A couple of questions about deliveries

Shopping
21

I add my Tel. mobile phone number to my address and a note “Appeler si besoin d’itineraire” on the order / delivery instructions. For Amazon I also add the GPS coordinates (off the satnav). Both as a line(s) within the address so a subcontractor will also see it on the label. Sub-sub-contractors for deliveries won’t get passed your note to UPS etc. So you put it on the address so it gets put on the label.

Chronopost is also often delegated to your local postie. Don’t let them take the pi$$. You’ve paid for delivery and you pay the same prices and taxes as everyone else. So don’t let them evade providing the service you’ve paid for.

I’ve devised these strategies as I have often not been in a position where I could go and collect if they only want to deliver to easy concentrated addresses. So I eliminate any way in which they could say it’s impossible (when their actual delivery attempt rate was 1 in 3 or even 1 in 4 of deliveries they claimed to have tried to make - this for La Poste, Chronopost, UPS, and subcontractors local and from too far away).

They rely on most people being out at work all day to make these lies stick. Unfortunately most of the time I’ve been able to state I waited all day 0800-1900, say, within sight and sound of the gate and they did not attempt a claimed delivery.

I’m also very pleasant when they do arrive.

22

I guess the easiest thing for me to do will be to use the Amazon dropoff point until I figure out something better. Its only about 5-8 minutes from my place so its not terrible. Although I have noticed many Amazon items wont ship to a drop-off location.
Thank you for all the helpful replies.

23

These deliveries often come from Chalon sur Saone or Dijon,where they have their warehouses and we are outlying.
Of course, they have to go to the depot to drop off ourparcel, which is actually further away, but I suppose they drop off a few at a time and the lady there says it is a regular occurrence.
It is well known that these delivery men are given an itinerary that it is almost impossible to carry out, so this happens, especially in rural areas where it takes more time per drop.
If you look at the complaints against UPS, it is not just France, UK and the rest of the world.

24

Do the drivers still all have to be Mormons, or at least non-smoking/drinking?
One of my stepsons was/is one and for a time he had some disapproval from the rest of the family. I supported him, as a non-believer in any kind of superior being I nevertheless appreciated the welcome and food given to me by them when a wanderer in Australia. I wasn’t desperate, but it was a nice gesture. :smiley:

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25

We live down a very long lane and as mentioned already most items from Amazon always come by LaPoste. We seem to now be developing a relationship with the various LaPoste drivers and other couriers so they become happy to leave larger items just by the house door if we are not just visible or away at the time.
Best to try and catch them on a delivery and explain you are happy for them to leave items and a note also can work too.

26

I did exactly the same. 25m to the road, and now all delivery drivers ring the bell !. I have a second bell outside in the back garden, so I now never miss a delivery.

27

Hi FireInFrance… welcome to France. We are 6 months into our French adventure and initialy had the same questions as you. We also live down a long drive with overhanging trees.

Our experience is that deliveries are highly variable. Our regular La Poste drives to our house and sounds the horn, if necessary (his holiday replacement is a bit hit-or-miss).

Most other delivery drivers turn up but many phone to find out where we live. I am amazed that delivery companies do not make more use of GPS or even Google maps in rural France. I am of the ‘This is my address. I paid you to deliver it’ school. My wife is quite prepared to drive to the local church to guide them in or even pick up packages.

Only once have we had an unknown delivery to a local drop-off point. Luckily the delivery-point phoned us to tell us the package was there.

Our recurrent problem is not knowing what is to be delivered (we moved into an empty house so there was much on-line shopping for furniture in the first few months). We get emails to say we have a delivery… but have no idea which of the many things ordered is being delivered! The most memorable was when my wife said it would be OK to leave the item at the postbox (300m from the house), expecting a mattress to be dropped off, and when she turned round a chest-freezer was sitting in the road. Luckily we have friends with a horse box.

The ‘not-so-funny’ episode was the delivery of a huge sofa. We emailed exact dimensions of the lorry that would fit down our drive and were appalled to see the biggest lorry ever at the end of the drive. The drivers were very sympathetic but me managed to shift it in two trips using the top-down on the car with my wife sitting in the back holding the carton. We could have refused delivery…

I understand about speaking French on the phone to delivery drivers but it soon becomes easier and after awhile we developed standard phrases for delivery directions.

In the end… it all sorta works and is part of the great French adventure. We wish you luck.

28

A further question about deliveries.

I have a mattress in my front garden. It was delivered without notice, dumped over the gate into wet grass after a storm with more wet weather forecast, on a day I was out.

I had cancelled the order 5 days previous. As it wasn’t being delivered despite strenuous efforts, and GLS wasn’t communicating insisting any complant had to come from the retail sender not me. After multiple calls to GLS and the retailer, getting into the 3rd week of trying to resolve it, no communication from either of them, I finally had enough and told the retailer to cancel and refund me…

I’ve checked their terms and this is an accepted way and timing of cancelling it.

5 days after the cancellation, with no communication, I come home and find the mattress tipped over the gate into long grass wet from the previous night’s storm.

I phoned and emailed the retailer straight away. Told them to have their courier collect it imnediately. As it had been cancelled 5 days previous, no communication or préavis had been received, I’d been out all day and if I’d received any préavis I would have refused as it was already cancelled., if I’d been there I’d have refused delivery, and in any case I wouldn’t have accepted delivery of it in that state. Advised them it will be left untouched exactly where their deliverer left it and they should pick it up immediately.

Told them I still wanted the refund as requested when it was cancelled 5 days previoisly. Mentioned that I’d actually intended to call them today to advise that if not refunded within a week I would contact my card to do a chargeback.

As of tomorrow the mattress is still sitting in my garden where it was left as dropped, ready for the courier to collect, 1 week ago. This does not surprise me because the whole issue with GLS is them not delivering (and not communicating). So they will be the same on collecting. I have actually put a tarp over it and a plastic lid under it and it’s recognisable as the package needing to be collected. But tomorrow it will have been 1 week since they dropped it. I wouldn’t put it past them to.take 3 weeks to collect it, or never, as that’s how long it took them to deliver it - 5 days after it was cancelled.

In the UK I’d send the courier and the retailer a note reminding them I requested them 7 days ago to collect their property. In the UK they have, I think, 10 days to remove a misdelivered parcel. Realistically in the UK I’d give them 14 days, at least, before disposing of it. But I think this French courier will be worse based on the way they’ve behaved so far.

Does anyone know the rules in France if they don’t collect it, how long must I give them to?

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29

We have a huge problem here as the hamlet is divided into haut and bas. Both parts have the same number houses. Chronopost, dpd and others find themselves in the other half and wont bother finding us. Not helped by websites not accepting old or new addresses. We are paying for delivery but not delivered. Sad and fed up with this. La poste find us so why not chronopost?

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30

Chronopost and Colis Prive are worse than useless, closely followed by DPD, they make Yodel look professional.

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31

Chronopost here is an absolute nightmare for years. DPD is actually the best. GLS is poorly organised and poor communication generally.

But this with the mattress and GLS absolutely takes the biscuit. How many days’ notice must I legally give them to collect it before I have the right to dispose of it? I’m planning to hire a van soonish for other purposes. That will take me near Emmaüs in Cahors where I am sure they would provide a receipt confirming it was donated there.

I’d like to book the van this week, writing to them this evening to remind them how long they haven’t collected it and want to give them x days before I dispose of the incorrectly delivered item… just don’t know how many days I legally have to give them, to collect their incorrectly delivered item in France