Parcel2go

Goods dropped and damaged / double-charged, 2008

I've used Parcel2Go twice, both in 2008. I'm writing my review now, because a friend has just asked about service and experiences of P2G, and I was reminded of my utterly awful experience of them.

In the first instance, I was returning a 2-week-old espresso machine to the vendors in order to have a dysfunctional thermostat replaced. The espresso machine was in a large, clearly-labeled box. It was padded on all sides by polystyrene. I added a large, thick winter jumper to the bottom of the box to ensure that the espresso machine (which cost £700 originally) was well-padded.

By the time the espresso machine had made it to Coventry and back, the whole bottom of the base of the machine was buckled. According to the vendor, it had been buckled by the time it arrived in Coventry. This is not insubstantial materials; it's thick, sheet steel welded into a solid formation. It had - very clearly - been dropped, very hard, from a very considerable height. On the advice of the vendor - who claimed previous experience dealing with similar claims - I didn't pursue damages, as (he stated) there was no way of definitively proving that the machine had left my house in an unbroken condition, or arrived at his address unbent. In retrospect, I regret this decision.

The vendor agreed to beat the panels flat free of charge; on his advice, and with his assurance, I again used P2G.

On this occasion, I padded the box with 2 duvets in addition to the polystyrene; the machine was undamaged, but P2G charged me twice for the delivery. The refund was, at least, reasonably quick;

A genuinely unpleasant experience from start to end, which resulted in me having a 'tarnished' / damaged near-new espresso machine due to faulty / lax / slack handling.

The pictures attached are of the crumpled front end of the dropped box; a raised front 'foot' of the espresso machine, which would've been flush with the table without the bend; and the edge of the 'drip tray,' where the whole base of the machine is kinked up knocking it out of kilter with the machine's frame, along with an idea of how thick the (bent) steel is.