Escalating a complaint about a courier -Fastway

derra_121

Last week a courier for Fastway delivered a package intended for me to a wrong address. He forged my wife's signature and posted the package through a porch door of a house around the corner from me. This house is vacant and when I called fastway last week. I was told the courier can still see the package in the porch and will try to retrieve it and deliver it to me. I heard nothing all week and when I contacted them yesterday I have now been told that the courier can not remember the delivery.

So I am looking for advice on who or how I escalate this. I am awaiting a report from the customer services manager but essentially a courier forged a signiture, lost my package and is denying it now. Is there an agency I can complain to or is this something the guards may look at?

Cheers

GreatDefector

Can you see the package in the porch?

seamus

It's nothing the Gardai will look at. From a legal perspective the package has not been delivered so the onus is on fastway to rectify the problem.

Who sent the package? Unless it was my property being returned to me, I would be inclined to go back to the sender and tell them you haven't received the delivery, let them deal with it.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Contact the sender. They are the one's with the contract with the couriers. Ask for a replacement to be sent. Don't deal with the courier yourself, let the sender do it.

derra_121

To answer the above -

Yes I could see it in the porch.

I also forgot to mention that the sender has been contacted and has provided a new item which I have received however I it does not sit well with me that the courier can just forge a signature and somebody lose out - in this case it was the vendor. I will also add that it was not a very expensive package - only a bag of coffee but it is the principle of the whole situation that bugs me.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

derra_121 wrote: »

To answer the above -

Yes I could see it in the porch.

I also forgot to mention that the sender has been contacted and has provided a new item which I have received however I it does not sit well with me that the courier can just forge a signature and somebody lose out - in this case it was the vendor. I will also add that it was not a very expensive package - only a bag of coffee but it is the principle of the whole situation that bugs me.

It is up to the sender to make a complaint. You as the receiver, although we all feel aggrieved when couriers make a bag of things, aren't actually party to the service agreement.

my3cents

Loosing stuff in transit is just one of the costs of doing business online. Just in the same way broken glasses are a cost of the pub trade.

I don't have a problem with my local Fastway driver forging my signature (he does for every single delivery), its either that or he doesn't bother delivering to me at all. The lesser of two evils.

At the end of the day its not your problem its the senders. Its worth registering your complaint but not worth spending too much time worrying about it.

dudara

The Seller is the only party who can make an impact on the courier. If they receive enough complaints and lose enough money as a result of the courier, then they may chose to end the contract, or move to a different courier once the contract is over

derra_121

my3cents wrote: »

Loosing stuff in transit is just one of the costs of doing business online. Just in the same way broken glasses are a cost of the pub trade.

I don't have a problem with my local Fastway driver forging my signature (he does for every single delivery), its either that or he doesn't bother delivering to me at all. The lesser of two evils.

At the end of the day its not your problem its the senders. Its worth registering your complaint but not worth spending too much time worrying about it.

It only becomes an issue when you do not receive your package and it is signed for in your name, then a forged signature could be an issue. I guess a sender could argue that it was delivered if they really wanted to. Then it could become tricky.. luckily this did not happen to me.

Yep I guess I don't have much choice and let it go. The sender did not seem to bothered about sending another package which I received.

Cowboys Ted!

Lau2976

I would definietly take issue with the forging aspect of this OP, had the seller wanted they could have claimed you received the item and left it for you to deal with. Isn't forgery illegal too? I'm quite surprised some people here are fine with it.

coylemj

Lau2976 wrote: »

I would definietly take issue with the forging aspect of this OP, had the seller wanted they could have claimed you received the item and left it for you to deal with. Isn't forgery illegal too? I'm quite surprised some people here are fine with it.

The 'forgery' was as a result of a combination of laziness and incompetence but as the delivery driver did not materially benefit, there was no fraud and so there is no crime disclosed.

Much and all as we might sympathise with the OP, delivering a package to the wrong house and forging the signature of an imagined recipient is not a crime unless the van driver takes the goods home with him or passes the item on to one of his friends and forges the delivery dockets.

At the end of the day, the only sanction the OP has is to report it to the mail order company, he eventually got his goods so he is at no loss and cannot take the matter any further.

amtc

Wrong advice. Under ComReg direction either sender or recipient can complain

my3cents

amtc wrote: »

Wrong advice. Under ComReg direction either sender or recipient can complain

But why would the recipient bother? If they don't have the goods and haven't signed for them then its still the senders problem.

GreatDefector

derra_121 wrote: »

To answer the above -

Yes I could see it in the porch.

I also forgot to mention that the sender has been contacted and has provided a new item which I have received however I it does not sit well with me that the courier can just forge a signature and somebody lose out - in this case it was the vendor. I will also add that it was not a very expensive package - only a bag of coffee but it is the principle of the whole situation that bugs me.

