amtrak

I am just saying this to give an idea of what amtrak are like.

I have been mighty impressed with our local guys, they are excellent and take care.

I had a cleaner friend who work for them and says the problems are in the central sorting depot, where items literally get thrown around.

I sold someone an amplifier 7 months ago that became damaged in transit.

It has taken this long for the inspection to be completed.

It is an utter travesty and fiasco.

UPS aren't much cop, but they pick up items for inspection the day after damage is reported.

amtrak stipulate that damage forms must be competed in 10 days, so you have to collate all details, addresses, send off for forms and return them in that time, being careful not to incriminate yourself and invalidate your claim.

now I hassled them and hassled them, for weeks, phoning in, no response.

still no response, months later, the poor guy had resigned himself to not getting a settlement.

I phoned again to be told the dealing person was off and would call me when she returned next day, no call, still left it for a bit.

finally gave up, called again, another month later to be told nothing had been done, no explanation, profuse apology and the inspection had been arranged.

so weeks later it was done at last, 7 months after the poor guy was kept waiting.

he has had the item fixed himself, so a letter came from amtrak saying no settlement as inspection was invalid

no apology at all forthcoming, not a word, not an explanation.

phoned them, shirty damage claims administrator tried to fob me off, so I asked for the supervisor.

having had profuse apologies 1 month ago, this time when pressed about the totally unreasonable wait she was defiant, woudn't comment, no apology.

when asked about the 7 months 'its the way we work we can't guarantee the time it takes.

'that's totally unacceptable, ups take a few days to inspect'

'we aren't other companies'

is that reasonable 7 months?

no answer.

so I have asked for the people above her to call, will I wait another 7 months for a written acceptance and an apology for the totally shambolic inept practices?

I am considering using another courier in future, and will highlight this sad case, and attempt to hold those to account.

 

Light items:
Royal Mail Special Delivery for items up to 10 kg. Take extra insurance obviously. Great service. Good value. Some courier firms charge the earth then present to RM at fraction of cost. Don't send anything that cannot or should not fly.

Heavy items:
Avoid ParcelForce standard service. Its the most obvious and accessable but not good for hifi.
I have used Business Post. To take high value insurance makes it much cheaper than ParcelForce special tarrifs and they seem to be small enough to take more care.Check there is a depot in your and the addressee's area first though.

Sorry to hear about your hassles with Amtrak, LtCdr.Data. I have used Amtrak several times and I must say I like the service. The carriages are roomier than over here, guards give good service and often the scenery alone justifies the journey.

 

I have used Amtrak to send and receive without a problem. But, I saw someone else's parcel fall out of the van whilst the driver was manhandling mine. I will still use Royal Mail for sending small parcels as they are convenient and reliable, I will use Amtrak for sending larger parcels as they collect and are cheap.

I package my parcels to make sure that they can withstand a drop of a few feet. 'Double boxing' is highly advised, using boxes that can at least support the weight of the contents when applied to any side. When selling I let the buyer know the cost of this (better than trying to sell as 'collection only'!) and, when buying, I am almost as wary of postal quotes that are too cheap as I am of those that are too dear!

I have sent and received loudspeakers using Amtrak, and I have also sent and received valve amplifiers using Amtrak. I bought from 'professional' sellers who knew that proper packaging saves a lot of bother, wheareas my 'amateur' over the top packaging was based on paranoia about warehouse handling. I was happy to be safe rather than sorry.

 

Your "paranoia" about warehouse handling may be justified. It just depends on the kind of network it has to go through, who's on and luck. Therefore take no chances. Last time I sent hifi the guy at the Business Post depot explained he would put it in the cage for the region it was going to and it would remain without further handling until there. It could be different going to another place and it still does not protect it from items placed heavily on top, or damage at the delivery stage. Brace and cosset well. Internal filling is easy if you buy poly bits that you simply empty into the box to take up spaces. Its your responsibility and you have to be realistic about package handling. Its easy to proclaim that you would be more careful but you would be no different if you actually did their job.