FREIGHT F.A.Q AND RECOMMENDATIONS

[Gary2]

I hope this can be made a sticky.

Freight companies : Who have you used : Good, Bad

costs : Good, Bad

This is for senders and receivers.

I received a box from TNT that had been crushed, with the elec fan inside broken and someone knew they had done it as the corner of the box had been ripped open a little bit to have a look.

TNT didn't seem to care too much.

Pack and Save I had good service but large light items can be expensive.

Post Office do not ignore the post to send items, if using Express, items tend to be looked after better.

Any More?

[Chunners]

I got my car transported with Patrick Autocare from Brisbane to Townsville. I had the front bumper smashed pretty bad- but was fully insured so they are sending me a check in the mail.

[66 skyline gt]

had a race eat sent to me from queensland to south australia......... both toll and tnt ouldnt do it the said to use both pack and send. ahppy with their service but the are a lil pricey when it comes to big items

[mini2]

Will second Pack and Send, gets there relatively on time, excellent service (depends on the store I guess..) but expensive.

[ZILR-34]

good idea "Gary2" i have had sum problems with TNT when i got my GTR rear wing, lol it was Fu

(they might be on time but they dnt give 2 Fu

[4cfed]

Living in Darwin, you get plenty of experience in dealing with freight companies - so here is only a brief account of some of my experiences:

TNT: Case #1 - Front and rear skyline brakes boxed up and sent from Melbourne in two boxes, plus a Holden Rodeo Grille for my brother in another box. Result = boxes opened and front brakes missing. Grille broken in several places. TNT's response = "3 x Boxes received and signed for and 3 x Boxes delivered. We didn't sign for the contents of the boxes"!!!!! And with regards to the smashed grille - the sender should have packed it more securely.

TNT Case #2 - Vehicle freighted from Brisbane to Darwin. Good price due to a mate who uses them a lot for vehicle transport making the booking. However, despite having to pay the full amount up front, the vehicle did not leave on the day it was supposed to and consequently, it sat around their depot in Brisbane for a week and arrived here one week late. Thankfully, there was no damage to the vehicle when it arrived, but I was a little p'd off about their attitude in relation to the vehicle not leaving on the date that it was booked in to leave.

Bulls Transport - The only alternative to TNT for freight from Melbourne to Darwin, but if you think TNT is expensive, then forget about this mob - as I did.

John Bain Transport (Westrans) - I have used this company for lots of stuff freighted between Brisbane and Darwin and their service and price is excellent ie. Full Bodykit @$100 or 4 x 18" alloy wheels with rubber for $52.00. Delivery takes about 4 days and I have never had any stuff damaged by them, but I'm not sure where else they go to.

Australia Post - Have had heaps of stuff sent thru Aus. Post. Delivery is fast and nothing has ever arrived damaged. Prices are reasonable and some of the pre-paid stuff is also covered for loss or damage up to $100. The only problem is that they won't deliver anything over 20kg or bigger than a large fmic.

So that's it, my worst to best in that order.

[ZigenGT]

I have used Bus Freight before & they're ok. Not that cheap though. Had a Front Bar sent from Sydney to Melbourne for $130. Was a little desperate at the time so didn't check out other companes.

Anyone used 'Couriers Please' before?

[Dump_Pipe]

I also work for a freight company and all I can say it is a gamble with any of them, I would see at least 30 cartons a night that have been crushed or wrecked,also satchels torn open from catch on the edge of something or when it rains I can honestly say that atleast a third of the frieght that needs to go on the aircraft would get soaked through, although I'm sure the majority of the contents are ok, the same cannot be said for the box the come in, the system is flawed and it is in most part unavoidable. Unsure of TNT's policy but for the most part I think it should be able to be claimed as usually insurance for a value of upto $500 is included in your cost.

my tips for sending freight are as follows:

1. you can never have enough packing inside the carton, have it so that the item cannot move round and so that if another carton was to sit on top the box would not collapse on it's self. or if dropped from waist height the item wouldn't break. also it is worth noting that if your are sending something small in a rather large box you will be charged the cubic weight of the carton and not the weight of the item inside, get your value out of it!! you can work out the cubic weight with this formula: LxWxHx250= (eg. .65x.35x.80x250=45.5kg's)

2. tape the box well, this would include the edges along the box, it only takes alslight bit of rain or a lazy dockhand to throw the box into the sorting cage for it to split open.

3. Remember your carton does not travel in it's own little cage secure from everything else, it will be packed in with up to 2ton of other freight and your piece could be on the bottom of that.

4. the amount of freight that goes missing or loses it's con note is incredible, make sure you write the address on the box as well and keep a copy of the con note no. .

I hope this info can be of some use to you all.

[Bl4cK32]

Pack and send charged me $130 for a diff from adelaide to sydney, then $25 for a crate.

I received a phonecall saying my new one had arrived back. I went down, and they had unpacked my goods.....

Now i had to pay for a crate, that i didnt get to keep in the end, and they opened my mail....u work it out

[predator]

pack n send expensive.. some prices will make your jaw drop. But its a limited market for the private individual.

Toll is decent.. I sent a head from QLD to NSW at reasonable price, however some small damage (and was packed in cardboard)..

Can't say enough for Australia post. Never lost anything. Prices are reasonable if not the best. It's just a pity their maximum size is a little too small for many car parts. 1.4m in length I believe, which counts out front bars, etc.

