City Link - you could not make this up

2blue4u

2blue4u

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John
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For some time now I've avoided suppliers who ship via City Link. We run two businesses from home and receive a fair few deliveries and can do without the grief and hassle of the local City Link muppets. Four (non-Christmassy) courier deliveries this week already and it's only Tuesday. And they have all been delivered courteously, efficiently and on time.

So I was somewhat aggrieved when my daughter called her local taxi firm (me!) to collect her from another part of town and take her to..... the new out-of-town City Link depot :bang:

We arrive at the trading estate to find a huge single gate blocking access. My daughter gets out of the car to play with a security entry pad thingy. I, foolishly, try to telephone City Link and speak with someone. I now realise this is contrary to the laws of physics and is something that just cannot be done. Daughter by now has found and used an intercom wotsit which she uses - to speak with a bloke in Manchester, some 140 miles away. Useful :bang:

We sit there for a while in disbelief :thinking: :shrug: I read the collection card for the fourth time believing that we must be on the wrong country or something. We're about to leave when we see a City Link truck approaching from within the trading estate. The driver pulls up, gets out and approaches the security keypad on his side. Daughter accosts him and acquires the code so we can get out again. We let the truck through and drive in before this massive gate closes.

We then quickly find the depot, then the collection point. Wait for someone to open the door and daughter hands over the collection card. I can't resist, I really can't. I ask why people coming to collect parcels are confronted with a locked gate. I actually get a response. A shrug of the shoulders.

There's probably some overpaid manager somewhere pouring over a stats return wondering why fewer and fewer people are collecting parcels - and more are being returned to sender.

Thank you, City Link, for reinforcing my policy to avoid suppliers that use you.

/rant off
 
Yup, sounds about right.

I too avoid companies who insist on using city link. Last time I was at one of their depots collecting an "alleged" missed delivery (quite how they managed that when I'd taken the day off especially still confounds me) I watched in horror as they unloaded one vehicle into another by throwing the parcels across the gap, even those marked up as fragile.

Useless bunch of ****wits
 
Sounds about right that somebody gave you the code to the gate, a while back I used to deliver goods to a truck dealer, they had a problem with people driving on site so spent a fortune on a massive electric gate, I pressed the buzzer, no response so I pressed again, still no response.

then I noticed the keypad, the buttons 5678 had oily fingerprints on them, no it can't be that simple, 5678 whirrrr clicckkk and the gate opens :lol:
 
Home Delivery Network are just as bad - picture the scene, the delivery man knocks on the door, there's nobody at home, hang on a minute...there's a green recycling bag over there, I'll leave the parcel in there....right, on to the next delivery.....4 hours later, a happy candlestick walks up the path, opens the door, spots the 'missed delivery card, and reads that my package has been left in the green recycling bag, excellent.........hang on a minute, it's recycling collection day!!!!????

Flipping clowns!!!
 
I had a simular problem with City Link, 3 times they said they tried to deliver my new computer gave them a mobile number & house number. Like you had to collect 30 miles away. Same gates & got in the same way. Managed to speak to the manager after creating a fuss and wanted a complaint form. Told them there only mission was to deliver parcels and they had failed. I insisted on a copy of my complaint form & when I got no answer after 2 weeks sent a copy to their head office & Apple. Had a nice reply from Apple & a voucher.

So I never use city link again
 
They're awful, just totally useless - I had them foisted upon me by a broker who promised next-day delivery by DHL or FedEx, but I ended up with a 2-day service from City Link.

Even then all but one pick-up has been late (the driver "got lost" the first time) and yesterday they just didn't turn up at all, when I asked the driver why he told me he simply "forgot".
 
Some of the scenarios above are so bad, the only thing I could do was chuckle in disbelief :( It's miles beyond bad IMHO!

I've never had a problem with City Link myself. They delivered items on time from Amazon when the postal strikes were on and several other items, none of them fragile, thankfully :nono:
 
I don't mind supplier using City Link - it is only for expensive photo gear I insist on special delivery.

If I miss a delivery the depot is 2 minutes from our favoured supermarket and in a break from city link tradition is also easy to access and remarkably efficient.
 
I used to package and ship s/h pc's for a while they were sent via s***ylink (not my choice) and got maybe 25% return policy with broken screens. These had industrial bubble wrap 2" thick round them and the rest of the box was full of polystyrene. Then plastered stickers on the out side. What more can you do :shrug: :bonk:
 
We also actively avoid City Link, they don't give the drivers enough time to deliver to us so our parcels end up going back to the delivery depot which is a 40 mile round trip.

Royal Mail for us are actually fantastic. Our Postie arrives as 2:30pm every day, even if he has a guaranteed before 9am delivery he'll arrive at 2:30 but he's good for leaving our packages in the "secret place"
 
The guy who worked in goods when I worked in IT advised that if we wanted anything to either get there, or get there in one piece, to never, ever use 'sh' citylink...

It does vary massively, the Milton Keynes branch was always fine, but then other places have horror stories no end...it's a franchised thing so I guess there might always be an element of regional variation...
 
I have just had excellent service from the bournemouth depot. Missed a delivery they dropped a card, when we got home I gave the the central Customer service number a bell who phoned the depot, when they came back to me the driver said that he would come back over and re deliver it same day. What a spot on bloke, thumbs up from me.
 
Don't mention City Link to me!

Recently ordered my new Lowepro camera bag from Amazon and they used that bunch of muppets to deliver the item. Wondering where it was I checked on Amazon. According to the link the courier driver had been unable to deliver the item as no one had been at home but had left a card. What utter crap there was no card and the house was lit up like a Christmas tree and there was someone here to receive the parcel.

Rang up to complain the next morning and was told they the parcel was back out on the van! This time it turned up.
 
Hmm, my camera that turned up dead on arrival (some of you probably remember that saga) was delivered by citilink. I wonder if I have been laying the blame at the wrong door, maybe they jarred it so hard a bit worked loose.
 
I ordered a box set of DVD's and a book from Amazon last month, unusually it arrived by Citylink. The box however looked like it had gone 12 rounds with David Haye!

fortunately all was well inside the box due to the cellophane wrapping and Air pockets used by Amazon.
 
2blue4u said:
For some time now I've avoided suppliers who ship via City Link.
Click to expand...

Another "Me Too"

I know loads of people who sit in waiting for a parcel, only to be told later that a delivery was attempted, but no-one answered.
 
I wont buy from firms that use ****Link, uselss bunch.
I think it amazing that we all know they are rubbish (by and large) but firms still use them, why???

RM - fine with me, everything I have posted has arrived on time and in good condition. Anything delivered to me that I miss I can collect at the local PO, which is a 3 minute walk away.

Matt
 
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