'CHARD Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 Just seen mention in the Hattons thread, and found this on BBC News feed. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30602326 It would be worth keeping your eye on any deliveries you're expecting that may have been sent by this courier, as it seems there won't be any more deliveries, and you'll have to pick up items at their distribution hubs. I was at the Aston warehouse counter last Saturday retrieving a parcel. The previous customer was giving the young lad a very hard time for an item that had been sent back out for another delivery attempt. After Mr Aggrieved had left, I tried to cheer him up a bit, but the atmosphere was horrible, and he said he only had Christmas and Boxing days off over the holiday. Poor sod won't be going back at all now by the look of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 And for anyone caught up in this, it is the Seller's responsibility for delivering the goods, even if the courier goes bust, looses it etc. http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/distance-selling-regulations Feel sorry though for the employees of City Link, on today of all days. Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium PhilJ W Posted December 25, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 25, 2014 A firm like Hattons should weather the storm but this could put some smaller traders in serious difficulties. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 Used to be a really good courier, who remembers the Red Star -City Link joint venture? I used them a lot in the early 1990's when I was a field engineer and needed parts sent to me overnight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 I suspect they have been undercut by the real bottom-feeders that have sprung up more recently and been able to offer their staff even worse conditions of employment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sheep Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 I'm sorry to say I've never had a good experience with them over a handful of deliveries over the years but wouldn't wish closure on a business Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted December 25, 2014 Share Posted December 25, 2014 I spoke with my usual City Link driver a day before Christmas and he wasn't his usual cheery self, so word must have been doing the rounds. Going off parcels I receive, I don't know how other couriers make them pay when they come across Britain for as little as £2.50, but that's not my business. Amongst the workforce will be more undervalued driving skills chasing fewer jobs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merfyn Jones Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Just seen on the BBC news that City Link staff were members of the RMT union. This probably a link to the fact that City Link was an indirect decendent of the former British Railways parcel service which passed to National Carriers way back in 1968. Wonder if there were still ex railway staff still employed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted December 26, 2014 Author Share Posted December 26, 2014 I just surfed the web a bit and seemingly NCL/ BRS spawned Roadline (I recall their bold green, black and white? branded lorries), which vanished to LYNX by way of an MBO in 1997. I had no idea these logistics outfits in particular could trace ancestry back to NCL. Fascinating. https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5140/5430219613_d16c9f972a_z.jpg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted December 26, 2014 Author Share Posted December 26, 2014 Out to grass: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1831361 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMartin90125 Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 I had thought Initial owned them? Had a few deliveries when I lived in Liverpool, regular driver was a good lad. Of all the days to find out for all concerned. I bet the administrators will make a tidy sum before (if) anyone is owed anything gets paid. Chargeback and Section 75 of The Consumer Credit Act 1974 will give some protection. For under £100, use chargeback. For over £100, start with Section 75 as you could claim costs back, too. Allways check the laws and quote them. Some banks/card providers will give you the run around to evade paying, some will be quick as it may cost them more if they try playing games so settle quickly. Money Saving Expert will be a good place to look for more information. Trolls aside, would hate for anyone to lose out as a result of yet another company going bust. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted December 26, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 26, 2014 An update from C&L about City Link makes thoughtful reading: http://www.finescale.org.uk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tase Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Older firm cant adapt to new markets - Hardly news Im sitll not sure why people Just Have to buy "Online" err, have you been down the High St lately?...full of charity shops, chicken shops and pound stores! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mike Bellamy Posted December 26, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 26, 2014 erm im not been harsh but they gone own the pan cos they aint up to speed? what am i missing here? its not like RM have suddnely failed or summat? Did you actually read the link Martin provided to C&L - that provided evidence of the great service they provided at very short notice to ensure that special deliveries were made before the Christmas break - and for what - redundancy on Christmas Day and the prospect of not being paid. At least they were still able to provide a next day service unlike the couriers employed by Amazon, Hornby and so many other online retailers. The news has been full of complaints about other providers but none about City Link. Perhaps we as consumers are the problem - we are simply not willing to pay a premium price for a premium product - there are only so many cuts that can be made before a business fails . . . . . . . . