider any ‘direct action’, and I agree it will have to happen, it might be an idea to wait until the new website is set up and we have more contributors. As I have said before, there is strength in numbers.

Maz {courier} said,

Can we all agree to pop a memo of sorts in every sub depot we visit with the website address on when its up and running.

steve budd said,

Packhorse2

I concur that there appears to be little delineation between package sizes, and indeed I have posted here instances where I have been stunned at what has been expected of couriers in respect of the scantlings of some of the parcels.

I invariably try to solve such problems for the couriers where possible and time permitting, and although my methods must be patently clear I shall not elaborate – I cannot believe however that ALL our lorry drivers are as intractable as they have been portrayed?

Failing this, yes there are “fleet services” (whatever that is) who handle Light & Large, and Heavy and Large is taken on by the 7.5 tonners. If couriers do not have an amenable driver, then the obvious solution is to resort to the green card. Notwithstanding the complaints here that the helpdesk is somewhat difficult to contact, anything which cannot be delivered by yourself or by A N Other with a larger vehicle should be returned – I understand that a single run for one parcel is not economically viable.

The courier I highlighted of course makes more than one trip, but as she delivers in her home town it does not present a problem. Regularly 8 sacks and 15+ loose along with double figures on the hanging. She has on occasion expressed dismay when presented with 11 sacks, but takes a pragmatic view that it is an earning opportunity and that is what she does to bring home the bacon.

Janey

You did not have to name names – I believe I am the only non-courier here who stands against unwarranted and uninformed criticism of the very people who put bread on both our tables.

Your naivete in thinking Parcelnet directors sit on only one board is breathtaking to say the least, and patently shows a complete lack of knowledge as to how businesses work. In particular, how Parcelnet has expanded to achieve the position it now enjoys.

As aforesaid, I apologise to no-one for interrupting the Parcelnet Hate session you and your ilk were conducting before one of my couriers pointed me in this direction.

If you wish to attack me personally then I cannot prevent that, only SkyTower can, equally anything you have to say from now on – for me at least – just lost all currency, and will probably be ignored as the demented ramblings of an inarticulate, ineffectual individual who is not in the slightest interested in the obverse side of the coin.

Skytower said,

To all contributors,

The website spam filter is, for some reason, on overdrive. It is dumping most legitimate site comments into the “moderation” queue – hence most comments are not appearing immediately they are submitted.

I am rushing to get the new forum live this evening – with a bit of luck (and a few brandy shandies) this should be done. In the meantime, bear with the fact that there may be a delay between posting, and your comment appearing – and, little short of turning off the spam filter (which, on a site of this nature, is not practical), there is little I can do.

Many thanks.

Janey said,

Once again Steve you have no counter argument so you go into one of your usual nonsensical Dickensian rants, which offers nothing to the couriers who read this site except an insight in to this strange obsession you have with how wonderful parcelnet is coupled with a yearning to put all this in print as a romantic Dickensian novel.

Read the post, I am simply relaying the information that I received as requested.

I do not find it odd that individuals have more than one directorship, I simply find it interesting that the directors of Parcelnet just “ happen “ to be directors of all our third party clients.

How many companies are there in the UK that they could have been directors of ?

What are the odds of that ?

I also find it interesting that one of our, if not the ONLY competitor in the home courier delivery sector Redcats also seems to have more than its fair share of Parcelnet directors.

Mike French 985929 said,

Skytower

Once again I for one appreciate your efforts – Thank you

webtrekker said,

How strange, that the only two people to give their correct names are the only people NOT slagging off Parcelnet!! They obviously don’t want to upset the company for fear of reprisal.

webtrekker

packhorse 2 said,

Actually, it’s three including Richard Martin.

Mike French 985929 said,

Webtrekker

Yes I have slagged off Parcelcrap – the adim side sucks , read my posts , but like I said – if everything was perfect for everyone then life would be very boring …..