AddressPal & Lockers - An Post's Parcel Service SEE MOD WARNING FIRST POST

Discodog

cormie wrote: »

I'd rather just present my ID than have to carry yet another card around for some company/service

You have to provide both unless the PO staff know you.

cormie

I'd say the ID is more important legally? The card just says what the package will say. I wonder has anyone been refused collection without the card but having their ID?

Was in my local PO earlier today. She said the AP card AND photo ID even though she's known me for years. I was very hurt.

Virtanen

Got my first delivery no problem. It would be nice if the site updated to let you know when they receive a package, not just when it's ready for collection. But works well otherwise.

Is it normal for the site to go tits up? "The minute I make my first ever order".....

amdaley28

Virtanen wrote: »

Got my first delivery no problem. It would be nice if the site updated to let you know when they receive a package, not just when it's ready for collection. But works well otherwise.

Agreed that would be good.
Otherwise you might be waiting only to discover that they never received your package at the Uk address.
Just bought my first item yesterday. Was due to be delivered to the Uk address today so will probably be here by the end of the week.

My nearest PM is over an hours drive away while my post office is just five minutes down the road.

stronglikebull

I just registered for this service tonight as there's something on Amazon that I need, but of course it won't deliver to Ireland. Funny thing is there's another seller that will deliver to Ireland, but it's £30 more expensive. Both are fulfilled by Amazon, and identical products. Registered the AP address to my account and it goes through fine, free delivery from Amazon too.

So far, I like it. Will see how quickly it arrives now.

Yawns

Registered last week and sent a large item to the UK address. Checked the limits and weight. Even got the seller to confirm the parcel size and weight as I told him there was restrictions. All good. Paid for item. During the week it was refused by staff in the UK hub. Not required was the reason. Seller asking me why. I ring An Post and go through it with them, give them tracking info and weight etc and they are confused too. Should have been accepted unless it was damaged. Seller checks with courier and box is undamaged according to them. I'm supposed to be getting a call back from An Post since Wednesday but nothing yet and stuck on hold atm.

The item was resent to try one more time as I heard nothing from An Post but if it's refused again, I'll be ringing to make sure they cancel my account completely. So far I'm not impressed to say the least.

readyletsgo

Yawns wrote: »

Registered last week and sent a large item to the UK address. Checked the limits and weight. Even got the seller to confirm the parcel size and weight as I told him there was restrictions. All good. Paid for item. During the week it was refused by staff in the UK hub. Not required was the reason. Seller asking me why. I ring An Post and go through it with them, give them tracking info and weight etc and they are confused too. Should have been accepted unless it was damaged. Seller checks with courier and box is undamaged according to them. I'm supposed to be getting a call back from An Post since Wednesday but nothing yet and stuck on hold atm.

The item was resent to try one more time as I heard nothing from An Post but if it's refused again, I'll be ringing to make sure they cancel my account completely. So far I'm not impressed to say the least.

God that doesn't sound good at all! Any update on this yet?

I've ordered 5 separate items from Amazon, all under £4 each, all wouldn't post to Ireland (why?). First item arrived in the UK address on Saturday so I expect it to arrive in my chosen PO by tomorrow, but will not be collecting anything until Friday incase a couple of the other items arrive between now and Thursday night.

So I just bring my AP card and some form of photo id right? Can I use my work id? Has my name and photo on it.

Anyone else having any kind of problems with the service yet? I didn't like PM much but that's only because the closest PM is miles away and charge a little more too, think about €4.50 per delivery.

Hopefully I get my stuff with no problems over the next week or two.

Yawns

PM is €3.95 a "stay" for regular items. I'd imagine any photo id is fine but if you have a passport or drivers licence, I'd bring that. If you do use a work id and it's accepted, please let us know how you get on.

As for my item, I'm awaiting the courier to resend it, but the response from Address Pal staff has not impressed me at all. No call back despite promised one and email responses have been nothing but "our staff won't accept oversized items or items without address" despite me already confirming with seller the size / weight and address label being fine. After communicating this again to the An Post / Address Pal email, they asked me to ask for a photo from courier etc. No answer to why they can't give a proper reason for refusal at all. I think it'd be easier for their own staff to have proper reasons in their own system. Ie Item refused for oversized or item refused due to excessive dmg to parcel/packaging. Just labeling it as not required is a pita.