The reason I asked I'd that if it's in the porch I would have at it with the courier as they blatantly delivered to the wrong address

OK, things happen but when they try fob you off then I'd give them an earful. They should be bending over backwards to help. They don't know it's only a bag of coffee plus it's you that suffers the delay, waiting on a resend and the company you bought it from have to send 2 items and pay 2 shipment fees

Lau2976

coylemj wrote: »

The 'forgery' was as a result of a combination of laziness and incompetence but as the delivery driver did not materially benefit, there was no fraud and so there is no crime disclosed.

Much and all as we might sympathise with the OP, delivering a package to the wrong house and forging the signature of an imagined recipient is not a crime unless the van driver takes the goods home with him or passes the item on to one of his friends and forges the delivery dockets.

At the end of the day, the only sanction the OP has is to report it to the mail order company, he eventually got his goods so he is at no loss and cannot take the matter any further.

wow thats kind of crazy tbh. I would still take issue with it even if its not illegal.

whiterebel

Complain to the local delivery office. Nothing will change unless drivers are reported for false signatures and deliveries.

coylemj

amtc wrote: »

Wrong advice. Under ComReg direction either sender or recipient can complain

Which poster is giving wrong advice? Maybe you?

Comreg regulates the communications industry, this thread is about a courier service.

coylemj

whiterebel wrote: »

Complain to the local delivery office. Nothing will change unless drivers are reported for false signatures and deliveries.

This is such nonsense - the local delivery office only cares about fulfilled deliveries.

The van driver who dropped the OP's order into the wrong house has probably helped the 'local delivery office' to achieve the best fulfilment record in the region for that courier company. If he came back to the depot with the package marked 'failed to deliver', he probably knew that he'd get his ass kicked so he dumped the package in any vacant house nearby.

whiterebel

coylemj wrote: »

This is such nonsense - the local delivery office only cares about fulfilled deliveries.

The van driver who dropped the OP's order into the wrong house has probably helped the 'local delivery office' to achieve the best fulfilment record in the region for that courier company. If he came back to the depot with the package marked 'failed to deliver', he probably knew that he'd get his ass kicked so he dumped the package in any vacant house nearby.

Absolute horse manure. Easy know you haven't worked in the business. Driver won't get paid for a second run, and just dumps it, throws it over a fence, or whatever. Someone, somewhere is going to pay for it. The courier company that accepts it will be held liable for missing packages, and they usually try to find out where it is happening where the problem is widespread. Complaints to the local depot should flag there is problems with certain routes or drivers.

Donutz

coylemj wrote:

Which poster is giving wrong advice? Maybe you?

coylemj wrote:

Comreg regulates the communications industry, this thread is about a courier service.

You are ill informed.

Comreg does regulate the communications industry which includes postal services.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

coylemj wrote: »

Which poster is giving wrong advice? Maybe you?

Comreg regulates the communications industry, this thread is about a courier service.

Couriers come under Comreg as a Postal Provider under section 38 of the Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Act (2011) Comreg oversees the obligations imposed on such providers by Section 43 of the 2011 Act.

ED E

Fastway have little to no control over their drivers (who arent actually theirs, all indie contractors) and basically a sham. Don't waste your breath OP.

Provide feedback to your retailer that they shouldnt use chancers and that it gives them a very poor image.

amtc

I thought I was the only person with a photographic memory of the 2011 Comms Act. Scary.

Just to be very precise it doesn't necessarily need to cover courier services but should you choose to be authorised it does.

Specifically complaints can come from recipients or senders. In my experience it tends to be recipients.

BoB_BoT

Don't bother trying to follow up with Fastway, I've been out right lied to recently regarding deliveries by Fastway "customer services". They were likely covering for the driver not bothering their hole to phone us to find our location (despite being on a main street), they got caught in their own lie and nothing has come of it.

derra_121

BoB_BoT wrote: »

Don't bother trying to follow up with Fastway, I've been out right lied to recently regarding deliveries by Fastway "customer services". They were likely covering for the driver not bothering their hole to phone us to find our location (despite being on a main street), they got caught in their own lie and nothing has come of it.

Yep that seems to be the same as I found... took a week for them to reply to my email and they said there emails were down for a week.

I got a reply with some lies and a promise of a full report but surprise surprise... nothing back in a week.

Very bad service.

Rambling Rake

While I understand the OP's complaint here and the driver was at fault. Fastway provide an extremely low cost delivery service. The reason your items are delivered to your door so cheaply is because of practices like delivering to neighbours, scribbling a "signature" to save time. I highly doubt he did anything more than scribble something.

Their drivers have a huge workload and many people are so inconsiderate to order items to an address they know they likely won't be able to deliver to.

