Parcel Motel losing items

Ratzo Rizzo

To lose one item may be considered bad luck, to lose two items may be exceptional but to lose three items in a row raises my suspicions about this company.
The last two were both sent by courier and both were confirmed as delivered to Parcel Motel.

Has anyone experienced any issues with lost or missing items?? I think in future I'll avoid them and accept the increased postal charges to Ireland...

srsly78

I had one package that did not arrive. Turned out that the sender did not correctly put the address on it (the PMXXXXX code). A quick phonecall to PM support revealed the package was sitting in a warehouse in Dublin. I gave them my details and they forwarded it as normal.

homer911

They lost an expensive college book of mine posted from England. Refused to take any responsibility for it until they got a reference from the English shipping company (which took a while to get). Fairly quickly after that they "searched the warehouse" and found it. Got it the next day, no apology and still got charged. Haven't used them since.

Cant understand why/how it could have got lost - it was clearly and properly labeled with my PM code by the seller. Was missing for about 3 weeks.

Citroen2cv

On two occasions, parcels being shipped to me have gone missing. The sending party had my correct delivery address, and somewhere in between the parcels went missing. Gave parcel motel a ring on both occasions who said they'd check their warehouse, but never got back to me.

Icepick

Did you get a confirmation they received the package? Because you can't blame them if they didn't receive it in the first place.

Carley353

I had a delivery issue with them too. Again, it seems the vendor dropped the PM ID code from the second line of the address so PM didn't know where to send it.
After contacting the vendor, I rang PM who 'checked the warehouse' and found the parcel eventually.
However, the parcel still had my name on the label so I would have thought they could have made some effort to trace their customer instead of just leaving the parcel sitting there.
Maybe they need to put something on their website so you can update your account when you're expecting a delivery?
As a customer you've no control over whether the seller is going to correctly label your item with your PM ID number.

Discodog

The critical flaw with Parcel Motel is that items are not checked in at the NI site. They don't go onto the system until they get to Dublin. This provides a big opportunity for items to go missing.

The €100 liability is very low. You have to contact them before delivery to increase the cover.

MagicBusDriver1

I had someone's else parcel delivered to me before. There was no similarities with the name or the pmid. It got it collected eventually and never received my promised refund. I will only use them now for cheaper items

Cabaal

Discodog wrote: »

The €100 liability is very low. You have to contact them before delivery to increase the cover.

or you can just use their website to increase the cover,

The 100e liability is perfectly fine for the avg joe in most cases, those that want higher can easily pay extra for it.

It would be unfair to have a higher default liability for everyone as this would put the price up for everyone.

jonseyblub

I went to collect my parcel this morning and the compartment was empty. Anyone have this experience? They say they are investigating.

recipio

Never lost an item but had some sitting in NI before I enquired about them. You would expect them to make an effort if the name is correct - they have it on their system - but that's not the case.

Fiskar

Of late I notice every box or package I get dilvered via PM is opened and taped back up. Had one DNA item that the amazon seller resent. Would not use PM for any items over 100 euro.

VIP king

No losses thankfully but several delays of late. Seems many motel's are blocked by voulme of traffic so if your desparate for an item ( a car part ) in my case TOUGH.

They did mis-palce something and if you look at the T&C they have 14 days to get it from NI to your motel and there aint nothing ypu can do if you dont like it.

If the motels are full now what will it be like nearer Xmas ???

Rather than up the price they should charge the same but offer a discount for prompt collection thus freeing up places for other buyers.

I bet many leave it for the 48 hours for no good reason.

I'm told about parcel connect by fastway. Collect from a petrol garage near you most open early till late but NO LIMIT ON ITEMS like the motels !!!

J T take note.

VIP king

New one to me.

I'm told as the guy loads the motel the computer reads your scan and opens an appropriate door one item at a time so it is supposed to be foolproof. The parcel must have been there then.

Was it something small ( envelope ) and it was at the back ?

YossiA

Is there a penalty if you do not collect within 48 hours? What is the maximum value you can insure a package for?

VIP king

I think it will be removed within 24 hours. As it is now so popular they are often full so people waiting for something cannot gte it as others have not removed theirs. If it goes back to the depot you have to pay again to have it sent out.

As fustraiting it is when something is lost with the service being offered for under €4 you cannot really expect any more than the max of € 100 offered.

