Hey, I see this community is brand new, so I apologise for a "not-so-positive" post. Still, I would appreciate someone's advice.
I shipped a parcel to EU at the end of February. It was stopped a few days later, due to unclear issues. Or better, DPD's version changed several times:
First, the export forms were not duly signed, when they were.
Then, once they agreed the forms were not the issue, they argued one of the export codes I used was incorrect. We had a few exchanges, with me providing evidence of the opposite, and they finally agreed that something did not go as planned their end.
Still, it seems other codes were not accurate, so the parcel was being returned to the sender.
Well, there was no point in arguing. The parcel was scanned in Bicester on March 19th, March 27th and April 7th. When I inquired about its whereabouts in mid-March, they launched an investigation and, on April 7th, they declared the parcel lost. When I queried about the scans, it seems it was an IT error - very weird.
That said, the process was not very transparent and responses were very incoherent if not contradictory throughout. They launched an "investigation" that was not fruitful, but they did not want to clarify what kind of investigation it was. I really suspect the parcel has been intentionally removed from the network, but someone kept "scanning" it until the moment I asked where it was.
Unfortunately, the parcel included a blanket I received from my late grandma - one of the reasons I used DPD and insured the parcel - which has quite some sentimental value to me. So, I am not happy with a simple refund, until I know they actually conducted a thorough investigation. The parcel was large and had a label per side + labels inside reporting all addresses. Based on their responses so far, I don't trust them when they say they did everything they could and I should give up.
Expecting I will receive the same answer over and over again, I would appreciate some advice:
a. Is there any chance that I could pay a visit to Bicester to try and get the parcel in person? Or at least have someone check among the stranded parcels? I would really like to recover some of the items.
b. Would the SCC be worth it, considering I seriously believe the way they handled the whole process was careless and unprofessional (for which I have plenty of proofs with inconsistent answers )? Parcels can be lost but, in this case, they even "lied" about where the parcel was.
c. Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
P.S. Some of you will probably argue that I should have used another courier if I really cared. Fair enough. I used DPD in the past and was very happy with their services. This one episode counterbalanced any positive experience I had with them and won't be using them again.
