mybass Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Wow, sorry to see that damage, looks like it has been caught out by a forklift or something. Jeez, I cannot look at that photo too much! As a part time luthier, I can envisage how much pressure is needed to snap a neck with truss rod in it. Perhaps you can get a pro luthier to write a "report" on how difficult it must have been for a parcel force worker to snap the neck with their bare hands. In other words, this was done by mechanical means and then a blind eye turned on it. The worry is now sending basses off myself. Probably best to buy a cheap hard case and encase it in toughened steel and titanium! I know when sending stuff thru the PO I can insure over the "usual" amounts by paying extra. As I have yet to try parcel "Force" (!!!) to send stuff, I will surely check out all the print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 [quote name='mybass' post='9107' date='May 30 2007, 12:51 PM']Wow, sorry to see that damage, looks like it has been caught out by a forklift or something. Jeez, I cannot look at that photo too much! As a part time luthier, I can envisage how much pressure is needed to snap a neck with truss rod in it. Perhaps you can get a pro luthier to write a "report" on how difficult it must have been for a parcel force worker to snap the neck with their bare hands. In other words, this was done by mechanical means and then a blind eye turned on it. The worry is now sending basses off myself. Probably best to buy a cheap hard case and encase it in toughened steel and titanium! I know when sending stuff thru the PO I can insure over the "usual" amounts by paying extra. As I have yet to try parcel "Force" (!!!) to send stuff, I will surely check out all the print.[/quote] Ah beware, Mybass, This [i]was[/i] sent via the normal PO counter as a Post office parcel. Same limit applies - £150 max for all musical instruments regardless of what the counter clerk sells you. Anyway, rest assured, fellow bassers, the dear ol PO will not get away with this crime against rosewood ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cooke Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I'm worried now... warwickhunt should be sending me a Bass this week when and if he gets the letter with the money in it... I know we've all heard the jokes where mail labeled "Photos Do Not Bend" have arrived bent in two with "yes they do" scrawled on them and "Fragile Glass" has arrived all broken with the note "yes it really is" written on it... I'm beginning to suspect the workers do not give a flying fig as they know it can't actually be traced back to them for them to be held responsible... they can always blame the machines or say it was like that when it got to their stage... Think it's time for someone like Which to do a reliability study of the various options for large items... especially relevant as so many people are now shopping via the internet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ba55me15ter Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 There's a Phil Jones briefcase somewhere in the UK with my name on it, and there has been since last wednesday. Guess who... Worried of Newcastle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 [quote name='Ba55me15ter' post='9272' date='May 30 2007, 03:33 PM']There's a Phil Jones briefcase somewhere in the UK with my name on it, and there has been since last wednesday. Guess who... Worried of Newcastle.[/quote] Yeah well P-arse-lforce are so up together that the thing was back here from their claims department - with a letter saying "no claim" - before they had even registered it on their system as having arrived for their inspection ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2pods Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 When our local Business Post guy was delivering a small USB/midi keyboard (really crappy packing, but was all in one piece), I asked him about putting the likes of "Fragile" and "This Way Up" etc on parcels. He said the only reply you'll ever get for breakages is "Insufficient Packaging" He said 'cos of crappy hours and even more crappy wages there are high turnovers in most parcel depots with the bods who are hired not giving two s**ts for any warnings, requests, etc taking them mores as "a challenge" . He also said quite a lot of the workers don't have english as their main language ( so how did they get the job then ?), and use that as an excuse. Frankly, I was shocked I sent a dv camera, a very hefty synth(D50), a weighty chess set (10kg), and a synth module that week. ALL over-insured, all by PO and Parcelforce. Luckily, all arrived OK. Personally, I agree with my delivery guy. Some people are just bad barstewards, and probably take a delight in damaging other peoples stuff I hope you get some compensation for their bad service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Mmmm...., with apologies to anyone who's got stuff in transit at the moment..... About 6 months ago I paid PF to collect a cab from Yorkshire. I