Amazon's "one-day delivery" not quite what it seems

Simon · May 29, 2012, 22:14:08

Amazon has been rebuked by the advertising watchdog for offering "one-day delivery" that doesn't actually mean items will be delivered the next day.

The offer, made to subscribers to Amazon's Prime service, promised customers "unlimited free one-day delivery on millions of eligible items sold by Amazon.co.uk".

However, three customers complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that goods were not being delivered within the promised 24 hours.

Amazon argued that its terms and conditions stated that the item would be delivered one business day after dispatch, not the day after the item was ordered. The web retailer also insisted that it was a "guaranteed" delivery service, and that it would compensate Prime customers who didn't receive their goods by the stated date - although Amazon admitted that this policy of compensation wasn't published on its website, and that compensation claims were dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Despite Amazon's protestations, the complaints were upheld by the ASA, which ruled that the retailer "had not made it sufficiently clear or prominent that 'one-day delivery' referred to one day after dispatch".

Read more: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/374803/amazons-one-day-delivery-not-quite-what-it-seems

Technical Ben · May 29, 2012, 22:53:09

You know, this one I actually think I'll be on the side of the company for a change. We all know delivery cannot happen if there is no stock. We know it won't happen if there is no stamp.

But they should be clear when the cut of times are for dispatch/orders. In most jobs, if you've got a backlog, you stay in until the jobs done. So I don't see why anyone who orders online before a cut off time would not get a dispatch + delivery.

Unless some items are always dispatched later or delayed.

kinmel · May 29, 2012, 23:00:52

We have never had any problem with next day tracked delivery using Prime, before a Prime user even places the order, the specific delivery details are show against the product, if you have missed today's deadline the details reflect that.

We have had deliveries on a Saturday, but not on a Sunday because no carriers are delivering then. They do collect from Amazon late on a Sunday evening though.

Recently, we have ordered books quite late on a Sunday with Prime delivery and they were delivered before noon on the Monday by a carrier. The delivery driver this Monday said that his Monday load always include a lot of just single book parcels with a before 12 delivery time.

Simon · May 29, 2012, 23:08:31

I don't use Prime, but usually find Amazon still deliver most things within 48 hours, if not quicker. They are one company I'm always happy to do business with, and do rather a lot!

Rik · May 30, 2012, 09:16:41

I had two Prime orders fail last week. One involved the carrier, HDNL, being too lazy to put the item on the delivery van - even though they were coming here anyway. The other involved Amazon using an untracked Royal Mail service. I persuaded them to give me £11 in compensation.

Tacitus · May 30, 2012, 10:45:53

Quote from: Rik on May 30, 2012, 09:16:41
One involved the carrier, HDNL, being too lazy to put the item on the delivery van - even though they were coming here anyway.

TBH Rik, I refuse to order from anyone that doesn't use good old fashioned Royal Mail. More often than not, there's nobody in to take delivery of parcels that won't go through the letter box. With RM, they take it to their sorting office, some 3-4 miles away and I collect it at my convenience. With any of the others I either have to arrange another delivery date or travel 25 miles minimum to pick it up.

Needless to say once RM is privatised that type of customer service will end as the profit seekers aim to make the customer do the work for them.

pctech · May 30, 2012, 11:19:37

Sounds like you have decent drivers Tac.

RM have hurled stuff over a back gate despite a notced on the gate asking for stuff not to be thrown over.

Simon · May 30, 2012, 11:28:00

RM are not in my good books at the moment. Yesterday, I was charged £1.09 for an item that had been sent with 9 pence short of the required postage, mainly due to no one having a clue what stamps to put on an item, now it depends on weight, size, shape, and what Aunt Mabel had for breakfast. So, I had to pay the 9 pence overdue, plus £1 for a bloke to hand me the item over the counter.

I am now eagerly awaiting some wrongly delivered mail, at which point I will ring them and ask them where to collect my fee for re-delivering the item.

Tacitus · May 30, 2012, 11:46:34

Quote from: pctech on May 30, 2012, 11:19:37
Sounds like you have decent drivers Tac.
RM have hurled stuff over a back gate despite a notced on the gate asking for stuff not to be thrown over.

I've never had any trouble with them or the regular posties who are always helpful. Fortunately the sorting office is on the same side of the town as my village so it's really convenient and only about 4 miles. When HDN failed to deliver I had to travel 40 miles to their nearest depot.

Rik · May 30, 2012, 12:02:38

RM are OK, if their local management are any good. Sadly, too many are not. The best carriers for me are TNT, DPD and CityLink.

pctech · May 30, 2012, 12:14:30

Quote from: Rik on May 30, 2012, 12:02:38
The best carriers for me are TNT,

When you get a delivery from them do you explode with excitement?

sorry

Rik · May 30, 2012, 13:36:39

Yes, it's usually food, Mitch.