If it was over-sized or labelled wrong with the ridiculously long ap number, at least I wouldn't need to trouble their admin staff and just deal direct with the seller instead of having to communicate between both parties with both blaming each other.

intheclouds

Yawns wrote: »

If it was over-sized or labelled wrong with the ridiculously long ap number, at least I wouldn't need to trouble their admin staff and just deal direct with the seller instead of having to communicate between both parties with both blaming each other.

This is a big failing of these parcel forwarding services imo.

I had an item go missing from Amazon seller to Parcel Motel. Courier had a POD which was signed "Parcel Motel".

Parcel motel said that thats not how they sign.

Amazon seller said as far as he was concerned it was delivered.

Courier said they delivered.

Tried to invoke help from Amazon and they said they dont deal with issues involving parcel forwarding services.

Sounds like you are going to have similar issues with An Posts service.

readyletsgo

Yawns wrote: »

PM is €3.95 a "stay" for regular items. I'd imagine any photo id is fine but if you have a passport or drivers licence, I'd bring that. If you do use a work id and it's accepted, please let us know how you get on.

As for my item, I'm awaiting the courier to resend it, but the response from Address Pal staff has not impressed me at all. No call back despite promised one and email responses have been nothing but "our staff won't accept oversized items or items without address" despite me already confirming with seller the size / weight and address label being fine. After communicating this again to the An Post / Address Pal email, they asked me to ask for a photo from courier etc. No answer to why they can't give a proper reason for refusal at all. I think it'd be easier for their own staff to have proper reasons in their own system. Ie Item refused for oversized or item refused due to excessive dmg to parcel/packaging. Just labeling it as not required is a pita.

If it was over-sized or labelled wrong with the ridiculously long ap number, at least I wouldn't need to trouble their admin staff and just deal direct with the seller instead of having to communicate between both parties with both blaming each other.

Oh man, that's a head melt. What is the reasoning behind an oversized package? Of course they will charge you more for a large package. It's such a pity cause it's neither yours or the sellers fault, it's the depo in the UK. I hope they get it sorted for you fast!

Well on my end just after I posted here I got a sms saying a package was ready to be collected. Went up to the GPO, asked security which counter to go to, no idea, staff member Saif to go to stamp counter, grand, went over spoke to an older lady, she took my AP card and my work id no problem but it was her first time doing it, so took her 's while to go through the motions, which is grand guess. Small package, €3.50, save about €5 on postage there as it was free UK delivery. I will say, my AP address was clear on the front of the package with a barcode to send it to my selected PO here. Maybe with your package, whoever put the barcode sticker on maybe covered your AP address? Something so stupid like that should be solved easily. But it might be something the English PO did before it arrived at the AP destination.

I get that the staff don't really know much about addresspal just yet as two other ladies watched what to do as the lady serving me very cautiously went through the (I would think) simple programme, so it might be a little slow to start.

But there you go. Hope that helps at least a tiny bit for some people on here

Yawns

Glad you got it and quick. I'm hoping it's something silly like a sticker being placed over it, but at this stage it may well be a chance of simply letting it be returned to seller for a full refund. If it turns out to be that, I'll most likely not bother with Address Pal again.

stronglikebull

I got my Amazon order last week through Address Pal. All went pretty easily for me. It was delivered in the UK on Monday, and I got a text and email then on Thursday to say it was ready. Needed to show the Address Pal email and an ID, they accepted my work badge, and that was it. Fairly simple, and saved me about £30.

One thing I thought was a little odd was the info on the tracking in Amazon. It stated the following

Parcel was left in mail room
The parcel was delivered to Pal, St Albans, GB

Parcel left in the mail room had me worried that it was just dropped off with no one around. Still, it arrived safe and sound.

cormie

Hey folks, who would be the best to order a heavy shipment through?

I'm ordering from the UK, cost for mainland UK delivery is £18, to an NI address is £27 and to ROI address is £69.

I'm ordering 3x van batteries with a total weight of about 55kg and package size, probably 400x550x400 or something like that.