tracked it online and when it hadn't moved from the depot three days later (it was booked on 24 hour) I called the depot to be told that it was too heavy to deliver. They said it weighed 42kg, which was odd as the manufacturer spec said 32kg, which is what it subsequently turned out to be. Anyway, I went to the depot to collect the cab and pay for the excess and, as it was sooooooooo heavy, the lady suggested/required that I went around the back and picked it up myself (I guess not wanting to damage the fragile backs of the 18 stone men who get paid to do the job in question). Anyway, I walked into the 'behind the scenes' depot area to see a guy quite literally drop - and I suspect it was done with an equal measure of disdain and sheer incompetence - a large box marked 'Fragile' from the top of a stack of crates, probably about 8 feet all in all. What did he and his fat mates do? They laughed about it. For a few seconds my blood boiled as I thought it might have been mine but it wasn't, luckily. Anyway, I picked up the allegedly 42kg cab with one hand and walked out, vowing not to use PF again. I strongly suspect that the best advice is that in the post above. Don't send basses via courier. I won't anymore unless it's with the explicit understanding that the buyer sorts insurance, which as we've seen, is a non-starter in the real world. Until the cab incident I'd sent over 10 basses via Parcelforce, all of them insured. Each time the guy behind the counter at the PO both knew thay were basses and sold me the insurance. He's actually a really nice bloke and very helpful so I'm gonna feel a bit bad, but I'm going to go in tomorrow and ask him to explain why - as the small print says musical instruments can't be insured above £150 - he has on numerous occasions sold me up to £1500's worth at a combined cost I'd imagine of well over £200? I won't be holding my breath for the refund. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Oh, forgot to add, the Parcelforce guy who delivered a bass to me a few months back said, and I quote, "You're bloody brave sending something like that with Parcelforce" The prosecution rests I think! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 Yeah I'm going to go and have a chat with my PO lady too. I like her and my claim is going to cause her some grief, I think, but its a fair wadge to give away. Ref a note further up, maybe they added that clause recently and havn't told anyone - there's clearly a training shortfall on the counter as well as in the depots... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spikyhedgehog Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I think someone should ship themselves and a baseball bat somewhere. Then when they break thier leg they can jump out and 'deal' with the person in question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB2000 Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 This thread has me s**ting bricks. Can someone clarify which courier (who accepts orders from non-account holders) does offers insurance that covers musical instruments? Would amplifiers and cabinets be classed as instruments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_the_bass Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 +1. I sent off my very old and probably very delicate Vox to its potential new owner with DHL this morning. Hopefully i'll get a thumbs up tomorrow that it's turned up intact Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 [quote name='BB2000' post='9343' date='May 30 2007, 05:21 PM']Would amplifiers and cabinets be classed as instruments?[/quote] With PF the answer's 'no' if you're insuring them at an additional premium and 'yes' if you're making a claim. Evidently! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 I got a cab from sh*tty-link and they had dropped it so hard that one of the drivers was so mucked up the cone would not move! Nuff Said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 [quote name='Spikyhedgehog' post='9338' date='May 30 2007, 05:15 PM']I think someone should ship themselves and a baseball bat somewhere. Then when they break thier leg they can jump out and 'deal' with the person in question.[/quote] "hop out"? maybe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 [quote name='Paul Cooke' post='9197' date='May 30 2007, 01:56 PM']I'm worried now... warwickhunt should be sending me a Bass this week when and if he gets the letter with the money in it... I know we've all heard the jokes where mail labeled "Photos Do Not Bend" have arrived bent in two with "yes they do" scrawled on them and "Fragile Glass" has arrived all broken with the note "yes it really is" written on it... I'm beginning to suspect the workers do not give a flying fig as they know it can't actually be traced back to them for them to be held responsible... they can always blame the machines or say it was like that when it got to their stage... Think it's time for someone like Which to do a reliability study of the various options for large items... especially relevant as so many people are now shopping via the internet...