These are the first people to complain that their item was left with a neighbour or left outside. The very same people who fly Ryanair and complain about lack of leg room, basic service (although it has improved enormously on both fronts recently )

If the seller wishes to take it up with Fastway they will give them a delivery credit to the value of the goods and delivery so I wouldn't worry on their behalf, OP. It is a cost of doing business.

I use them for many thousands of deliveries throughout the Island and across the UK and I would consider them an excellent company overall. They have saved me and my customers a fortune compared with their competitors. Most of the complaints I receive about their delivery practices are from people like I mentioned above.


Not referring to the OP here who is completely in the right.

my3cents

Rambling Rake wrote: »

While I understand the OP's complaint here and the driver was at fault. Fastway provide an extremely low cost delivery service. The reason your items are delivered to your door so cheaply is because of practices like delivering to neighbours, scribbling a "signature" to save time. I highly doubt he did anything more than scribble something.

Their drivers have a huge workload and many people are so inconsiderate to order items to an address they know they likely won't be able to deliver to.

These are the first people to complain that their item was left with a neighbour or left outside. The very same people who fly Ryanair and complain about lack of leg room, basic service (although it has improved enormously on both fronts recently )

If the seller wishes to take it up with Fastway they will give them a delivery credit to the value of the goods and delivery so I wouldn't worry on their behalf, OP. It is a cost of doing business.

I use them for many thousands of deliveries throughout the Island and across the UK and I would consider them an excellent company overall. They have saved me and my customers a fortune compared with their competitors. Most of the complaints I receive about their delivery practices are from people like I mentioned above.


Not referring to the OP here who is completely in the right.

None of that is the customers problem. What you are saying is they are cheap because they cut corners.

Rambling Rake

I'd take the up with the company who has employed them. My website and ebay store make it clear that Fastway is the courier.
(Mistake). Customers are largely at fault in my vast experience with couriers.

If you have an issue with the delivery service contact the seller. If you are not happy with the outcome don't buy from sellers who use their service. Simple as that.

They are cheap because are efficient.

hognef

Rambling Rake wrote: »

These are the first people to complain that their item was left with a neighbour or left outside. The very same people who fly Ryanair and complain about lack of leg room, basic service (although it has improved enormously on both fronts recently )

Well, the issue being discussed here is the equivalent of flying with Ryanair to Bordeaux only to find that they've dropped you off in Paris without even telling you. Ryanair might be cheap, but they still fly you to the destination specified in your booking.

And by the way: How has the legroom situation changed?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Rambling Rake wrote: »

I'd take the up with the company who has employed them. My website and ebay store make it clear that Fastway is the courier.
(Mistake). Customers are largely at fault in my vast experience with couriers.

If you have an issue with the delivery service contact the seller. If you are not happy with the outcome don't buy from sellers who use their service. Simple as that.

They are cheap because are efficient.

I find it incredulous that you lay the blame on the customer for couriers failing to deliver.
I have lost count of the number of times we have sat at home waiting on deliveries. Even when couriers phone for directions they have failed to turn up for days on end. The last delivery took 12 days from the first of 3 phone calls for directions and saying they were on their way. 12 days when we went nowhere while waiting for them. The courier maintained there was nobody home and at one point even said the item was delivered. All lies.
I feel, as a supplier, you are falling for the lies couriers perpetuate about customers not being at home to receive delivery. The hassle with couriers has actually made many people rethink the benefits of online shopping. They are the weak link in the process.

Rambling Rake

hognef wrote: »

Rambling Rake wrote: »

These are the first people to complain that their item was left with a neighbour or left outside. The very same people who fly Ryanair and complain about lack of leg room, basic service (although it has improved enormously on both fronts recently )

Well, the issue being discussed here is the equivalent of flying with Ryanair to Bordeaux only to find that they've dropped you off in Paris without even telling you. Ryanair might be cheap, but they still fly you to the destination specified in your booking.

And by the way: How has the legroom situation changed?

Fair point but human error happens. I can only speak from years experience of experience with FW as a sender and receiver. They have never "lost" one of my incoming packages. Mainly because there is always someone at the office to receive it. No need for signatures.

I wouldn't expect my customers to have any dealings with FW other than signing for the delivery. Failing that it should be left closeby if possible.

In the OPs scenario it's likely Fastway are the only losers here. They would have credited the account for the cost of lost goods and delivered the second time FOC.

Re: Ryanair. Their latest 737 aircraft have more legroom. Perhaps not hugely noticeable but an improvement all the same. The service and relaxing of some of the more strict policies are very noticeable. Part of the reason they are growing rapidly while others fall away.

While MOC rightly gets a lot of credit their new marketing guy Kenny Jacobs has been behind a lot of this. I'm sure he is being rewarded handsomely. Great Irish company that all the moaners and begrudgers could learn from.

Back on topic.. we probably won't agree about Fastway but that's ok with me.