Any advice appreciated

nava

cormie wrote: »

Hey folks, who would be the best to order a heavy shipment through?

I'm ordering from the UK, cost for mainland UK delivery is £18, to an NI address is £27 and to ROI address is £69.

I'm ordering 3x van batteries with a total weight of about 55kg and package size, probably 400x550x400 or something like that.

Any advice appreciated

None of the parcel forwarding services will work for you.

I think best would be to try to get a quote on parcel2go or similar parcel service brokers, if seller allow parcel to be collected by a 3rd party.

simdan

nava wrote:

None of the parcel forwarding services will work for you.

Not true, parcel motel will work. They charge an extra €8 and you can collect your oversized/overweight package from the Dublin depot or arrange nightline to deliver it to your home or business.

Have done this several times

scamalert

actually my mistake just remembered the courier used was UPS,but it seems most online companies have deals with different ones they use,so just ask retailer whats your options with them-since directly handed is way cheaper then sent trough one courier onto another.as said it was about 16£-18£ pounds for 25kg box.dimensions were 70cm x 130 x 60

cormie

Thanks, I think going parcel motel > collect in finglas might be the best option actually, have done it before and it was no problem, just wasn't sure if there were better options now with parcel wizard and address pal, but it's probably my best bet if it's £27 to NI and then €11.95 fee PM fee.

Charlie L

cormie wrote: »

Hey folks, who would be the best to order a heavy shipment through?

I'm ordering from the UK, cost for mainland UK delivery is £18, to an NI address is £27 and to ROI address is £69.

I'm ordering 3x van batteries with a total weight of about 55kg and package size, probably 400x550x400 or something like that.

Any advice appreciated

Parcel Motel will cost you the NI charge plus 7 euro to collect from their Dublin depot (according to your weight/dimensions). If your supplier can use transglobalexpress.co.uk (a broker), the UPS cost is about 30 pounds (about the same as PM, except it will be delivered to your address).....you can go on to their website and get a quote with all the options. ( I had someone in the UK ship me a 25kg guitar amp advertised on gumtree uk - it cost 20 euro with DPD through the broker........DPD won't quote for private customers).

cormie

Thanks a lot. I've already ordered it to parcel motel but that's some good info for next time It's no big hassle for me to go to Finglas either so it's all good

brianeoc

Quick question, Has anyone attempted to get perfume delivered? I know it's not allowed by addresspal and I know you'd run the risk of losing your money on your purchase but I'm just wondering if anyone has tried it? There's massive savings to be had.

Cheers
Brian

Dan Jaman

Yes, earlier in the thread, and yes, quite successfully.

brianeoc

Thanks for that. Did the order only have perfume in it or did you order other items as well?

Thanks again

firestarter51

Perfume and aftershave get delivered fine by all the companies, I've had litre bottles of ink also
They don't seem to mind about liquid or don't notice it

Dan Jaman

brianeoc wrote: »

Thanks for that. Did the order only have perfume in it or did you order other items as well?

Thanks again

It wasn't me, was somebody else on the thread (perhaps two people mentioned it).

Berty

I've had perfume delivered through Addresspal from Amazon. I knew it wasn't allowed, I ordered it anyway, crime of the century. :pac:

For me Addresspal with their mainland UK address was the exact reason I used them for ordering Perfume from Amazon as they won't ship to NI or ROI.

crabbypaddy

Got another item yesterday, process is definitely speeding up, staff all know how to do it now. Just have to work out the best time to go in to avoid the dole queue, 2.30 seems to work.

The_Conductor

Aftershave and aerosols both delivered- no issues encountered.
Also managed to hit the 20kg limit with an APC unit that I got at an auction- also without issue.

damemcd

Got doul aftershave from amazon no problem.....missis still thinks im a smelly ....... tho..

Whoever designed this service in An Post should really read up on "design thinking" which looks at things from the point of view of the end-user experience.

Masala

Not sure if this asked earlier...

but if I give this UK address to a seller in Hong Kong for an item that would have attracted Irish Customs Duties and /or VAT due to its value.... will charges apply going into the UK as well???

If not.... will I get caught from UK to Ireland then????


Just a query??

firestarter51

glasso wrote: »

Whoever designed this service in An Post should really read up on "design thinking" which looks at things from the point of view of the end-user experience.

