Jonathan E.

I've used this company several times with varied results. Delivery times are generally ok but recently things have gone bad. I purchased a vintage lathe on the 2nd April from a private seller on a well known auction site.
As I was unable to collect in person I arranged to have the lathe picked up by a pallet carrier (booked through Pallet2ship) on a two day service. All the relevant details were filled in and the carrier booked, (Palletline). The carrier offered a pallet and wrapping service (as the seller did not have a pallet) which I purchased at extra cost through Pallet 2ship as well as extra insurance cover (as this is an expensive vintage lathe).

On the day of the collection the lorry turned up at the sellers address without a pallet so had to leave the lathe where it was. The next day the lorry arrived again and the lathe was loaded on to a pallet (with the help of the seller and strapped and wrapped. Because it was now Thursday the lathe would not be delivered until the following Monday (as they don't deliver on weekends).
The lathe arrived four days after collection as planned but on inspection it had sustained damage. The 500kg lathe had been put on what can only be described as a cheap and flimsy pallet not suitable for a machine of this weight.(the sort of pallet a washing machine would come on!) As a consequence the pallet had broken in half and the lathe fallen over on its face. To compensate the carrier had put a second pallet underneath the first which had also broken. On detailed inspection around £800 worth of damage had occurred. I informed the relevant agent at parcel2ship and was told to fill in an online claim form. After two days (I had not received a confirmation at that point) I contacted the agent again to be told they had "IT" issues and the claim page was down. After several emails back and forth I manage to submit a claim through the agent, providing information about the lathe, an estimate for the custom replacement parts that needed to be made to order, and the nature of the repairs. I waited... I contacted the agent again a week later to find out what was going on to be told that I needed to confirm what was on the pallet and how much it weighed? I then proceeded to repeat the information again.
I was told that no claim would be paid until an invoice was provided from the replacement parts. I explained again that the parts would need to be custom made as this was a vintage lathe (no longer in production).
Since then I have had the custom parts machined, obtained vintage electrical parts and had the repairs made. I provided a full invoice for the repairs along with pictures of the parts made.
Finally the agent came back to me with an offer of less than half the value of the claim. After some emails back and forth I reluctantly accepted the offer (as I was told this was the best I could expect) and as I didn't want to go through all of the hassle of a small claims court.
After accepting the offer I was told that I would be compensated within 14 working days, we are now on day 15 and nothing has happened and my email are getting no response.

I am deeply upset that I paid nearly £200 for a premium service, an extra £30 for a supplied pallet, paid extra for comprehensive insurance. All I have received is a damaged machine and excuse after excuse, not to mention I have jumped through every hoop they have thrown at me and I've still not been compensated nearly three and a half months later.

To sum up I would avoid these jokers like the plague. Since this debacle I have used a company called Pallex, they are professional, curious and efficient. I have had one delivery with slight damage which was compensated within three days!