QVC using DX Secure Mail Services

[Akimbo]

Oh dear QVC are now using DX a courier service (quite often used to deliver concert tickets).

Last week I pulled into our road but a car was blocking the cul-de-sac and I waited a few doors away until it unblocked my drive and the driver watched as I parked and went inside. He'd left an "attempted delivery" card but DH was in and he hadn't rung the bell or knocked. At first I thought the card was a scam it looked so...well..unconvincing! I checked online and found a couple of references saying it looks dodgy but is kosher so I rebooked delivery for monday (yest) online. The same bloke called on Saturday and delivered an item of silver jewellery from QVC. I guess he gets paid per visit rather than per parcel - why else wouldn't he try to deliver first time?

Today I've had a letter from them saying they have an "urgent delivery" from QVC asking me to contact them within 48 hours to rearrange delivery. So is this another package they couldn't be arsed to deliver (there's been someone in the house consistently since Friday lunchtime) or is this the same delivery?

Apparently there was a piece on watchdog in September about people getting these cards /letters, when they phoned the number they were asked to pay £2.50 via credit card to have the goods redelivered in a specific time slot.

I'm thinking of emailing QVC to ask whether all their jewellery items are being sent by DX; if they are I won't be buying anymore from them. In general the Royale Mail delivery for jewellery was excellent so why change it now, after the strikes have finished?

I've been lucky with my posties and delivery couriers so far (probably because I get to know them v well - the amount I buy online!). I think QVC are making a mistake being associated with this firm.

anyone else had any dealings with them?


Jude xx

 

[Snoopy]

Oh dear this isn't good.

 

[LE lover]

oh no. i have enough problems with hermes

 

[Snoopy]

Jeez had to read that twice ?

 

[Daisy2911]

Jeez had to read that twice ?

Rofl....

 

[LE lover]

Jeez had to read that twice ? :d

that problem would be in the health thread

 

[Shopping is fun]

I am surprised that QVC would use the DX as we use them for our business and they are not cheap to use. My B&W watch and my new DYSON hoover turned up yesterday via Royal Mail with no problems. I know some people have had probs with Hermes but my son is a courier for them and always trys to deliver packages when they are wanted. Due to the heavy rain he wont leave them outside houses so if customers ring up he will always deliver no matter what time. But I guess some of their couriers cant be bothered.

 

[Janette]

We had alot of trouble with DX earlier in the year when my son applied to the American Embassy for a special Visa to work in the States. They kept his passport for a day or so after his Visa interview and told us the date that the courier would be returning it. He stayed in (I was also at home) and neither of us ever heard the courier ring on the doorbell but found a mysterious card. He rebooked on two other occasions and neither of us (I work from home) ever heard anyone ever ring or knock for that matter. Eventually, DX told us that we would have to pay £20 for a fourth visit. On that day, my son sat in the lounge (which is overlooking the front door) from 8 am until 5 pm, not moving away (all toilet breaks were covered by me). Eventually someone turned up at 5.30pm (half an hour after the allotted time). We complained about the £20 charge and the fact that they were late and got no joy. We both suspected that the courier gets paid extra every time he has to try and deliver a parcel and probably even more if they can screw any extra money out of the poor bugger who has to stay in all day waiting for the parcel.

We never normally have any problems with deliveries or not hearing the doorbell. I would think twice before using DX again.

 

[Akimbo]

The trouble with all courier services is that their contract is with the retailer (QVC in this case) and so from a customer service perspective they don't give a monkey's chuff about us, we're not the customer. The only way around this is to bring it to the attention of the sender and claim any costs back from them.

The more I've thought about this the sillier it is - DX have posted me a letter (delivered by royal mail) they could have popped the package in the post just as easily - at least I have faith in my postie! How contrary?


Jude xx

 

[Huggles]

I ordered the Bose portable sound dock system, it couldn't be delivered because...

1. DX deliver between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (I work from 08.30 to 5pm Monday to Friday).

2. They can deliver to a work address. (I am not allowed to receive parcels at work).

3. Thay can deliver to an alternative address...I really don't like asking my family (who have busy lives of their own) to stay in to collect my parcels.

