“Strongly recommend avoiding Parcelcompare. Like many others, I had extra charges taken from my account without any invoice (one finally came over a month later after my bank reversed the payments twice.) They say the authorisation to do this was in their small print, which is probably true, but I feel it’s unlikely most of us would check such things when simply sending a parcel. I ended up spending far more than the cost of the goods being shipped and my parcel was never delivered. Parcelcompare appears cheaper than the standard delivery services but it’s not worth the risk of having money taken from your account without notice or permission.”
“Unfortunately, I am sorry I read all these reviews after using this company. My advice is DO NOT USE THEM. After reading the reviews of others, I can tell that the same happened to us, we were quoted a price (40 pounds) and then we were asked an additional charge (16 pounds) because the item was too heavy (but we provided all details from the very beginning). The item was destroyed in transit and they took no responsibility. We lost the money for the item we were planning to return plus what we paid them. Definitely, I am not going to use them again.”
“Shocking service – avoid at all costs! I paid for a next-day collection and, after more than a week, the parcel is STILL sitting here untouched. No driver ever showed up, no updates, and every complaint I raised was brushed aside with copy-paste excuses.
They keep “rebooking” collections that never happen and hide behind the line that they “cannot guarantee collection” – yet they’re more than happy to take your money for it. This is misleading, unprofessional, and feels like a scam.
I’ve wasted time, money, and energy chasing a service I paid for but never received. Truly disgraceful customer service. I would strongly warn anyone thinking of using ParcelCompare – don’t make the same mistake I did.”
“They are saying my parcel was not packaged properly yet I packaged it as it would come out of the shop. I insured the parcel of up to £150 and they are refusing to refund me. I’ve sent evidence proving this and they still refuse. I asked if there was anyone else I could speak with and I’ve been ignored.”
“Having provided an apparently efficient service at a reasonable and agreed price, this company feels it is within it's rights (See smallprint) to charge the same amount again two months later with no warning or explanation. Charlatans!”
“They are in contactable, and seem to be so unreliable. They are quick to take payment and then could not be slower when they fail to produce shipping documents. Their website has you going around in circles. It’s a false economy to use them better to go direct to the providers.”
“I tried to send a parcel to Canada, all weighted, measured and paid for using UPS. It was never delivered and I was given all sorts of excuses. Parcelcompare then started taking money from my account with no explanation. I sent numerous emails disputing this and then they passed the buck and said that the consignee had instructed their own broker so I should take it up with them, absolute load of rubbish and nothing of the sort had been done. They are possibly the worst company I have ever come across and I would strongly advise anyone to steer clear. I've ended up paying £170 for a service that has not happened and no responsibility is being taken by Parcelcompare.”
“The most awful company to send parcels.
They will quote cheap and use many number of partner companies to send a parcel. They have product codes for tariffs and if you by any chance enter the wrong code, the parcel will be shipped to the target country and then they will request a return and they will charge you... The parcel will not be delivered and they will charge you the return cost.
Please do not use this company, do it directly with the parcel company. You will pay extra but you have full control.”
“Totally unprofessional service.
I paid for a premium collection service.
Driver never turned up.
Tried to complain and they just cancelled the order.
Absolutely ridiculous service as there’s no customer support and all you get is automated responses.
Never will use them again!”
“Didn’t contact recipient but tracking marked as customs to pay. Then I (sender) tried to contact the company and sender tried to phone local parcel office. Despite saying we wanted to package and keen to pay customs the package was returned to me- at my expense for the return. Not yet sure how much or when I’ll get it back :( Terrible customer service too- if you want to complain you need to write a letter!”
“Title: Excessive Surcharges and Poor Transparency – Disappointing Experience
I recently used ParcelCompare for a UPS shipment and was shocked to receive over £1,000 in surcharges after the item was delivered. These included an address correction fee, a large package surcharge, and a staggering £745 over-limit charge — all applied after the fact, without warning or opportunity to rectify the issue beforehand.
