Nannynick, did I just read about your delivery troubles in the Evening Standard?

[hohohoshedittant]

Just that really....

Yes, but I wasn't getting a parcel from the company they mentioned. My parcel was from another company, who also used the same courier company.

I was very excited to recognise someone they were talking about.

Did you ever get your parcel?

Yes it arrived today - not that I was here mind to sign for it. That's the problem with courier deliveries a lot are sign for (POD).

so be in if you order something that needs to be signed for

I didn't order something that needed to be signed for... it wasn't supposed to come by carrier. How can I be in when I work 7-7?

don't order online then if you aren't going to be in or provide a place where delivery people can leave things

There were two places they could have left something (that bit of the article was right). I didn't pay for next day delivery - it should have arrived after Xmas (I'm off work all next week).

Online ordering if a pain for me, nothing I can do about it when companies won't tell me who will they use, when it will arrive (in the past I've scheduled things to arrive on my day off), give other options for delivery (such as to an address different to card holder).

Why can't companies say which company they will use for sending items? I will pay extra for the convenience of Collect+ yet many companies do not offer that option.

I can't be the only person in the UK who works long hours and can't get things delivered to work either (as a nanny I'm not physically at my place of work all day).

you can get boxes you attach outside your house

Does it come with a free house - I need one of those first! I'm in a block of flats with semi secure entrance.

How much does one of those boxes cost? How much does it cost HDNL to send the box to Collect+? I think Collect+ will probably be cheaper.

Or maybe I just won't order from any online company - hmm, that could make things difficult in our internet enabled world.

lol my dh worked for royal mailfor years and has seen it all, so glad he's left now with people moaning about the slightest thing

Hippo Box = £235
Collect+ from £4. Hmm, so that's over 58 deliveries before the box becomes better value than paying extra for Collect+. I probably average 5 courier deliveries a year... so over 11 years worth of deliveries.

So why can't companies offer Collect+ - especially companies using Yodel/HDNL whose system links with Collect+ - "Existing HDNL clients can implement Collect+ with minimal changes to their current implementation."

Royal mail are lovely though They will leave most parcels and if it has to do back to depot, it will won't usually be in another county.

Should point out that people moan about lots of things on Mumsnet and Twitter and other places. Maybe it was a very slow news day for the DM to go through twitter search looking for anyone mentioning waiting for a delivery.

was listening to a radio program where retired people are becoming unofficial drop off zones for online companies such as Amazon....

my auntie used to do that for her street years ago
my mums does it for me sometimes
but i would get delivered to your place of work as how many times to write on here that one of plus points of having a nanny is they are their for deliverers ...
and just have a stay in day that day

when i was a nanny i always got everything delivered to my work place.

i found it much easier than spending my precious weekends collecting parcels.

if no one was in there were plenty of secure enough places where parcels could be left out of sight....

royal mail is fine, the depots are not 'in an industrial park without any public transport at the other side of town'.
I can't have anything delivered to work and it's a right pain.

This is exactly why I've started doing the 'reserve and collect' at places like Argos and B&Q, and 'free delivery to store' from M&S, House of Frazer and Next.

Such a pain getting other deliveries. I have to pay extra for 'pick a day and time' and then ask people in our street not to park in the road that day so the bloomin' truck can get through, otherwise I get crabby drivers who have to walk up the hill to deliver to us. I now ONLY do this for large items which I can't physically fit into my car. And choosing either morning or afternoon slots I risk being out on the school run..... grrrr.

I'm giving 'free delivery to store' a go. Am waiting for a text from John Lewis to say that my order has arrived at my local Waitrose (they will keep it there for 7 days, allowing me to pick it up during store opening hours at my leisure).

Nannynick - You life will be transformed, and so will your wallet when you realise how easy it is!!

But seriously... returns are also so much easier and cheaper!

It worked well ChitChattingElf - collected from my local Waitrose this afternoon. Yes you may well right, this won't be good for my bank balance.