4. I could travel to Edinburgh (their local collection point) and collect it myself before 5pm Monday to Friday. Don't finish work till 5pm and Edinburgh is 20 minute drive away and no idea how to get to the collection centre.

It was virtually undeliverable as it had to be signed for. With Royal Mail I could go to the local collection centre after work and collect it...bish, bash, bosh...I did it all the time previously.

I phoned DX who suggested I phone QVC, who said they were triallng DX. I told them of my problems and how if it were Royal Mail I'd have had my parcel by now but as it was DX it was undeliverable. Solution...it had to be returned as 'undelivered' and I eventually got my refund a good two weeks later. What a disaster. I won't ever be able to order anything that requires a signature again. I've already had to stop shopping with the jewellery channels for this reason as they no longer use Royal Mail either. So much for convenience .

 

[SuziQ]

My usual Hermes bloke is lovely and only lives a street away,so if he's left a card he's happy for me to pop round and collect my parcel from him if it's urgent. When he was away in the summer and I had a few parcels delivered for my DD'S birthday,his replacement just left them all on the floor by my front door. Anyone could have walked off with them. I wouldn't be surprised if some people tell QVC they never recieved those parcels out of devilment! When I told QVC what had happened they didn't seem bothered- they said if the items had gone missing they would have claimed off the courier. Accepting a shoddy service like that seems par for the course with them,these days!

 

[Lottie]

What the courier did there was unacceptable SuziQ - you'd be better complaining to your normal courier as he probably arranged that courier and if he's conscientious then he will probably be horrified to discover what's gone on.

As for QVC claiming against the courier, that does not happen. Someone is telling porkies!

 

[Lottie]

I ordered the Bose portable sound dock system, it couldn't be delivered because...

1. DX deliver between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (I work from 08.30 to 5pm Monday to Friday).

2. They can deliver to a work address. (I am not allowed to receive parcels at work).

3. Thay can deliver to an alternative address...I really don't like asking my family (who have busy lives of their own) to stay in to collect my parcels.

4. I could travel to Edinburgh (their local collection point) and collect it myself before 5pm Monday to Friday. Don't finish work till 5pm and Edinburgh is 20 minute drive away and no idea how to get to the collection centre.

It was virtually undeliverable as it had to be signed for. With Royal Mail I could go to the local collection centre after work and collect it...bish, bash, bosh...I did it all the time previously.

I phoned DX who suggested I phone QVC, who said they were triallng DX. I told them of my problems and how if it were Royal Mail I'd have had my parcel by now but as it was DX it was undeliverable. Solution...it had to be returned as 'undelivered' and I eventually got my refund a good two weeks later. What a disaster. I won't ever be able to order anything that requires a signature again. I've already had to stop shopping with the jewellery channels for this reason as they no longer use Royal Mail either. So much for convenience .

Huggles, one thing puzzles me....
When busy people like yourself say they can't be in to accept parcels and have no neighbours or friends etc who could easily be there for you, why on earth do you order things, why not go to the shops? Leaves me puzzled every time!

Do DX safe-place items?
In which case you should be able to tell QVC your instructions and it ought to be passed onto DX (garage, shed, back garden, etc etc).

What's the difference between RM and DX though....surely RM still need you to sign for the jewellery etc? Or are the packages small enough to fit thru the letterbox?

 

[Akimbo]

DX requires a signature supported by proof of ID - passport, driving license etc. Goodness knows where their colection depot is, I wasn't given a collection option, whereas my RM sorting office is only a mile away and opens at 06:30am for collections including Saturdays.

I'm in all day everyday pretty much and still miss the occasional delivery and my neighbours are trustworthy and will sign for deliveries but DX didn't attempt to deliver the second time they just sent me a letter, the first time the DX courier clearly wanted to leave a card in preference to making the delivery first time....this approach rings alarm bells to me.

When I was working full-time with 2 children under 7 I ordered just as much by mail order, choosing to spend my weekends anywhere other than dragging two bored little ones around shops. QVC plug the convenience aspect of their deliveries and so should ensure their courier services can provide a corresponding level of service.