What's wrong with the design then ?
Works alright

firestarter51

firestarter51 wrote: »

What's wrong with the design then ?
Works alright

It works "ok" but is all designed from the point-of-view of An Post's internal system, rather than the customer

e.g. huge code which is all about identifying the post office and sort centre the item has to go rather than thinking about the problems a long code creates

no intermediate information e.g. item received by An Post, where item is now in system etc.

firestarter51

glasso wrote: »

It works "ok" but is all designed from the point-of-view of An Post's internal system, rather than the customer

e.g. huge code which is all about identifying the post office and sort centre the item has to go rather than thinking about the problems a long code creates

no intermediate information e.g. item received by An Post, where item is now in system etc.

Code doesn't bother me I've added it to eBay
Updates don't bother me either, if it's shipped direct to my house I pay more or can't even buy the item and I don't get updates
When a customer base is built up they may add features to it, like dpd parcel wizard are introducing an app with new features, pointless doing all that if they don't have many customers to start with

firestarter51

firestarter51 wrote: »

Code doesn't bother me I've added it to eBay
Updates don't bother me either, if it's shipped direct to my house I pay more or can't even buy the item and I don't get updates
When a customer base is built up they may add features to it, like dpd parcel wizard are introducing an app with new features, pointless doing all that if they don't have many customers to start with

parcel motel for example, had these features from the start.

my point was that it was about the design of the thing was done very much on an internal organisation focus, not from the customer's perspective. the sort of thing that you'd expect from a semi-state.

it suits some people if you've no parcel motel nearby or on the odd occasion where you need a mainland UK address.

NeverWaining

Masala wrote: »

Not sure if this asked earlier...

but if I give this UK address to a seller in Hong Kong for an item that would have attracted Irish Customs Duties and /or VAT due to its value.... will charges apply going into the UK as well???

If not.... will I get caught from UK to Ireland then????


Just a query??

If it's caught for customs in the UK I think AddressPal will just refuse to accept the delivery.

If it did get through you wouldn't have to pay customs between the UK and Ireland.

Masala

NeverWaining wrote: »

If it's caught for customs in the UK I think AddressPal will just refuse to accept the delivery.

If it did get through you wouldn't have to pay customs between the UK and Ireland.

Would Hong Kong to UK be free as part of the Commonwealth etc setup??? I am just shooting from hip here....a presumption I would have in my mind!!! I could be wrong....just wondering if UK treats stuff coming in from the Commonwealth as 'domestic'....

Just have a seller who wont sell to Ireland but will to UK. D'ont want any hassle if gonna get caught to be sent back. At least Irish Customs will drop me a note saying there is money owing before it is released

Dan Jaman

firestarter51 wrote: »

What's wrong with the design then ?
Works alright

Not every seller will cut and paste that overly long code number successfully, and many still write them out, so can't be bothered to include it at all.
I've had both.
Even with Parcel Connect, with their much shorter customer number, I've had that.

firestarter51

I use all three companies and only parcel motel number has been missed by asda
Most sellers copy it done perfectly or print address labels, I'm getting 6-10 deliveries a week and so far no problems with any of the companies apart from a mix up with a dpd driver

MOH

Masala wrote: »

Would Hong Kong to UK be free as part of the Commonwealth etc setup???

Hong Kong was never part of the Commonwealth:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Nations#Former_members

firestarter51

Masala wrote: »

Would Hong Kong to UK be free as part of the Commonwealth etc setup??? I am just shooting from hip here....a presumption I would have in my mind!!! I could be wrong....just wondering if UK treats stuff coming in from the Commonwealth as 'domestic'....

Just have a seller who wont sell to Ireland but will to UK. D'ont want any hassle if gonna get caught to be sent back. At least Irish Customs will drop me a note saying there is money owing before it is released

If it's going to incur a charge from customs an post won't accept it in the uk and it will be returned to the sender
Anything outside the eu over a certain value I think it's €30 can get hit for customs

cormie

cormie wrote: »

Thanks, I think going parcel motel > collect in finglas might be the best option actually, have done it before and it was no problem, just wasn't sure if there were better options now with parcel wizard and address pal, but it's probably my best bet if it's £27 to NI and then €11.95 fee PM fee.

