My Phone Saga With UKMail & O2 - Communication Failure

I love my iphone now I have it, but to be honest by the time I had received it the excitement and shine had well and truly worn off.

Here are the events of what happened and why I implore o2 my service provider to use someone other than UKMail for their mobile deliveries.

I have been a customer of o2's for well over 10 years I was due an upgrade so phoned up to order a phone as every store I went into told me I could get the best deal by calling them direct...

I ordered my new phone on Wednesday 26th June - told phone would be with me Monday

I was sent text by 02 at 1838 on Thursday 27th June to say my order has been shipped Royal Mail and will be with me within the next 1-2 days....

Monday 1st July

Lunchtime my BB data tariff switched off , I was not told/warned this was going to happen. (I later found out this happens in preparation for new phone switch over, which of course should only take a couple of days max)

1.45pm I receive text from UK mail (thought this was odd as 02's text said Royal Mal - phone estimated delivery Tuesday from 10.30 to 14.30. Perfect, I can arrange to be in.

Tuesday 2nd July 

Arrive home at 9.15am find note from UKMail that they have attempted delivery note says we will try again tomorrow. How is that anywhere near the estimated time given to be of between 1030 to 14.30??? I am annoyed it has come early and that it just assumes I will be in tomorrow... I later find out the driver arrived at my address at 9.02am.

I frantically ring o2 as note from UKMail has no details on it and they speak to depot and confirm it will be delivered before 14.30. I keep reiterating that I will not be in tomorrow so it must be delivered today as tomorrow is no good to me. (spend well over 20 mins on phone)

The time comes and goes. I have consignment ref from o2 and so I call UKMail - takes ages to get through, I get through to a woman (explain everything above, reiterate I am not in tomorrow) she asks me to hold while she speaks to depot. I hold 5 mins before I am cut off.  (over 20 mins on phone)

I call back - again takes ages (at least 10 mins ) to get through - speak to a different man. Again reiterate I am not in tomorrow so ask about the possibility of it being delivered today. He says he will speak to depot/driver and I ask him to call me back as I don't want to be cut off again while waiting on hold. He calls me back and says it will NOT be delivered today as the driver cannot make it. I ask them to redeliver to another address, told the sender has to advise this. (time spent on phone, well over half an hour perhaps even up to an hour) I was also told that they were having a hard time getting hold of the driver. 

At no point do I get an apology from UKMail, I get the distinct impression they care not one jot about customer service or the convenience of the recipient. They just keep repeating the fact that the time given to me was an estimation only. Not much good then is it.

I call up 02 takes ages to get through (at least 15 mins or more) - I complain about having no data and they tell me why (my phone should have arrived by now)... I ask for the parcel to be delivered to another address tomorrow - the lady at the other end takes the details and arranges it, saying she will fax it through to UKMail. (I have been on the phone for nearly an hour)

I relax (well my hands are tied aren't they)

Wednesday 3rd July

I get a text to say sports day has been cancelled at my son's school so I would be home earlier than planned. I arrive at 9.15am  ...to find a card from UK MAIL -the new card through my door now says they have attempted delivery twice - I log onto their tracking system to find out more details - the driver arrived at 8.45 am!!  

Hang on a minute they were supposed to be delivering to another address..so that failed then. I am livid.

I spend the next hour trying to get through to either UKMail or o2 - eventually I manage to get through and speak to o2 who speak to UKMAIL. Driver cannot get back to me so delivery will be Thursday now oh and they never received the request from o2 for change of address.... o2 claim they definitely sent it. - Who do I believe?

Meanwhile I log on to twitter - type in UKMail sit back and read ALL the complaints tweeted about the UKMail service. (by the way these are daily complaints and pretty much echo my experience with them)

Twitter UKMAIL are involved and say that UKMail never received change of address but it has been confirmed now.

Upshot told by o2 - delivery to new address will be between 8-10am tomorrow.

Meanwhile I am still receiving no data.....which means my existing phone is only good for well calls.

Again it is out of my hands, I am exasperated, frustrated and angry but what else can I do. I choose to relax and wait for tomorrow.

Thursday 4th July  - 

9.50am  check UKmail online tracking - phone yet to be picked up

10am comes and goes,....no phone

Contact UKMail over 15 mins waiting for phone to be answered - Twitter UKMail gets back to me before my phone call is answered and they tell me my phone is due for delivery between 8-12...

12.51pm no sign of phone, tracker information not been updated

13.1pm - trying to call o2 - o2 disconnects 3 times before I get through - on phone 17 mins - phone is out for delivery - anytime up to 6pm- I make note of who I am speaking to. By now I am seeing red. Whatever happened to all the promises.

Speak to o2 supervisor - she tells me my phone is out for delivery between 830- 2.30pm - she then goes on hold to speak to UKMail....... 11 mins and waiting.

I am amazed that a B2B call takes so long, no special treatment for o2 they have as much of a hard time to get hold of information as I do!!

47 mins later.. I am told my phone would be with me at 3pm

Of course it didn't arrive at 3pm
No delivery and it is now 4:20pm and back on the phone to o2............................they are rehashing the 6pm delivery time quoted.

25mins later o2 talks to UKMail - I am now told that the package needs to switch depots due to change of address - so essentially it was never coming - why did they promise me I was getting my phone? I am confused and upset

One hour and 02 caller was on hold with a manager who never got back to her after she waited 30 mins... she is trying to call them back and will return call to me.

Meanwhile I enlist my husband who gets through (or so he thinks ) to UKMail and conference calls me in. It turns out that who he is speaking to is a call handler working on behalf of UKMail - now I am being told that there was no change of delivery address request and all the conversations with 02 never happened.

Once again it is o2's word against UKMail.... and all of this is in contrast to even what UKMail on twitter were telling me!! Confused? We were.

The woman puts us through to her manager who then says he is going to put us on hold...and cuts us off..

Seconds later my phone arrives.  Time 5.04pm

Honestly you couldn't make it up. o2 call me back and say they haven't managed to get though to anyone and I tell the lady she can stop trying as the phone has arrived. No, she couldn't believe it either.

Conclusion

UKMail are an utter joke, their customer service is non existent, it is extremely hard to get through to them in the first place. They care very little whether their delivery times suit you and then ignore the times they have given anyway. They don't apologise and pretty much ignore what do you say to them. You spend and waste hours of time and money on phone calls speaking to them and end up no further forward. I got one story, my husband another and o2 another. I have no idea who we were all talking to and there seemed to be no cohesion or communication between departments or notes on my delivery (if indeed we were speaking to different depts).

I was left feeling frustrated, helpless and annoyed on something as ridiculous as a phone being delivered!

o2 please listen to your customers when they give you feedback as I am sure your operators spend a lot of time having to sort out issues with your carrier.

Has anyone else had this kind of trouble with UKMail?