Higher value can be accepted - rates are on the website

cat_dog

YossiA wrote: »

Is there a penalty if you do not collect within 48 hours? What is the maximum value you can insure a package for?

If your parcel stays at the Parcel Motel for longer than 48 hours, they will collect it and bring it back to the nearest Nightline Depot.
You will be charged €3.95 for a second stay.
More info here:
http://www.parcelmotel.com/terms.html

Champ

jonseyblub wrote:

I went to collect my parcel this morning and the compartment was empty. Anyone have this experience? They say they are investigating.

I had this happen once before in Limerick. Called their number and explained that it was empty. The rep was very nice and knowledgeable and indicated that the driver probably put the package into the wrong locker. So she got someone down there within a day with the master keys or something to find the package and place it into the correct locker (you'll get another PM text with code).

I got a refund and wasn't too bothered about the mistake as we're only human and had plenty of other orders delivered without issue.

cookiecakes

I've found that their customer ervice is severely lacking recently. I remember when they had a rep on here and she was so helpful. Once one of my parcels was checked in twice and I emailed her to ask if it was 2 separate ones (this was before they had pictures!) and she refunded the charge and put two extra free stays on my account. Sound as you like.

Recently I had two parcels leave the depot at the same time and were marked as in transit. One arrived. The other did not. I emailed them asking where it had gone and was told 'oh it will be there tomorrow morning'. A full 48 hours after it left Belfast, it showed up. The customer service dude pretty much had the attitude ''well it showed up' and that was that. Added to the price increase, if there was another company offering a similar thing, I'd definitely migrate.

Bob24

Ratzo Rizzo wrote: »

To lose one item may be considered bad luck, to lose two items may be exceptional but to lose three items in a row raises my suspicions about this company.
The last two were both sent by courier and both were confirmed as delivered to Parcel Motel.

Has anyone experienced any issues with lost or missing items?? I think in future I'll avoid them and accept the increased postal charges to Ireland...

Not very reassuring ...

Have you reported to them? And have they paid you money for their lost item insurance?

[NER-HQ]Yoda

I'm missing a Parcel myself at the moment. It was tracked Royal Mail 1st class and signed for in Belfast.
Waiting now 19 days since it arrived in Belfast. They're checking for it everywhere Im told.
To be honest Im not impressed at all.

Digital Society

Ratzo Rizzo wrote: »

To lose one item may be considered bad luck, to lose two items may be exceptional but to lose three items in a row raises my suspicions about this company.
The last two were both sent by courier and both were confirmed as delivered to Parcel Motel.

Has anyone experienced any issues with lost or missing items?? I think in future I'll avoid them and accept the increased postal charges to Ireland...

Are they 100% putting your PM Number on it?

A bit strange that ive ordered 100s of times and never had any bother but you get 3 in a row. Where they all sent by the same person?

If they where that bad they would go out of business fairly quickly.

ani_mal

did anyone tried this crowd? https://www.parcelconnect.ie/map

they are more expensive but use local shops to provide service

kleefarr

Collected one today. Never had any problems.

SpaceTime

Biggest issue I've had its vendors not putting the PM number into the address because they assume its an error!

You've got to also include an explanatory note in the delivery notes.

Also make sure you put the ID into the first line.

ani_mal

I always tell vendors to put this PM number as its very important. and asking for confirmation. no problem so far. amazon or eBay no problem at all

o1s1n

Journee Victorious Shelter wrote: »

Day 17 into parcel motel losing my item and still no word on them processing the claim.

[NER-HQ]Yoda wrote: »

I'm missing a Parcel myself at the moment. It was tracked Royal Mail 1st class and signed for in Belfast.
Waiting now 19 days since it arrived in Belfast. They're checking for it everywhere Im told.
To be honest Im not impressed at all.

You seriously need to chase them, ask for an update every few days.

They broke a monitor on me a couple of months ago and I hounded them for a refund. Got one after about two weeks.

AlanS181824

VIP king wrote: »

New one to me.

I'm told as the guy loads the motel the computer reads your scan and opens an appropriate door one item at a time so it is supposed to be foolproof. The parcel must have been there then.

Was it something small ( envelope ) and it was at the back ?

RE the envelope thing, I bought shoes for my dog (don't hate :pac:) and they were sent from China in an envelope.

