Cousins Order Arrived --> Empty

[rehajm]

I’ve never had an issue with a Cousins order where the fault originated with them. OP looks like someone got to the parcel after it left Cousins, no?

Royal Mail to the USA has been a major problem. The strike and the ransomware aside the biggest problem is delays, not so much with Royal Mail’s Unladen Swallow Service but once the parcels enter the US. Customs clearance has been very poor. Two or three weeks once RM gets to them is average. I’ve had some enter US via JFK and head to Phoenix then back to New York before heading to South Carolina all via snail mail…

I’ve been slowly filling up my shopping cart at Cousins then paying for the UPS service. A big batch parts doesn’t increase UPS cost. So I’m a bit poorer but have my order in three business days…

1 hour ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

That must be an international thing. I've just had a big parcel from them, fully tracked to my door and i had to sign for it. But that is UK

I know Cousins has not had RM signature service to the US for a long time. Once a RM parcel makes it to customs it’s up to USPS to complete and they are in such poor shape economically and labor wise they wouldn’t be able to handle that. I’ve had to run to the post office more than once to intercept a Cousins order my local mail carrier couldn’t be bothered to deliver…

[gpraceman]

6 hours ago, Mircea said:

Update no. 1 in my case

First package after the empty one showed up, but it is a box, due to bulky items ordered with the missing ones. Well packed as usual, no problem at all. Just one mention: I had to go to the post office to pick it up, but there was no signature required. Either Canada Post doesn’t communicate well with Royal Mail for this, either Cousins send them without signature required, despite the sign on the label… I don’t know. I even asked the post office lady where I sign, answer: no need for it, isn’t required.

keep you posted with the second to come and the claim when solved.

Thanks for the update.

I reordered my missing parts, except for the one that is out of stock till May (and not backorderable).  Stock on one of those parts was down to only one, so I was afraid that would go out of stock if I waited.  Then who knows how long it would take them to get more stock.  I added a bulky item to the order to help ensure that they would have to box it all up.

I noticed that when selecting the shipping option, Royal Mail is only listed as tracked and insured.  Only the more expensive delivery options state about signature required.

[RickTock]

Just as a data point, I had an order shipped from Cousins via Royal Mail (International / Signed) from Cousins on March 14 and it arrived (Victoria, BC) yesterday, March 28. Our Canada Post letter carrier required a signature for the package.

I'm sure glad Royal Mail's International shipping issues are behind them. The order prior to this one took a month to arrive.

[Mircea]

Hello everyone

update no. 2

Second order arrived yesterday, in an envelope similar to the one that arrived open and empty. All good for this one, well sealed, with the flap glued at its usual place. No missing items, no problems at all. I happened to be home when it arrived and I had to sign for it. As stated before, I no longer understand anything about their Signed or not signed requirements, it seems to be random at best…

Time of transit was 3 weeks for the first package, two weeks for the second, by the way. Getting close to the pandemic era (7 to 10 days was the norm before UK to Montreal, Canada). Surely glad for a lesser wait time.

will post about the Royal Mail claim. Resolution is expected on April 19, so will see.

Have a nice day!

[Mircea]

Update no.2 and last on this topic

Cousins has refunded my empty order, as the claim was accepted by Royal Mail. I had to chase the claim with Cousins, but otherwise all was smooth. I will continue to order from them, for sure.

[gpraceman]

1 minute ago, Mircea said:

Update no.2 and last on this topic

Cousins has refunded my empty order, as the claim was accepted by Royal Mail. I had to chase the claim with Cousins, but otherwise all was smooth. I will continue to order from them, for sure.

I too got word from Cousins that they refunded my empty order.  Just got that notice this morning.  I am rather relieved about that.

I have ordered from them since, but have made sure that I got some bulky items, so each has come boxed up.  None of those had issues.  I have reordered and received most of the parts that were lost in shipping.  Unfortunately, I am still waiting on the case to come back in stock.

[watchweasol]

Glad to hear of a successful conclusion.

[Klassiker]

I just received a delivery from them where the jiffy bag was half open. The glue on the flap hadn't stuck properly. Fortunately the contents were inside a resealable plastic bag, so nothing had slipped out. Maybe they have a bad batch of bags, or have changed supplier.

[gpraceman]

11 hours ago, Klassiker said:

I just received a delivery from them where the jiffy bag was half open. The glue on the flap hadn't stuck properly. Fortunately the contents were inside a resealable plastic bag, so nothing had slipped out. Maybe they have a bad batch of bags, or have changed supplier.

My correspondence with Cousins indicates to me that they are not interested in implementing even simple countermeasures to prevent this issue, like applying a simple strip of packaging tape.  "Cousins ship thousands of orders monthly and we have had not reports from customers reporting whole orders missing."

With my business, we learned long ago not to trust the pre-applied adhesive strips on shipping envelopes and boxes.  Hadn't had an issue with that since adding a strip of packaging tape.  Tape's cheap and it just takes a couple of seconds.  They don't even need a strip of tape for international orders, just paste the customs sleeve over the envelope flap.

Edited April 26, 2023 by gpraceman

[rossjackson01]

Good Thread. It's good when members update the outcome.

Pleased that you got the best result.

Ross