[RedRocket]

Good thread, was thinking of starting one myself.

Am in the process of trying to send a wing over east to someone off the forums. Made a booking with "Ezysend" last week. they have a system where you book online and a courier is automatically dispatched to pick it up the next day and it gets delivered to the door of the recipient.

Well I made a booking last thursday .....and its still sitting here!

They debited my card on monday and have been bullsh!tting me since. you cant call them, only email. each day they promise someone would turn up, then they promised they would call me and didnt.

[FATGTS-R]

I am also in the transport industry and the above advice given is spot on.

You would be suprised how many times parcels can be handled before it gets to your door and thats where the damage happens.

If its Friday night and the courier wants to get to the pub I assure you he will be flinging those boxes out his van into the depot very quickly.

Another problem is a lot of the jobs involved are basically just labour and they get paid minimum wages and without being steroetypical a lot of them are just zombies. They will put a small light box with fragile on it in neon lights under a large box that two of them needed to lift without a second thought.

The best tip I can give is try to make things as idiot proof as posible. Dont use a crappy box you found lying around the shed thats paper thin coz it WILL crush. Use stiff, thick cored cartons. Dont print the address and tape it on as it can come off. Write it on in bold thick permanent marker, not a friggin pen as I see often. Include full details of receiver and sender with mobile numbers.

Dont use the 5mm wide tape on your desk. Use thick packaging tape and there is no such thing as using too much.

If the item doesnt fill the box, dont let it shake around, chock it in there well. Cut the box down too the item size. Just like you and your christmas pressies, these idiots will shake the life outta it trying to guess whats inside.

Write "fragile - glass" on it. Not everyone will give a damn, but the ones that do see it and respect it will handle it safer and it might be the difference between a broken item or not.

What you send gets passed along the chain gang from pick up to your door. From the red light running courier driver, to the sorters who just finshed five bongs, onto a semi whos driver is full of speed and hasnt slept for five months, to another depot where the guy unloading is on the mobile not paying attention and puts it in the wrong bin where its on the wrong courier van and is thrown around all day to get to his other deliveries and then back to the depot, thrown round again, onto the right van and finally at your door.......hopefully the way it left.

[Gary2]

I don't seem to have much luck with carriers as I just had an electric scooter delivered today by IPEC and the box was literally torn apart. This wasn't a crush job but someone ripping the box apart to see what it was, then they must have dropped it all 38kgs of it. The driver was too busy to stay around to inspect it for damage and lucky for me it wasn't too bad and suprisingly the driver did know what was in it.

They not only manhandled it but opened it up as well, but when you ring up to complain the company denies any responsibility as it wasn't their fault.

This is why I originally started this thread, so is there a company out there prepared to stand up and promise what people have payed for?

Gary

[Dump_Pipe]

Highly doubt it was opened deliberately, when you see that much freight, you just don't give a crap what the item is, it's box and thats it....I say it would of been torn open one of many many ways.most of em you don't want to know about

[j-plus]

Guys,

I freight around the country a few times a week and had to put up with all the annoying things said above. Then I came across these guys:

www.airroaddirect.com.au

and haven't looked back! Prices are very competitive, service is second to none. I honestly have never had one single issue or thing go wrong using these guys.

1. You can book over the phone or online (it's free to register! Booking and paying online saves you $20 - this really makes the prices cheap) - the more times you use them, the more of a discount you get!

2. Your freight is picked up from your doorstep and delivered to the consignee's doorstep - very convenient.

3. Delivery is quick and guaranteed. (From Sydney) to Melbourne and Brisbane is overnight, to Adelaide two days, to Perth three days. If your freight doesn't arrive by the scheduled date - your delivery is FREE!

4. After being so happy with Air Road Direct myself, I thought I would pass on the good word. But more than that, I have spoken with their sales and marketing guys and have secured an ADDITIONAL 5% DISCOUNT for SAU users and anyone else you want to pass the news onto.

All you need to do is use the following code:

J030N874

when ordering online or over the phone - simple as that! I have no other relationship with this company other than the fact I use them and am extremely happy with their service. Also, I receive no benefits from referring anyone to them.

Their minimum fee is $59 plus GST, so prices will work out very competitive on all but the smallest items. Their service is the best around.

Give them a try!

Kind Regards,

Jeff.

[Driver]

I used toll ipec to transport 4 17" rims with tyres to melb.

Only place in perth that would do it for a reasonable price at the time.

[brods1675]

Do any transport companies do 'Cash on Delivery' type of arrangements such as Australia Post do? Obviously this is benefical for us buyers......

[ZigenGT]

I used toll ipec to transport 4 17" rims with tyres to melb.

Only place in perth that would do it for a reasonable price at the time.

Don't you need a business account with Toll Ipec in order to use their services?

[3R1K]

I used Blue Star Logistics for couple of times and they are awesome plus their rate is the cheapest compare to toll ipec , bus freight and tnt.

[Silver'sR33]

Just remember - Express Post has no insurance. I've been burned by this before, the postie reckons he delivered it so Aus Post claims it was stolen from my letterbox which is crap because I was living in the middle of nowhere and checking the box more than once per day. Anyway, I ended up getting nothing - seller posted it so he's not responsible, Post reckon they delivered it so they're not responsible...anyway, I will never, ever use Express Post for stuff I don't want to lose.