The ParcelMotel driver obviously though that there's no point putting a little envelope in a whole compartment in the ParcelMotel even though I'm a paying customer and instead left it into the adjoining Topaz!

Can't understand their reasoning but it was a massive pain nonetheless!

Collibosher

AlanS181824 wrote: »

....I bought shoes for my dog (don't hate :pac:) and they were sent from China in an envelope...

Hush puppies ?

AlanS181824

Collibosher wrote: »

Hush puppies ?

Er... Boots actually!

copper beauty

Ratzo Rizzo wrote: »

To lose one item may be considered bad luck, to lose two items may be exceptional but to lose three items in a row raises my suspicions about this company.
The last two were both sent by courier and both were confirmed as delivered to Parcel Motel.

Has anyone experienced any issues with lost or missing items?? I think in future I'll avoid them and accept the increased postal charges to Ireland...

I have no problem until now. My QVC package worth over £300 plus €17 postage has gone missing from Dublin. They are checking cctv. I know what they are going to say - we can't find it. I didn't realize I am only cover for €100.

copper beauty

Parcel Motel have lost my package going to QVC in the UK. Value is over £300 plus the cost of postage. At the moment they are looking at cctv in Dublin. I have used them loads of times with no problem. I never realized I am only cover for €100. Another thing sometimes my package is left for 3-4 days in the Carrigaline Parcel Motel before collection?

MediaHaul

I bought an item about a year ago from Amazon and it was delivered and signed for by PM in the NI depot.

There was even a photo on the website of the package going through their depot.

Never made it to Dublin.

I put in a claim right away and it took about 2 months and they refused to cover the loss stating liability and T&C.

Really bad service. Don't ever buy anything expensive without using the increased liability.

Its only ever the expensive packages that go awol it seems. Dodgey.

copper beauty

copper beauty wrote: »

I have no problem until now. My QVC package worth over £300 plus €17 postage has gone missing from Dublin. They are checking cctv. I know what they are going to say - we can't find it. I didn't realize I am only cover for €100.

Just got email from parcel motel, they claim an old pastel motel delivery number was put on? I don't know how? So it has been released with new number in the UK

Bob24

MediaHaul wrote: »

I put in a claim right away and it took about 2 months and they refused to cover the loss stating liability and T&C.

Did they cover nothing at all?? Even if you didn't get the extended liability option you should have been covered for 100 euros.

MediaHaul

Yeah they offered me the 100 (item cost me 450)

In the end they would only settle at 200 even after I threatened small claims.

I knew they had cover stating the liability but its proper out of order given that they actually signed for it.

Refused to use them since.

MediaHaul

Their liability covers tons of crap and it is electronically signed for in NI by the same generic name everytime.

Asked around here and a couple of other places and people said court would have been more costly for me.

ABajaninCork

I have to give some love to PM here...

I do a LOT of online shopping since I moved here. PM to me has been a Godsend, as I no longer have to time deliveries for when I go home to London, and ask friends and family to keep them for me until I get there to collect.

Twice, I've had parcels incorrectly addressed (even though I always give the full PM ref and address). PM called me to ask if I was expecting anything. I confirmed I was, and they sent down the parcels to me with no bother at all.

Credit where credit's due.

Bob24

MediaHaul wrote: »

Yeah they offered me the 100 (item cost me 450)

In the end they would only settle at 200 even after I threatened small claims.

I knew they had cover stating the liability but its proper out of order given that they actually signed for it.

Refused to use them since.

To be fair what they can be blamed for in what you said is the long delay to process the claim. The fact that the didn't refund the full amount is in line with their T&Cs.

I understand it is annoying, but this is something people should expect when using a delivery service (you would have the same thing if you send a 450 euros parcel via An Post and they loose it ... maximum amount they will refund you is 150). We tend not to acknowledge the risk as everything is made easy, but when using Parcel Motel we are both the sender (ie owner) and the recipient of he parcel, so if it there is an issue while in transit the loss is ours - whereas if you get it delivered directly to your home from Amazon you only assume ownership when it reaches your house (anything before that is Amazon's problem and we don't care).

MediaHaul

"so if it there is an issue while in transit the loss is ours"

This is the annoying part though.

If you asked someone to deliver a package for you and you knew that they had it, then they turn around and say "sorry I lost it but my T&C state that I am only responsible for X amount" its in poor taste.

