Parcelforce refutes survey
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• Parcelforce has hit back at Consumer Association claims that only 78% of its standard parcels are delivered on time compared with the Post Office's target of 90% arriving within three working days.
A report in the association's Which? magazine says that a survey of 1,000 parcels posted from 10 locations to UK addresses revealed that only 78% arrived within three days, while many turned up much later.
But Parcelforce disputes the survey's results saying that its own weekly sample of 3,000 parcels shows that it is meeting its performance target of 90% delivery in three days, The Which? survey claims that 10% of its parcels took more than five days to arrive; 6% took six days or more; and the slowest took 19 days.
Which? says the worst day to post a parcel is Friday with fewer than six out of 10 arriving within three days. It found that parcels posted before 16:00hrs had a better chance of reaching their destination on time.
Geographically the worst places to post from are London and Belfast, according to Which? — only four out of 10 Belfast parcels had arrived by the third working day, while Londoners received 85% of their parcels
by day five.
The report also criticises Parcelforce drivers for leaving a third of their parcels on doorsteps or in porches even when there is someone in the house. Which? claims that 40% of parcels are dumped in this way.
The report looks briefly at other parcels carriers, An attempt to send a parcel via Securicor Omega Express in Glasgow led to a "chapter of disasters" with a late pick-up blamed on the driver's mobile phone getting interference from naval exercises. Securicor told Which? that the problems were due to a dispute, which has since been resolved.
Parcelforce says its three-day standard service is not guaranteed, but it provides the best service for its price range. "Documentation improvements suggested by Which? would put the price up," says a spokesman.
Parcelforce says its drivers are trained not to leave parcels where they will pose a security risk by advertising that the householder is out. But 60% of houses are unoccupied during the day and "this is a problem faced by any carrier," says a spokesman.
"We don't mind being singled out," he says, but Which? has suggested that having a monopoly is a nasty thing — we have no legal monopoly, we just take pride in being market leader."