How to stay safe when using courier firms
Buyer beware!
These days it seems like every sector has its scammers, and sadly the courier and shipping industry is no exception. There are bogus companies out there that will happily take money in exchange for services that don’t exist, leaving clients not just out of pocket but also in a logistical and reputational mess when their goods aren’t collected or delivered.
A to Z Couriers works hard to build up local connections and understand our clients, so we know what it means to a business if it falls for a shipping scam. As such, here are a few pointers to help you stay abreast of what to be wary of when it comes to booking courier services. (Of course, you can also just book with A to Z and enjoy ultimate peace of mind!)
Senders beware!
If you’re sending a parcel, be sure to book with a reputable company. That means doing a bit of digging online. Don’t just take a website at face value – they’re easy to set up and can look very professional, complete with customer ‘reviews’ and images.
Instead, use resources like Facebook reviews to check the company out from behind the scenes. This should enable you to find genuine information from former customers. It should also allow you to gauge how long the company has been around for.
It’s important to engage common sense and trust your instincts at this point. If a company has only been around for a month or two and has racked up countless 5-star reviews, yet did not seem to exist just a few weeks earlier, then beware. Remember that you can always check any company out for free on the Companies House website, including finding out when it was founded.
It pays dividends to be wary of rogue agents too. They may claim to represent a popular courier company, but again don’t take this at face value. Check with the company in question – and not using contact details that the agent has given you!
Recipients beware!
It’s not just senders who need to be wary. Many scammers send mass mailings in an attempt to fool those expecting parcels into clicking links. They create emails that look genuine, using a popular courier company’s logo, contact details, etc. in order to entice the recipient to click a link. Such emails usually refer to an expected or missed delivery. With
29 million home and business addresses in the UK, scammers can look forward to a fairly high hit rate in terms of the number of people expecting deliveries.
From viruses to identity theft (and sometimes both at once), the consequences of falling for a shipping email scam can be dire. The best way to avoid them is to NEVER click a link in an email purporting to relate to a delivery. If you’re expecting something and think the email is genuine, pick up the phone and check. A two-minute phone call could save you hours of frustration later down the line.
Use your head!
Ultimately, the only person who can protect you from courier and shipping scams is you. Use your head and remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
To book with a trustworthy, reliable courier company, customers in London or Surrey can call A to Z Couriers on 0208 667 1234. Customers in Kent can call 01689 873 771.
