My father left his vital heart medication behind when he went to Ireland in March. I phoned UPS to ask if it could do a next-day before noon delivery and was assured it could, for £33.66. There was no delivery the following day, and no word from UPS.
When I called I was informed that the parcel was still in London due to a logging error at the depot. I was told I would receive a full refund.
Since then I have emailed UPS six times but have not had a reply. I called and was told I would get the money within 20 days. This deadline passed 10 days ago. I have since been forced to take to Twitter to get any sort of response. It asked me to fill out a customer service form, which I did a week ago – still nothing.
UPS’s approach has seemed to be to ignore me until I give up, but why should it keep my money when all it has done is cause me stress, extra cost and worry? SM, London
UPS’s website says a cheque should be issued within five working days of a claim. But is UPS contrite for its errors and silences? Not a bit of it.
“Despite our best efforts to avoid them, shipment delays occasionally occur,” said a spokesperson. “In these situations we liaise closely with all relevant parties to ensure everything is done to resolve the issue in a timely manner. UPS has refunded the customer in full. We regret any upset and inconvenience this process has caused the recipient.”
If 50-plus days counts as timely, customers with urgent parcels should be worried. Moreover, the refund was a phantom, for you received nothing.
Back to the press office, which then claimed customer services would be “reaching out” to you to “discuss” a refund. You finally received the money seven-and-a-half weeks after sending the parcel. UPS has ignored my query about compensation for the chasing you have had to do. If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