[/quote] Hi Paul. Just got in and your letter is here, at least Royal Mail got that bit right! I priced this to go via 'senditnow' (PF), after all that has been said do you want to think about other arrangements or are you happy with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 [quote name='BB2000' post='9343' date='May 30 2007, 05:21 PM']This thread has me s**ting bricks. Can someone clarify which courier (who accepts orders from non-account holders) does offers insurance that covers musical instruments?[/quote] Just read the Interparcel website and t&c's very thoroughly and spoke to a human and they all confirmed they do ship and insure basses ... [url="http://www.interparcel.com"]http://www.interparcel.com[/url] We will see .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmsheep Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Anyone thought of getting BBC`s "Watchdog" involved at all? I`m sure that if you trawl other UK music forums you`ll find other disgruntled parcelfarce customers who would be prepared to give assistance in complaining. Of course, what would be ideal is if a load of parcels were sent (marked "FRAGILE/DO NOT DROP/THIS WAY UP" etc ) that contained some sort of device that could measure whether they were dropped (and how often), but the BBC can do that. mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spikyhedgehog Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 Well it's hardly just musicians that suffer. Anyone and everyone who sends something heavy/valuable/fragile will end up have something destroyed eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizbat Posted May 30, 2007 Share Posted May 30, 2007 [quote name='OldGit' post='8490' date='May 29 2007, 10:14 AM']Hi Do you have a link to a website please? Ta[/quote] I don,t know of a general uk number but we use Apex couriers branch in Bourn lincs and they can probably tell you who to call in your area. Their phone number is 01778 394454 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 30, 2007 Author Share Posted May 30, 2007 [quote name='wizbat' post='9630' date='May 31 2007, 12:09 AM']I don,t know of a general uk number but we use Apex couriers branch in Bourn lincs and they can probably tell you who to call in your area. Their phone number is 01778 394454[/quote] Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 [quote name='OldGit' post='9364' date='May 30 2007, 05:57 PM']Just read the Interparcel website and t&c's very thoroughly and spoke to a human and they all confirmed they do ship and insure basses ... [url="http://www.interparcel.com"]http://www.interparcel.com[/url] We will see ....[/quote] They don't insure beyond £1000 - which is understandable, but annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 31, 2007 Author Share Posted May 31, 2007 [quote name='paul, the' post='9684' date='May 31 2007, 03:03 AM']They don't insure beyond £1000 - which is understandable, but annoying.[/quote] Good point Mind you if it's worth that much I think I'd be taking it .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_the_bass Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 the bass i sent yesterday with DHL through interparcel has just turned up safe and sound and whilst i don't know how the package was treated in transit, I daresay I would ship with them again - especially if they're happy insuring basses (I didn't think to check, but the value of the bass didn't exceed £150). It also occurred to me that the UK leg of Thomann shipments is handled by DHL and I've never heard of any of their stuff broken in transit. Thumbs up from me i suppose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB2000 Posted May 31, 2007 Share Posted May 31, 2007 [quote name='john_the_bass' post='9762' date='May 31 2007, 11:01 AM']the bass i sent yesterday with DHL through interparcel has just turned up safe and sound and whilst i don't know how the package was treated in transit, I daresay I would ship with them again - especially if they're happy insuring basses (I didn't think to check, but the value of the bass didn't exceed £150). It also occurred to me that the UK leg of Thomann shipments is handled by DHL and I've never heard of any of their stuff broken in transit. Thumbs up from me i suppose[/quote] You've got to be kidding! Probably about 20% ir the parcels I get from Thomman have been badly treated (burst open, or with perforations or with contents broken). However, this may be because DHL seem to use local contractors for the final delivery outside major population centres, and they appear to be cowboys. UPS are the same. Fedex seem to have their own delivery vans (at least where I am). One good thing about Thomman is that there's never been a problem with sending a replacement. One plus point with parcelforce is that it is either parcelforce or the royal mail who handle your pacel from collection until delivery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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