Don't talk to me about Home Delivery.
This is gonna be a long post... and this is the first time I've had the enthusiasm to write about it.
Last Wednesday week I came home to find a note on the mat - "Sorry we missed you, we've taken your Dabs parcel and you'll never see it again, signed, Home Delivery Network". I rang the number on the card, got the automated system and rescheduled the delivery for the Friday. Now, their web-based tracking system doesn't and didn't even recognise my postcode. Now, I know someone was in all that Friday - Daughter, Daughter's boyfriend, Wife, Carpet Fitter etc.
Hold that thought for a moment.
Now jump back to the Saturday before when I bought my son a lovely one-owner, 7 year old Peugeot 106 for his birthday. Brand new clutch and cat for the new MOT:-
I insured it with me as a named driver, waited for 2 days for the "Insurance Database" to catch up and then taxed it online. All legal - excellent. I decided not to bring it home during the week as there was no point him seeing it the dark. I decided to drive it back on Carpet Fitting Friday ready for the Saturday.
I duly drove the roadster to the garage, swapped into the 106, rode 500 yards up the road straight into the back of a stationary Boot's (The Chemist) Delivery Van at about 30mph. I didn't even have chance to brake.
I wrote off the van and the 106. The seat belt stopped me with such violence that I thought I'd hit the steering wheel.
<Insert long story about subsequent Police Involvement, or lack of it and visit to Hospital - "No one has 120/80 BP, perfect ECG and 99% lung efficiency after an accident!". Um, I have. My wife made some remark about me using an accident to get a free health check. That wasn't helpful.>
Anyway, after finally getting home, not surprisingly in a worse mood than I was after getting beaten up in Wolverhampton City-then-Town Centre in 1975, I find that the parcel hasn't arrived - and no "sorry we've missed you again" note from HDN.
I scanned the Internet looking for a depot number. Apparently my parcel was taken to the depot for safe keeping. So frigging safe that they don't even tell you where it is. No numbers, no anything other than loads of posts saying how crap Home Delivery Network are.
I wrote a less-than-pleasant email to Dabs about their choice of crap couriers. (I was going to call this post "Count to 10 before pressing 'Send'" instead. I think that just about sums it up). I went to bed with no car, no parcel, and it felt like, no chest.
Saturday arrives and I decide to make an effort to find the parcel. Obviously I'd used a different web-based tracking system the night before. Saturday it said "Your parcel is in the depot, here's the map and here's the number. It's open now, please come and collect". For anyone reading this I can tell you how to find the number of the depot, where it is, and how really nice the lady is who I spoke to...
I wrote a grovelling email to Dabs apologising. I got a personal one back from "Lucy" at Dabs which in paraphrase said "think before pressing 'send'".
I filled out the claim form this week:
- "For what purpose was the vehicle being used?"
- "Home Delivery"
Last Wednesday week I came home to find a note on the mat - "Sorry we missed you, we've taken your Dabs parcel and you'll never see it again, signed, Home Delivery Network". I rang the number on the card, got the automated system and rescheduled the delivery for the Friday. Now, their web-based tracking system doesn't and didn't even recognise my postcode. Now, I know someone was in all that Friday - Daughter, Daughter's boyfriend, Wife, Carpet Fitter etc.
Hold that thought for a moment.
Now jump back to the Saturday before when I bought my son a lovely one-owner, 7 year old Peugeot 106 for his birthday. Brand new clutch and cat for the new MOT:-
I insured it with me as a named driver, waited for 2 days for the "Insurance Database" to catch up and then taxed it online. All legal - excellent. I decided not to bring it home during the week as there was no point him seeing it the dark. I decided to drive it back on Carpet Fitting Friday ready for the Saturday.
I duly drove the roadster to the garage, swapped into the 106, rode 500 yards up the road straight into the back of a stationary Boot's (The Chemist) Delivery Van at about 30mph. I didn't even have chance to brake.
I wrote off the van and the 106. The seat belt stopped me with such violence that I thought I'd hit the steering wheel.
<Insert long story about subsequent Police Involvement, or lack of it and visit to Hospital - "No one has 120/80 BP, perfect ECG and 99% lung efficiency after an accident!". Um, I have. My wife made some remark about me using an accident to get a free health check. That wasn't helpful.>
Anyway, after finally getting home, not surprisingly in a worse mood than I was after getting beaten up in Wolverhampton City-then-Town Centre in 1975, I find that the parcel hasn't arrived - and no "sorry we've missed you again" note from HDN.
I scanned the Internet looking for a depot number. Apparently my parcel was taken to the depot for safe keeping. So frigging safe that they don't even tell you where it is. No numbers, no anything other than loads of posts saying how crap Home Delivery Network are.
I wrote a less-than-pleasant email to Dabs about their choice of crap couriers. (I was going to call this post "Count to 10 before pressing 'Send'" instead. I think that just about sums it up). I went to bed with no car, no parcel, and it felt like, no chest.
Saturday arrives and I decide to make an effort to find the parcel. Obviously I'd used a different web-based tracking system the night before. Saturday it said "Your parcel is in the depot, here's the map and here's the number. It's open now, please come and collect". For anyone reading this I can tell you how to find the number of the depot, where it is, and how really nice the lady is who I spoke to...
I wrote a grovelling email to Dabs apologising. I got a personal one back from "Lucy" at Dabs which in paraphrase said "think before pressing 'send'".
I filled out the claim form this week:
- "For what purpose was the vehicle being used?"
- "Home Delivery"
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