WE DO NOT LIKE SURCHARGES!
We would rather that you keep your money, and only ever incur the freight charges as shown to you when you book in your shipments - but unfortunately it’s not always the case.
We want to be as transparent as possible and let you know what is behind the cause for some of the most common things couriers will impose a surcharge (even after your freight has been delivered).
All surcharges will be billed to the person who has organised and paid the origional freight charges, regardless of whether it is the sender or the receiver who causes the charge to be incurred.
SEE CURRENT ADDITIONAL FEES BY COURIER
#1 Rule: Measure and weigh your freight correctly (it will be scanned), then print and attach the shipping label we provide you on the completion page. If it doesn't have this it on, don’t send it! We can’t stress this enough.
Below is a listing of the most common reasons an order will incur surcharges to be billed after delivery;
1. Incorrectly Declared Freight:
Your items will be scanned by the courier at the depot using a scanning machine which is calibrated daily, so if the courier scans your items to be bigger or heavier than you declared you will be charged.
Your parcel will be scanned and billed based on both the 'cubic volume' it takes up as well as the actual weight.
The cubic weight will include any loose items on the outside of your parcel such as; loose packing tape, tears in the packaging, damaged boxes, handles/wheels, or any bulges in the middle of the box. Make sure to include these measurements (or secure them down!) to avoid any surprises for a surcharge bill of additional weights and dimensions as the cubic volume of your parcel can quickly increase with just a few CM extra on each side, so be as accurate as you can and keep proof!
We strongly recommend you take some photos of each piece of freight against a tape measure to prove your declared dimensions (length x width x height), and against some scales for the weight, as this is what will be required to contest any charges if you do not agree with the scanned weights and dimensions.
If you are arranging the freight on behalf of someone else or for it to be collected and sent to you, and you are basing your declaration on the information provided to you, ultimately you are still 100% responsible for any errors in their measurements. So it’s really important to make sure they provide you with accurate information AND that you take / keep some photo evidence when you receive the items.
Loosely packaged items, such as bags, can change shape. We can’t empathise how important it is to keep photo evidence of these items prior to sending!
For more information click here
2. Manual Connote Fees. Simple to avoid: MAKE SURE YOU PRINT OUT AND USE OUR SHIPPING LABELS!
Any freight sent without our labels attached will be in breach of our rules and outside our account rates.
You will be charged manual processing fees by the couriers, incur their standard rates, and possibly encounter a whole lot of other issues which we may not be able to assist you with – such as lost freight.
3. Futile Collection Fee
Be ready! Make sure that you have the parcel ready to go, with the Parcel2Courier shipping labels printed and attached BEFORE the courier driver arrives.
If they driver attends to collect your freight at the time/date booked, and the freight isn’t ready (or the premises are closed etc) then you will likely incur a fee for the driver needing to come back.
Couriers are charging this as more collections are becoming futile, which not only impacts the drivers because they waste time, it impacts other customers if the drivers aren’t able to get to them in time because of going to an address where freight isn’t ready.
Also worth noting, that drivers will not call ahead before the collection (even if you request this!). This is because of a couple of reasons, firstly they aren’t normally issued with a company phone, and secondly when drivers do call ahead they often are asked to delay or change the collection times (which causes big disruptions).
4. Futile Delivery Fee
This fee is incurred when no one is available at the delivery premises on the very FIRST time of attempting to deliver the parcel, AND if no Authority to Leave ‘ATL’ has been given to leave the parcel in a safe place.
The fee is charged regardless of whether the receiver then goes to collect the item from the depot, or whether it goes back out for re-delivery.
As with collections, also worth noting that as above, delivery drivers will not call ahead before the delivery (even if requested).
We do send out automated email when you process your orders, and also on the day of delivery to notify you of the delivery. It is crucial to keep an eye on the delivery and estimated arrival dates by using the tracking links provided.
5. Waiting Time (Same Day Couriers)
You will receive 5 minutes of driver waiting time at the collection address AND at the delivery address. However, any additional time that the driver is waiting around / loading / trying to park / taking goods up to an address which is above ground level etc, at either address will be billed in blocks of 5 minutes.
6. Re-Direction Fee
If you need the change the delivery address after the freight has been collected and it is in-transit, you will incur additional delivery charges as if you were sending the same items from the local delivery depot to the ‘new’ address.
Please contact Parcel2Courier to arrange any re-directions.
7. Dangerous Goods
Don’t do it! We are not authorised to carry dangerous goods, so please do not send them.
There are heavy fines and penalties for doing this, and we will have to report you.
8. Over-sized items
Each courier has maximum dimensions they will carry, and our parcel quote system will work this out for you, however it’s worth nothing that there are also surcharge fees for items which are deemed to be oversized. Make sure you measure correctly because you might find if your item is around the size break for an over-size fee and you are even 1cm out, they will impose this fee on your freight (see Incorrectly Declared Freight above)
9. Heavy items
Health and Safety (and common sense) means that items over a certain weight cannot be lifted by 1 person alone i.e. the courier driver.
If you are sending an item that is heavy, you will either need to provide assistance in loading this into the courier truck, OR you will need to make sure this is booked on a ‘tailgate’ service where an appropriate truck will be sent to collect the item.
If the driver attends to collect the freight and it can’t be loaded, then you will likely need to re-book this on the appropriate service and well likely incur a futile collection fee, cancellation fee and new delivery fees if the wrong service was originally booked.
If you are sending an item on a pallet and want to use a ‘road service’ you must have a forklift truck available at the collection and delivery address, otherwise you will need to book a ‘tailgate’ service to make sure the appropriate truck is sent with a hydraulic lift.
10. Fragile / Manual Handled / Loose items
Unfortunately due to the automation of the courier sortation systems we do not specialise in the transportation of fragile items.
If you are concerned that your item is fragile and/or irreplaceable, then please do not ship via our services. We recommend you contact a specialist fragile handling courier company.
Also - due to the risks imposed on couriers, if the item you send has been marked fragile on the outside of the box, or it is sent in packaging that cannot be transported via the couriers automated sortation systems (such as tubes which roll around etc) you will likely incur the manual handling fee. This is charged for ‘each’ item that needs to be manually sorted in the depot.
11. Residential Addresses
Some couriers, such as TNT, impose an additional fee for any collections or deliveries to non-commercial properties (yes, unfortunately that includes anyone who works from home!). If you are shipping to / from a residential property you must make sure you have the ‘residential property’ box ticked when getting a quote. If unticked you will likely be billed this residential address fee retrospectively.
12. Duties and Taxes (International Shipments)
Every country around the world will charge tax and duties on goods being brought into their country. This is a very complex area which you might wish to seek advice before sending a parcel internationally. When you ship an item internationally with Parcel2Courier you will declare the ‘commercial’ value of your shipment, this value will be used as one of the factors when determining what import taxes and duties need to be paid (in addition to the freight charges you have paid) before the goods can be released for delivery. Note that any import duties or taxes are charged to the receiver of the parcel, not the sender!
13. Un-stackable Pallets (International Shipments)
When sending a pallet internationally, if our courier partners at DHL are unable to stack your pallet then you will be charged the un-stackable pallet fee (which is not cheap!!!). Essentially this high fee is charged because the pallet is taking up a lot of room on the plane which they are now unable to use for loading of other freight.