Technical Ben · May 30, 2012, 14:22:05

Quote from: Tacitus on May 30, 2012, 10:45:53
TBH Rik, I refuse to order from anyone that doesn't use good old fashioned Royal Mail. More often than not, there's nobody in to take delivery of parcels that won't go through the letter box. With RM, they take it to their sorting office, some 3-4 miles away and I collect it at my convenience. With any of the others I either have to arrange another delivery date or travel 25 miles minimum to pick it up.

Needless to say once RM is privatised that type of customer service will end as the profit seekers aim to make the customer do the work for them.

They are closing the sorting office 50m up the street (next to the phone exchange... I'm on the best line ever!

).

Hopefully the local post office will take the undelivered parcel.

kinmel · May 30, 2012, 17:23:10

Quote from: Rik on May 30, 2012, 09:16:41
I had two Prime orders fail last week. One involved the carrier, HDNL, being too lazy to put the item on the delivery van - even though they were coming here anyway. The other involved Amazon using an untracked Royal Mail service. I persuaded them to give me £11 in compensation.

All our Amazon parcels come by DPD and we get an email from them on the day giving a one hour time slot.

Here is today's - "Your order from Amazon is out for delivery today and is estimated to be delivered between 10:13-11:13. Can you please ensure that someone will be available to sign for the parcel at:"

The driver arrived at 10.11 and had to wait the two minutes till 10.13; else it counts as wrongly delivered and affects his bonus !

Simon · May 30, 2012, 17:28:06

The one hour time slots don't usually help me, as I'm not in most of the day anyway, but if DPD can do that, why can't all the others?

Rik · May 30, 2012, 17:32:53

They could, if they were prepared to spend the money. We had two DPD slots today, both were spot on. (Though I wonder why they couldn't have put both items on one van.)

Simon · May 30, 2012, 18:51:16

They came from different places?

Rik · May 31, 2012, 09:24:12

That's the logical thought, but why have two delivery depots covering the same territory?

Glenn · May 31, 2012, 09:27:17

Maybe they all overlap to provide a better service?

Rik · May 31, 2012, 09:28:23

Possible, but not good business.

armadillo · May 31, 2012, 12:55:40

Quote from: Tacitus on May 30, 2012, 10:45:53
TBH Rik, I refuse to order from anyone that doesn't use good old fashioned Royal Mail. More often than not, there's nobody in to take delivery of parcels that won't go through the letter box. With RM, they take it to their sorting office, some 3-4 miles away and I collect it at my convenience. With any of the others I either have to arrange another delivery date or travel 25 miles minimum to pick it up.

I completely agree. Except in my case the RM sorting office is only a mile away. I have given Amazon feedback, many times, that RM delivery would be an option I would even be prepared to pay for. They also attach too much significance to speed of delivery. I do not usually care how quickly it arrives. What I care about is for it to arrive at a guaranteed known time. A one hour slot would be fine if I could be guaranteed that I could have a slot on my chosen date, which I might choose to be several days after ordering. In the absence of that feature, RM is much the preferred option because of the convenient collection.

When I use Amazon, I always use free super saver delivery if it is available, and it usually is. Free super saver has always arrived in 48 hours from ordering, though without any guaranteee of date. And more often than not, it is by RM.

As for the ASA, I have no faith whatever in them. I think their decisions are, at best, arbitrary. I know I made a complaint to them regarding some highly offensive advertising, which they rejected, saying it was not their job to "influence the policy of companies regarding advertising". Really? What else is their job then? They also said that they considered that the company "did not intend to cause offence". Really? So it is OK if a company causes offence so long as the offence is unintentional. I think their hidden agenda is that they will hit a company if its offence is of a racial or sexual nature, which my complaint was not. And they will hit a company on other issues if it is big and powerful enough not to be much affected by the hit - water off a duck's back. Amazon is so big that an ASA decision does not hurt them so ASA can rule against them without worrying.

kinmel · May 31, 2012, 19:54:55

Our postman told me today that from tomorrow, undelivered parcels cannot be collected from the R.M. Delivery Office until the next working day and D.O. collection times are now 2pm to 8pm on weekdays and 10am to 2pm on Saturdays.

JB · May 31, 2012, 21:20:07

Quote from: kinmel on May 31, 2012, 19:54:55
Our postman told me today that from tomorrow, undelivered parcels cannot be collected from the R.M. Delivery Office until the next working day and D.O. collection times are now 2pm to 8pm on weekdays and 10am to 2pm on Saturdays.

I'm afraid that its been like that for some time now in sunny Cheshire. No chance of popping down late afternoon or evening for a parcel that was undelivered that morning. And 2pm to 5pm are the next day cut off times at our local sorting/delivery office.