Cheap Parcel Service & Quality? – Getting The Balance Right

When choosing a parcel service, most of us are guided by price. As with many things cheap parcel services can offer great or little quality. The key is to recognise warning signs and check for certain criteria before making the booking. 

Step 1 – Check for transit liability & terms and conditions

• High quality parcel service providers will offer customers a standard liability up to 50 GBP. They may also offer enhanced transit liability, which will cover you against any extra loss or damage. That way you can ensure that you will receive compensation in case anything happens to your shipment.

Step 2 – Which carriers will transport my consignment?

• As the customer you can and should expect to be given full transparency over your parcel delivery. This also includes information about the carriers who will ship your parcels. A  good courier service will have the details about each courier service provider available on their website. 

Step 3 – Can I expect any surcharges?

• Again, information about surcharges should be easily accessible from the website and clearly displayed during the booking process. For example if your collections or delivery address was located in a remote area.

• It may happen that you have to pay for surcharges due to having tried to ship restricted items, or if you have provided incorrect details about the size, weight or length of your shipment. You may be debited for these surcharges at a later stage. For this reason, it is always a good idea to measure your consignment twice in its final packaging as well as to check back with your courier service and customs office, should you send a parcel abroad.

Step 4 – What about collection times?

• Standard parcel services do not guarantee collections as the driver may have a large amount of parcels to collect on the day of your collection. Depending on the carrier, you will be given three hour windows or specific collection periods. 

• You can contact your courier service’s customer service team and ask them to follow up on the failed collection, should the driver fail to collect your parcel within those hours. Be aware that compensation will not be given in these situations.

Step 5 – What about delivery times?

• When requesting your quote, you will be shown an overview of estimated transit times. This can vary depending on customs, bank holidays, outstanding charges etc. However, a good courier will endeavour to deliver your consignment as quickly as possible. 

Step 6 – How do I book a cheap parcel service?

• Independent courier service providers such as the Transglobal Express Ltd. offer discounted rates of up to 67 percent with leading carriers including DHL, UPS, TNT, FedEx and DPD. Their cheap parcel services underlie high quality standards and offer you a great deal of flexibility with regards to speed of delivery and your budget. 

• You can book online and request a free quote at TransglobalPremium.co.uk – no registration necessary until you decide to  book!

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