Aghh, it looks like the sender sent 3 separate packages (maybe all part of the one consignment) but one I just collected at the parcel motel and I think the other 2 need to be collected from Finglas, so I'm paying parcel motel €3.95 x 3 and €7 x 2 I think

editorsean

For speed, it looks like Parcel Motel is still the quickest, at least for an item I was able to track:

23rd May 6:50pm - Item dispatched by ParcelForce UK
24th May 3:15pm - ParcelForce delivered in Belfast
24th May 7:24pm - Parcel Motel check-in notification - Parcel in Dublin depot
25th May 9:26am - Parcel Motel pin notification - Ready to collect

Basically I had the parcel in my hands within 48 hours of it being shipped from the seller.

Then again, as I was not working today, I had to drive 40 minutes to the ParcelMotel locker to pick up the package, compared to a 5 minute trip to the local post office. Normally I pass the Parcel Motel locker along my hour drive to/from work.

editorsean

editorsean wrote: »

For speed, it looks like Parcel Motel is still the quickest, at least for an item I was able to track:

23rd May 6:50pm - Item dispatched by ParcelForce UK
24th May 3:15pm - ParcelForce delivered in Belfast
24th May 7:24pm - Parcel Motel check-in notification - Parcel in Dublin depot
25th May 9:26am - Parcel Motel pin notification - Ready to collect

Basically I had the parcel in my hands within 48 hours of it being shipped from the seller.

Then again, as I was not working today, I had to drive 40 minutes to the ParcelMotel locker to pick up the package, compared to a 5 minute trip to the local post office. Normally I pass the Parcel Motel locker along my hour drive to/from work.

with An Post they wait to fill up the truck/van or whatever in London and go over by ferry. so if your item arrives when the container is empty you could be waiting a while.

The_Conductor

cormie wrote: »

Hey folks, who would be the best to order a heavy shipment through?

I'm ordering from the UK, cost for mainland UK delivery is £18, to an NI address is £27 and to ROI address is £69.

I'm ordering 3x van batteries with a total weight of about 55kg and package size, probably 400x550x400 or something like that.

Any advice appreciated

Most of the services- including An Post- have a 20kg limit.
If you split this into 3 separate deliveries of 17/18kg each- you're fine- other than that there is no courier service that'll work for you.

The_Conductor

glasso wrote: »

with An Post they wait to fill up the truck/van or whatever in London and go over by ferry. so if your item arrives when the container is empty you could be waiting a while.

In general (and I've now used it 14 times) I'd allow at least a week for delivery. Anything under a week- is an unexpected bonus. You're not going to get it in a day or two though- its just not going to happen........

stronglikebull

The_Conductor wrote: »

In general (and I've now used it 14 times) I'd allow at least a week for delivery. Anything under a week- is an unexpected bonus. You're not going to get it in a day or two though- its just not going to happen........

I must be lucky so. I've used it twice now, and after arriving in the UK depot on Monday both times, they arrived here on Thursday and Wednesday of the same weeks. 2-3 days is pretty good then.

readyletsgo

stronglikebull wrote: »

I must be lucky so. I've used it twice now, and after arriving in the UK depot on Monday both times, they arrived here on Thursday and Wednesday of the same weeks. 2-3 days is pretty good then.

Yeah same for me, once a package arrives in the depo in the UK it's here in 2 days max. It's been pretty fast so far.

cormie

The_Conductor wrote: »

Most of the services- including An Post- have a 20kg limit.
If you split this into 3 separate deliveries of 17/18kg each- you're fine- other than that there is no courier service that'll work for you.

Yeah, my order was 3 separate batteries, 2 @ 19kg each and one at about 9kg, the 2@19 didn't get sent to a PM locker (they would have easily fit), but the 9kg did. It was delivered to PM from the courier/supplier as one consignment but as 3 separate packages (the tracking number for all 3 packages was the same), so I was charged €3.95 for the 9kg one, then €3.95 + €7 collected from PM in Finglas for each of the 2 @19kg. The guy said even if they had duct tape around all 3 packages, then they would have just been charged as one stay, so €10.95 instead of €25.85