Report Abuse

“Avoid at all cost”

written by evilhomer79 on 25/05/2015

On 14th of May I booked a collection of a small parcel to go to Romania on Parcel Monkey's Air Express service (2-3 working days with online tracking). I would normally have used someone like Parcel Force, but the price I was quoted was too high on this occasion. I shopped around and found Parcel Monkey who would still use Parcel Force but for a fraction of the price. It seemed a logical choice so I booked and paid for next day collection. True to form, the parcel was collected the following morning (Friday 15th) by Parcel Force and delivered to Norsk Global the following Monday (the 18th) for international shipping. So far so good. Unfortunately that's where Parcel Force's tracking stops. It seems they were only responsible for getting it 20 miles down the road to Norsk. I can still use the Parcel Force tracking number on the Norsk website though but as of the 18th they list it as "prepared for export / in transit". Parcel Monkey's own tracking facility lists it as "out for delivery" on the same date.


This is the entirety of Parcel Monkey's tracking information:

14th May 2015 @ 20:05 Collection Scheduled
18th May 2015 @ 13:45 Out for delivery

That's it!

Bear in mind it should have been delivered around the 20th (and I'm writing this on the 25th).

I've sent parcels to Romania before using Parcel Force and have been given a tracking number that's valid for the entire trip, door to door, but I'm currently unable to track this one. Having booked it through Parcel Monkey (a broker) rather than directly with a courier, I don't have a tracking number that's valid outside the UK. I have no idea who's handling the Romanian leg of the delivery.

I spoke to Parcel Monkey via their appalling Live Chat on the 22nd and they've assured me the parcel is in Romania and gave me the name of the local courier who's apparently responsible for the delivery as well as a tracking number and was told that if I contacted the courier directly they would be able to tell me when it will be delivered. I did just that but they had no record of it. They told me the tracking number I'd been given was wrong so I gave them all the other info I had - Airway Bill Number, Consignee Name etc but they couldn't find a match.

I was able to get hold of Parcel Monkey again before they clocked off for the three day weekend and was told they would email the courier for an update and let me know. It was close to 6pm so I think they were just keen to get rid of me. I genuinely believe they have no clue who has the parcel and just gave me the name of a random courier they found online while talking with me. If they have another tracking number for it, why can't they give it to me? I want to know who has my parcel and where it is and to be able to track it like I would have been able to if I'd gone through Parcel Force direct. Instead I have to rely on Parcel Monkey's own tracking facility which hasn't been updated since it arrived at the international depot in Slough (this is despite Parcel Monkey apparently having an update that puts it in Romania).

It's so frustrating not being able to actually talk to someone there on the phone. They hide behind their Live Chat and manage to avoid actually being helpful by saying they need to investigate or they have to email someone else for more information. Just give me whatever damn tracking info you have (which apparently tells you it's in Romania) and I'll take it from there. Oh wait, they don't have any. Using these monkeys is the worst decision I ever made. IF it arrives tomorrow it will be a whole week late and I'm not holding my breath. I will probably end up spending another £100 buying a replacement item and doing what I should have done in the first place and going directly through a courier. I've learned an expensive lesson so you don't have to. AVOID AT ALL COST.

One final thing, I posted a friendly, polite message on their Facebook page (like so many other unhappy customers have) really just to bring it to their attention as I've found companies are more likely to respond positively (if only to protect their image) on a public forum. After the initial reply from them my post was deleted and I've been blocked from contacting them again. Real nice.