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railsquid Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Perhaps we as consumers are the problem - we are simply not willing to pay a premium price for a premium product - there are only so many cuts that can be made before a business fails . . . . . . . For years I've been trying to persuade Mrs. Squid that "cheap" doesn't always mean "good value". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 I like others feel for their staff, I am certain that I heard on TV the firm was bought for £1 in the not to distant past by I think what is called an investment company. Perhaps its been in problems for some time, lets just hope the staff are first in the queue for any funds that are left over and not these city financiers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Walters Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 A lot of the City-Link drivers worked on a self employed basis, and were supplied with a liveried van, all of which were leased. As a Royal Mail employee I can tell you that our parcel & packet amounts in the run up to Christmas were nearly 20% up on forecasts, my own office was dealing with 65000 parcels and packets a day up to Christmas eve, that extra business was coming from somewhere. I'm not saying RM are the best, but there has been a lot of publicity regarding the way Hermes and other couriers treat and pay their staff, which has an impact on how they deliver their packets, one woman came into our collections office with a card to collect a parcel from Yodel, she was a bit upset when I told her that the depot was over 50 miles away, and it needed a round trip of 100miles, not what you want to be doing on Christmas eve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 City Link never left parcels behind rubbish bins in view of all whereas Yodel do and if it goes missing? I will not be purchasing anything from any supplier that uses Yodel in the future! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointstaken Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Fear not - by the time the liquidators etc have harvested their fees, the staff will be lucky to get anything. I agree with Mickey that if a business isn't up to speed then it deserves to go down the drain, but the timing and almost brutality of the decision shows an unacceptable uncaring aspect of the system. Can we please stick to the topic and not attempt to score political points ? Dennis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted December 26, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 26, 2014 My experiences with City Link weren't bad, and as has been pointed out it is rather brutal for a business to go into administration at Christmas. The young lady who was our local City Link driver was always very happy and never abandoned parcels on the drive or threw them over the fence into the back garden as our local Amazon and Yodel (do Amazon use Yodel?) does. I use Royal Mail, they are not perfect, not the cheapest but overall I have a degree of confidence in them that I do not have in the low cost couriers and they're cheaper than the alternatives I have a high opinion of (eg. UPS, FedEx). Again, I've never had a Royal Mail delivery abandoned at a random place outside my house and if I collect from the depot it is a short drive there and back. At work I use UPS and DHL and they both provide an exceptional service but they are not cheap Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted December 26, 2014 Author Share Posted December 26, 2014 An update from C&L about City Link makes thoughtful reading: http://www.finescale.org.uk I'd like to hope that C&L's testimonial acts as a great character and work reference for 'TJ' and helps him to get alternative employment quickly. EDIT: Dunno what his qualifications/ experience are, but a clean driving licence, ability to meet deadlines over a wide geographic area, and flexibility are all key traits to look for in a field service engineer.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Fear not - by the time the liquidators etc have harvested their fees, the staff will be lucky to get anything. I agree with Mickey that if a business isn't up to speed then it deserves to go down the drain, but the timing and almost brutality of the decision shows an unacceptable uncaring aspect of the system. Can we please stick to the topic and not attempt to score political points ? Dennis Who is trying to score political points, the fact that the company was taken over by an investment company for very little money is not political, neither is the fact that both accountant firms and for want of a better word city firms circle the corpse of the company for what they can get out of it ahead of the hard working staff again is not political. I feel for the normal workers and management who always seem to end up being the loosers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
westie7 Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 Don't know if its just here in Aberdeenshire or nationally, but just before Christmas Yodel were 13 days behind on parcels, so I thought they'd be first to go under. The owner drivers up here are really good as are the RM. I just need to find out who John lewis use around here as my missus is doing hoops Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernard Lamb Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 A lot of the City-Link drivers worked on a self employed basis, and were supplied with a liveried van, all of which were leased. That was a while ago. Of late they have been using plain white vans. It would seem that I was very lucky to receive a parcel on Tuesday morning that was despatched on Monday evening and covered some 200 odd miles overnight. I always found them to be one of the better companies. In particular they provided the service, as highlighted by C&L, that the likes of RM would not undertake. Bernard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium petethemole Posted December 26, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 26, 2014 I had a PC from John Lewis very recently, sent by RM from a non-local store. I was told they use RM/Parcelforce for non-local deliveries. They also do click & collect at Waitrose stores. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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