Mr.Nickel sent the last documents needed for submission to VFS was sent via DHL FALKIRK , and was picked up Oct. 1,2015.I had been tracking it for 4 days and it says estimated delivery date was Oct. 7,2015 (yes that's no longer 3-4 days but 6) but still got enough time allowance of 6 days before scheduled appointment with CEBU VFS. Went home from Manila on the 6th of Oct. So that I could personally receive the parcel,but unfortunately it was not delivered,so I went back to their site to track down again. To my surprise,online tracker system says,"ESTIMATED DELIVERY DATE IS UNAVAILABLE". Called up local DHL OFC ,and was advised to call up DHL INTL toll free,but since I don't have a landline,I asked favor from the staff to do it for me,and sure enough,MANILA DHL called me,telling me they will be calling DHL UK POINT OF ORIGIN which is Edinburgh, and to date,I have not received any update. Mr.Nickel on his end also exerted effort to connect to them about our concern,and since yesterday they are still back tracking its whereabout.I'm so disappointed because we are running out of time .IN IT WERE THE UTILITY BILLS,ADDTL PHOTOS OF ACCOMODATION, POST OFFICE STAMPED ENVELOPS OF MY LETTERS TO HIM,My sister's letter welcoming Mr.Nickel to my family,and etc. DHL SERVICES IS BECOMING UNRELIABLE !!It's not worth the pay!!With the way things are going I'm afraid they still can't deliver till Sunday, those documents are part of my visa applicatio. To be submitted on the 13th.VERY upsetting services from DHL.
I also sympathise and hope it turns up for your sake. I know parcels go missing but the percentage must be relatively small. I used to keep a close eye on and regularly input the tracking number just to know at which point the parcel was up to in the process. I also later realised that its quicker and more reliable to get it sent to a DHL service centre in a mall than a personal address. Hope they find it for you.
I found that there was a DHL phone number in the UK that was far more helpful - they actually did get things sorted out. I will try to find the number. Did the package contain anything except documents ?
Nickel, this may help you. This is an email that I got from DHL Customer Focus: Dear Andrew Thank you for your enquiry. I can confirm that since arriving in the Philippines your goods have been, unfortunately, held by Customs Officials, pending clearance. Although we are using our best endeavours to secure the release of your shipment, may I respectfully advise that Customs intervention is outside our control or influence. Whilst we take all possible steps to minimize the adverse impact these delays have on our service performance, I regret we cannot ensure that inconvenience will be completely avoided on every occasion. As soon as Customs clearance has been secured, delivery will be attempted without further delay. Although I have been unable to ascertain exactly why this delay has occurred, I can reassure you that incidents of this nature are extremely rare, and do little to reflect our normal standard of service. Whilst these delays are often unforeseen and beyond our control, I hope you will understand that some circumstances prevent us from completely avoiding any inconvenience to our customers. We will, of course, always endeavour to utilise any options we have to keep any adverse effects experienced, to an absolute minimum. May I, on behalf of DHL, apologise for the undoubted inconvenience incurred on this occasion, but I hope the above goes some way towards clarifying matters. Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Services on 0844 248 0844. Yours sincerely, Amy Pincock ext 66931 UK Customer Focus DHL International (UK) Ltd Millennium House Unit 5, Argosy Road East Midlands Airport DE74 2SA"
The first parcel arrived 4 days after,and second parcel after 6 days,and I had been keeping my eyes on its movement using tracker, but this last one,I was wondering,I did not saw any movement.It just said picked up from Edinburgh .
Do you have to pay a certain amount upon receiving the parcel? My then fiancé and I were not notified about this so my box was delayed a few days in Cebu.
The contents of the boxes were paperwork and chocolates. So I take it we paid for the chocolates worth Php1,000+
If the parcel contained just documents, then it shouldnt be subject to any charges or have been held by customs. I'm sorry for your troubles. I used DHL for my documents - I sent a 15kg box of papers - and they took 4 days to arrive. I guess you've been unlucky.
@Nickel Delays are often NOT the fault of the carrier but due to inspection by the customs authorities. I think DHL remains the fastest and most reliable carrier, despite your problems.
I don't think it is about the authorities in this case because I was monitoring it and there was no movement,unlike our previous transactions with them.All I saw on the tracker was..it was picked up Oct. 1 and estimated delivery is Oct. 7.And I had been talking to Manila dhl and they could not even track it back.And he customer rep says,it could be that it had slipped and was not recorded.So its very clear hat they are inefficient.I even told him how could that happen when it has a barcode and should pass the checkers or xrays..nothing mentioned about customs because they don't even know where it's current whereabout.And Mr.Nickel has been calling them and all they were saying is..they are still locating it. Imagine the consequential effect of it to my visa application?VFS on Tuesday and time is running out now. And if there is something I would be thankful of is that..those a e just supplemental documents,I WOULD BE devastated If those were Primary supporting documents.
If the cause of delay is ,it was held up by customs because it got something suspicious in it,then I would not rant but must abide with the law and the system,but this one is a clear negligence.No one is taking responsibility till now. I can not even reset the VFS schedule because those supplementary docs are in original copies.Sodisappointing .
So, there has been no tracking at all, apart from the pickup? If that is the case, the presumption must be it got lost in the UK. If you don't have all the documents you need for the application, you should not submit your biometrics but postpone the VFS global submission. If you submit with incomplete documents and visa is refused you have lost a lot of money. Of the documents you have listed that got lost, the utility bills are probably the most important but not necessarily essential. If you do submit to VFS Global, make sure that to include confirmation from DHL that they lost the package and add notes to the application. If in any doubt that you have sufficient documentation, you should re-schedule VFS appointment. DHL insurance does not include consequential loss - eg. you won't get compensation if visa is refused because the lost documents were essential to a succesful application.