To lose it is one thing, but to lose it and not take responsibility using the cover of T&C sucks.

Lesson learned. Nightline drivers cannot be trusted.

Call that a sweeping generalisation if you want but thats how it felt afterwards.

Snake Plisken

Ok I'm a longtime user of Parcelmotel and everything goes well most of the time never an issue with Amazon or eBay, but I did have an expensive controller go missing in February, it was signed for and I could see a picture of it but it never got to my Parcelmotel. I did get refunded in the end as they couldn't find it after extensive searches.
A couple of key points that might help some
1) on your account beside the increase liability is a shopping tracker button hit that and fill out details about your packager eg sender, shipping agent, tracking info if available, description of item value. So complete this the moment your item ships. The plus side to doing this is that it increases the standard liability to €250.
2) if it is a more expensive item it's worth spending the extra to get extended liability be it €500 or €1000.
3) if your package does go missing ring them every day and look for updates get the name of the person you were talking to and get them to escalate it.
4) As already mentioned make sure the shipper includes your pm number on the address.
Hope this helps some of you as I know from experience that is a very frustrating trying to chase Parcelmotel on a missing package.

MediaHaul

Thanks Snake, some good info there. Much appreciated

Bob24

MediaHaul wrote: »

If you asked someone to deliver a package for you and you knew that they had it, then they turn around and say "sorry I lost it but my T&C state that I am only responsible for X amount" its in poor taste.

To lose it is one thing, but to lose it and not take responsibility using the cover of T&C sucks.

But as I said this is exactly what An Post would do as well (I know very well as they have lost 2 registered parcels from me and I got very little financial compensation).

As you mentioned, the question then is do you think the delivery company can be trusted not to lose items too often - and to refrain from using them if you don't think they can be trusted. I actually wouldn't use AnPost for anything worth over 300 euros anymore and I know that if they do lose a 300 euros item I don't expect my full money back. You seem to have reached a similar conclusion about PM which is fair enough and probably wise.

But in any case I don't think any one can expect a delivery company to provide full compensation for any loss occurred when they paid 4 euros for the service - insuring the item properly has to cost more.

MediaHaul

I fully agree with you Bob24, and as a result it has made me avoid PM (I rarely use AnPost either as they are brutal!)

Bob24

MediaHaul wrote: »

I fully agree with you Bob24, and as a result it has made me avoid PM (I rarely use AnPost either as they are brutal!)

Yes overall we agree but I guess it still is frustrating :-)
I think the problems are marketing (PM could make the liability more clear) and the fact that people will sometimes be unreasonable because they really want that cheaper UK price or item that is not sold in Ireland. I include myself in this as I have ordered iPhones through PM to get them before the Ireland release date (and that was before they had the option for extended liability). I would definitely have been as annoyed as you are if they had lost them.

MediaHaul

Its the classic not reading the T&C's here but yes if they advertised the extended liability, given that it is not that expensive really, more people would avoid these kinds of issues.

ABajaninCork

Either pay the extra to have the item sent direct. Or take out extended liability for PM. Those are the choices.

okidoki987

Asked around here and a couple of other places and people said court would have been more costly for me.

Small claims court up to €2,000, the fee for making a small claim is €25.
Also a company probably wouldn't be too happy with their name appearing
in the papers so they may well settle beforehand.

http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/library3.nsf/pagecurrent/781D7D5227918A618025715C004CAEF3?opendocument

Vic Vinegar

ani_mal wrote: »

did anyone tried this crowd? https://www.parcelconnect.ie/map

they are more expensive but use local shops to provide service

I've used these four times now (no Parcel Motel near me but there is a very local Parcel Connect)

Works exactly the same way as PM but you pick up the item from a shop instead of a locker. It's a lot handier for me, no lockers to get congested in busy periods. Costs €4.50 per item so isn't that much different on price. Can also get larger items delivered than at PM (have to buy a separate delivery label if over 10kg, but still worth it)

Discodog

I know a Nightline courier. He was telling me that they have two containers full of parcels without PM numbers. He said that they have people continually going through the pile to try & link them to names.

But PM will never be properly secure until they log items on to the system when they arrive in the North instead of waiting till they get to Dublin.

nava

MOD:Closing the thread but merged new posts to existing parcel Motel thread