It appears that when Microsoft and Nokia said they were going to spend "quite a bit of money" on promoting the new Nokia Lumia phone range, that they meant it. Sponsoring one particular programme for a bit is one thing, but this is just crazy nuts... (press play below)
Friday, November 25, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Rant: "Collect+" Collect, Maybe, But They Sure Don't Deliver
For years, Royal Mail had the monopoly on sending stuff around the country. Then, other delivery companies sprung up. One such company is Collect+ (www.collectplus.co.uk). Their idea is that you buy a label online, stick it on your parcel, dump it at a local corner shop, and away it goes.
I recently decided to sell an old mobile phone - old, but still worth £100 apparently - to one of these "sell your mobile" companies. Not wanting to chance it to the post box, or queue up at the post office for an hour, I decided to give Collect+ a go.
The first part of the process - namely paying my money - was flawless. I paid £4 or so online, printed the label, attached it, and left my parcel at the shop down the road.
This is where it gets flaky.
First, the tracking online looks good. It's been collected, taken to my regional depot, and on to the central depot. After this, however... "delivery attempted, to be rescheduled" - at 9.58pm at night. Now, what company will be open at this kind of time to sign for it? It also showed the same status for 8.34am the following morning.
After this, it seemed to have made it's way to the Leamington depot, which is near the destination, but hang on - hasn't the delivery been attempted twice from the central depot already? Why send it to another depot?
Next, it sits at Leamington depot for a bit... then heads back to the central depot again. From there, it goes to a DIFFERENT depot again - this time in St. Neots. They "attempt" to deliver it again, don't manage it, and it sits at "to be rescheduled".
This is seeming fishy to me, so I call up their call centre. The woman on the phone tells me that the delivery is "on hold" because the driver "couldn't find the address". Now - hang on a minute. The delivery address is not a small hidden outhouse somewhere. Look at this map:
Yes, marked "A" on the map, it's that BLOODY HUGE WAREHOUSE on the outskirts of Wellingborough. Even a satellite can see it, but Collect+'s drivers don't seem able to.
Never the less, the woman on the phone tells me that it will DEFINITELY be delivered on Monday.
Monday comes and goes, and no, you guessed it, it's not been delivered. I've been ranting on Twitter, and so I get a phone call from Collect+, asking what's going on. The guy on the phone calls the depot, and comes back to me to tell me that Kuehne and Nagel, the company that owns the warehouse, likes to receive their deliveries in one big lump, so it'll be delivered Tuesday for sure.
It's Wednesday now, and it's STILL NOT BEEN DELIVERED. In fact, according to the tracking, it's not even been ATTEMPTED since last Thursday. Have a look at the tracking for my parcel on their website - it's almost comical. It reminds me of a parcel version of ChuckleVision - "to me... to you..."
Collect+ are screwing up in a big way, and if this mobile phone doesn't get to the warehouse in the next day or two, the rate of £100 that I'm supposed to be getting for it will no longer be valid, and will reduce to £56.
Given my experience so far, anyone reading this little review should learn from my mistake - don't use Collect+. Ever.
I recently decided to sell an old mobile phone - old, but still worth £100 apparently - to one of these "sell your mobile" companies. Not wanting to chance it to the post box, or queue up at the post office for an hour, I decided to give Collect+ a go.
The first part of the process - namely paying my money - was flawless. I paid £4 or so online, printed the label, attached it, and left my parcel at the shop down the road.
This is where it gets flaky.
First, the tracking online looks good. It's been collected, taken to my regional depot, and on to the central depot. After this, however... "delivery attempted, to be rescheduled" - at 9.58pm at night. Now, what company will be open at this kind of time to sign for it? It also showed the same status for 8.34am the following morning.
After this, it seemed to have made it's way to the Leamington depot, which is near the destination, but hang on - hasn't the delivery been attempted twice from the central depot already? Why send it to another depot?
Next, it sits at Leamington depot for a bit... then heads back to the central depot again. From there, it goes to a DIFFERENT depot again - this time in St. Neots. They "attempt" to deliver it again, don't manage it, and it sits at "to be rescheduled".
This is seeming fishy to me, so I call up their call centre. The woman on the phone tells me that the delivery is "on hold" because the driver "couldn't find the address". Now - hang on a minute. The delivery address is not a small hidden outhouse somewhere. Look at this map:
Yes, marked "A" on the map, it's that BLOODY HUGE WAREHOUSE on the outskirts of Wellingborough. Even a satellite can see it, but Collect+'s drivers don't seem able to.
Never the less, the woman on the phone tells me that it will DEFINITELY be delivered on Monday.
Monday comes and goes, and no, you guessed it, it's not been delivered. I've been ranting on Twitter, and so I get a phone call from Collect+, asking what's going on. The guy on the phone calls the depot, and comes back to me to tell me that Kuehne and Nagel, the company that owns the warehouse, likes to receive their deliveries in one big lump, so it'll be delivered Tuesday for sure.
It's Wednesday now, and it's STILL NOT BEEN DELIVERED. In fact, according to the tracking, it's not even been ATTEMPTED since last Thursday. Have a look at the tracking for my parcel on their website - it's almost comical. It reminds me of a parcel version of ChuckleVision - "to me... to you..."
Collect+ are screwing up in a big way, and if this mobile phone doesn't get to the warehouse in the next day or two, the rate of £100 that I'm supposed to be getting for it will no longer be valid, and will reduce to £56.
Given my experience so far, anyone reading this little review should learn from my mistake - don't use Collect+. Ever.
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