Parcelfarce & NGD ruined....

dogload

In good news, though- Parcelforce will be able to deliver fucked-up guitars on a Sunday soon!

Seriously though, I hope you get this sorted out soon. 

I haven't used Parcelforce for years- always go for the best value courier on PArcel2Go and have never (touch wood) had a problem.

racefaceec90

i hope it all works out for you.i'd be absolutely gutted also if i had bought that gretsch (it looked bloody lovely before the crack 

musteatbrain

This leaves me wondering are there any courier services out there that will properly insure high value musical instruments?

Neil

Sorry to read this, horrible situation.

You should be assured of a refund through Paypal though and the seller who needed the money will need even more now. 

Richardj

Well worth remembering that if it has come from the US Parcelforce are only the delivery agent in the destination country.  All of the insurances etc will be with the parcel company in the country of origin.  As it was being delivered by Parcelforce it may have been booked with the USPS, so might be worth checking what their policies are rather than Parcelforce.  It is a massive pain in the arse but it is entirely down to the seller to sort out. He has the contract with the carrier and they are not actually required to talk to you about it if they don't want to.  This isn't meant to sound negative, I just don't see the point in looking at Parcelforce policy and compensations when they are just the delivery agent.  You also do not know definitively that Parcelforce damaged it, it could have been anywhere after it was collected.

I'm not their fanboy, I just try not to jump to too many conclusions if I don't know the full story.

Nice guitar BTW, I'm sure it will all work out.  Maybe the seller was a bit off because one of his cherished guitars had just been trashed.

streethawk

Lots of guides on how to properly pack a guitar on the web.

It's an expensive and fragile guitar.

It's going overseas - airports are dangerous places for guitars.

I would have removed that Bigsby and shipped it separately, packed inside the case appropriately and paid extra for full insurance.

He'll have to use the £200 to put towards an invisible repair of the top, you get your bloody money back and no messing about trying to be the nice guy.

Van_Hayden

It only came from Essex.... Waiting for a reply. I may start the ebay procedure anyway, I'll give it a few hours. Shame, it's a great guitar. And actually never had any luck with my green car thinking about it!

Phil_aka_Pip

Van_Hayden said:

It only came from Essex.... Waiting for a reply. I may start the ebay procedure anyway, I'll give it a few hours. Shame, it's a great guitar. And actually never had any luck with my green car thinking about it!

Oh man, it would have been so much less hassle to collect!

sunshinewelly

To be fair I have had no problems with parcelforce. Looks like i have been lucky

guitarcookie1

Pharos Parcel use UPS. When I rang them to check insurance they said they will cover instruments & amps if properly packed in a hard case, etc (they suggested photographing the packing process just in case).

Richardj

Apologies, I thought this had come from the US.  OK, yes Parcelforce are baboons  and really should have handled this with more care.  Still the sellers responsibility however so you should just get your money back.  Feel sorry for him though.

I only use a company that uses UPS and if you pay the extra you can get full cover as long as the instrument is in a hard case.

The only issue I've had in four plus years is my DRRI getting trashed, and that was down to poor packaging.

Phil_aka_Pip

sunshinewelly said:

To be fair I have had no problems with parcelforce. Looks like i have been lucky

I haven't either tbh, but I've never used them to send an instrument. I did once use them to send £2.5k worth of valve hi fi, in its original manufacturer's packaging, and got away with it.

I still say that asking anyone but an instrument's seller or buyer to transport it personally, is asking someone who doesn't understand the care required, or who just doesn't give a shit. Buyer collects or seller delivers is the only guaranteed way of getting someone who actually cares to do the job.

ICBM

Phil_aka_Pip said:

I still say that asking anyone but an instrument's seller or buyer to transport it personally, is asking someone who doesn't understand the care required, or who just doesn't give a shit. Buyer collects or seller delivers is the only guaranteed way of getting someone who actually cares to do the job.

I have sometimes wondered whether setting up a specialist courier service for musical instruments could be viable, given the volume of trading that goes on - possibly including being a musician as a condition of employment! - but I don't think so.

mattacjones

But .... it's inevitable. Put fragile wooden instrument into anything less that a flight case and then pay a commoditised, low cost delivery operator to deliver it and a percentage are going to get broken. It's just the (bad) luck of the draw. I imagine retailers and manufacturers have a steady % of write off's.

Moe_Zambeek

Pharos will send your parcel with UPS and allow insurance for the value of the item BUT if it's above a grand you need confirmation from them they will accept it. UPS charge iirc 1% of the insured value so it can be expensive. I shipped a firebird valued at 1250 and it cost around 34 quid on UPS standard.

No experience of claiming but Pharos were very easy to deal with and I'll use them again.

By contrast I once used parcel farce many years ago to ship a 4x12 orange to Jeff at matamp for recovering and they destroyed it. My packing was negligible though to be fair.

Moe_Zambeek

Also worth noting - I was seeking a ltd edition Marshall stack (head and 2 cabs) a while back and couriers wouldn't touch it, I got a quote from a furniture removals firm for 200 quid to move it from Essex to Edinburgh. If you have something über expensive or fragile that may be an option.
None of which helps Hayden of course !

Bidley

There's something wrong when you have to bomb-proof an item to protect it from a courier. Should'nt they just, you know, not smash things up?

In my line of work, if the product I sent out was even slightly below standard, I'd be repremanded for bringing the company I work for into disrepute. I know it's not an exact analogy, but shouldn't the same apply? Surely there are enough cases and complaints made that the people responsible can be found?

In any case, I hope everything gets sorted for both you and the seller.

Richardj

Maybe it's a problem with the whole 'white van man' mythology that we now expect them to smash stuff so they really don't give a crap anymore. Let's be honest here, it doesn't take much more effort to treat stuff with respect. Maybe the warehouse staff and drivers should be repremanded or have salary docked if they are proven to mishandle goods or transport them without due care. Might be good for their industry's reputation.

ThePrettyDamned

If you don't pay good wages and offer proper training, you can't expect any better.

I've seen some delivery drivers who actually love their job and really care. On the other hand, I've met people who obviously don't, and even had one not bother knocking for a signed for delivery, he just left the parcel leaning against the front door.

Oh that's okay, I wanted my xbox to be left outside.

ICBM

Given that I'd had two arrive undamaged in unpackaged cases, I do sometimes wonder if there's any truth in the 'theory' that they're treated more carefully like that. The problem is that if the theory is wrong or an accident happen, there's no second chance and the insurance won't pay anyway even if it's a courier without a dishonest policy.