I'd have thought that the competition for a big contract with QVC would push the couriers to provide a deliveries at our convenience not theirs.

The online order process should allow the buyer to choose from a range or suitable delivery services.

Jude xx

 

[JCR1982]

I was going to ask, are hermes still delivering QVC parcels? I ordered the LG TSV and had a Royal Mail card through yesterday so I assumed they were back to delivering.

 

[JCR1982]

Huggles, one thing puzzles me....
When busy people like yourself say they can't be in to accept parcels and have no neighbours or friends etc who could easily be there for you, why on earth do you order things, why not go to the shops? Leaves me puzzled every time!

Do DX safe-place items?
In which case you should be able to tell QVC your instructions and it ought to be passed onto DX (garage, shed, back garden, etc etc).

What's the difference between RM and DX though....surely RM still need you to sign for the jewellery etc? Or are the packages small enough to fit thru the letterbox?

Royal Mail is usually open earlier than 9am, or it is near me, plus it opens on Sat morning so I can pop along parcels then.

I leave the house at 7 and get back 6ish, I could if I wanted order to work but I don't want to as I don't want everyone to see what I'm buying etc ha!!

Sometimes even when you write instructions on it, they won't leave it as it needs to be signed for.

Hermes were annoying the first time for me but then when I spoke to him the last time, I said look I work so won't be in during the day but if you come at night you will more than likely get me. He was helpful and said they only delivered up til 4.30 on week days but could deliver Sat's which suited me fine.

 

[Lottie]

Hermes are still delivering QVC as far as I know.

But I don't think they do the higher value jewellery items so this might be why they are being sent DX (I've never had dealings with DX).

 

[Huggles]

Huggles, one thing puzzles me....
When busy people like yourself say they can't be in to accept parcels and have no neighbours or friends etc who could easily be there for you, why on earth do you order things, why not go to the shops? Leaves me puzzled every time!

Do DX safe-place items?
In which case you should be able to tell QVC your instructions and it ought to be passed onto DX (garage, shed, back garden, etc etc).

What's the difference between RM and DX though....surely RM still need you to sign for the jewellery etc? Or are the packages small enough to fit thru the letterbox?

I can answer that quite easily...no time! The shops round here close at 5.30pm during the week and my weekends are so busy with socialising I have no time to shop. Hope this helps you understand why I do a lot of my shopping on-line, late at night when there are no shops open unless you count 24 hour supermarkets.

Also DX couldn't just leave it...it had to be signed for. Royal Mail made me sign for it when I collected it.

 

[Lottie]

What a pain Huggles - at least if it were Hermes, you can often collect from their house (which is usually close to home) or get it delivered on a Saturday

All you can do is feedback to QVC so that they realise the service is inconvenient....maybe if enough people do, they will change back to RM.
It might have just been a temporary thing what with the strikes.

Fingers crossed

 

[Freda Livery]

Hello all.
Three years ago I was still working for the Civil Service at Companies House, we trialled DX for delivery of the millions of statutory annual return forms sent out to companies to be completed.
It only lasted a few months before we sacked them. It was an unmitigated disaster and generated so much extra work dealing with the complaints they generated. Whole sacks of the standard A4 size envelopes with documents we sent out for completion by directors were being found dumped in bins and alleyways all over the place! Nice...
As well as those forms which never even arrived with recipients, we also had do deal with hundreds of additional complaints from accountants and company directors who had kindly been left cards by DX saying theirs had been returned undelivered due to 'no access to deliver at the address' (utter nonsense since these are the same addresses being used previously for delivery with RM or other couriers without problem).
To cap it off, these lucky customers would have to pay £1.20 for the privilege of collecting them from whichever RM sorting office the DX had dumped the undelivered items off at! Despite the DX management efforts to resolve things with us, I suspect the actual couriers themselves had very little personal incentive/motivation to care enough about giving a quality service. I assume they are paid poorly and likely per the number of items they clear.
Needless to say it has left my personal impression of their service a tad tainted. That said I'm not aware of QVC ever using DX in my own area. One of my posties does have an annoying habit of dumping parcels in the bottom of my big green recycling bin sometimes though. How long does he think my arms are?