Despite having measured and packed the item carefully, UPS audited the parcel and claimed it exceeded the size limit by a mere 9 cm (409 cm vs 400 cm length + girth), which triggered their “Over Max” penalties. ParcelCompare simply passed on the full charges without offering any protection or dispute resolution support unless I provided photographic proof — which, of course, no one thinks to take before shipping.
Worse still, the address correction fee was applied without any clear explanation. I had entered the correct address during booking, but ParcelCompare could not specify what was supposedly wrong.
The whole situation feels like a trap: book a shipment in good faith, and if UPS decides after delivery that your parcel was 1cm too long, you’re suddenly liable for hundreds of pounds in retrospective penalties.
ParcelCompare’s customer support was polite but ultimately took no responsibility. Their stance is that they “have no choice” but to pass on carrier surcharges, even when the accuracy of the audit is questionable and the charges are excessive.
Be warned: If you use ParcelCompare, you are on your own if anything goes wrong. Take pictures, weigh and measure everything, and be prepared to pay far more than the quoted price — even if you followed all the rules.
Very disappointed and will be reconsidering who I book with in the future.”
“Never use this company. They are a scam. I booked and paid for a delivery from our warehouse in Oldham to our customer in China. It was never delivered. According to ParcelCompare it was due to a change in policy at Charles de Gaulle airport that we were never advised of at booking regarding weight. Our package was 23kgs. Anyway, the package was eventually returned to us and nbow Parcel Compare are refusing to give us a refund. in fact they are just ignoring us. We paid £100 for them to do a delivery. They did not do the delivery but have kept our £100. We are now proceeding with a legal claim against them.
Ref Waybill No 881629044261”
“Terrible! The item arrived broken into bits, I took out expensive insurance, but they refuse to pay. Now taking money off my card without permission, saying not the correct dimensions, it was 100% the correct dimensions. I am a small company, and we check all weight/dimensions perfectly. Scam!”
“Unable to leave at collection point as system terminal not working. Tried other collection points same thing. Have raised enquiries, no response.
Shocking service”
“Unfortunately I cannot leave 0 stars. Firstly VAT is hidden until checkout. I booked next day delivery and received confirmation details. Following day no collection. Next day, after contacting Fed ex myself I was told no collection details had been forwarded. My package was finally collected three days later. Frustrated client. No offer of money back for a next day service which was collected and delivered in five! Shocking service. I will not be using again.”
“I posted a parcel in February and more than 2 months after delivery Parcelcompare deducted £20 from my bank account without my knowledge or consent. They state that this is because it was a "remote delivery". The delivery address was provided at the point of booking the courier when the quote was provided.
I am alarmed at this practice and will never use parcelcompare again.”
“Five months after I used this company they have just taken two unauthorised payments from my bank account, totalling £126. After taking the payments they emailed me two invoices as attachments. I will not be opening these for the obvious security reasons. Luckily my bank was able to immediately reverse the payments and cancel my card. I would advise anybody to avoid this company.”
“They messed up customs forms and checked the wrong box even though l had given correct information on their order form ..as a result french customs charged me 15 euros for a second hand jacket that was being returned to me... Their admin department had labelled it as a ' new purchase'....utter morons ...and they won't make me a refund even though it was their mistake ..
Terrible customer support.....AVOID....!!! 😡😡”
“Unauthorised Payments & Ignored Complaint – Ongoing for 2+ Weeks
On May 1st I submitted an appeal with full evidence showing my parcels were under the surcharge limit. I refused authorisation for payment while my appeal was active.
Despite this, ParcelCompare charged me £77.51 on May 8 and a £8.14 late fee on May 9 — all without my consent and before my appeal was resolved.
I raised a formal complaint (Case 4953608) and sent multiple emails, but was met with four identical copy-paste responses from “Mark Taylor” that completely ignored the complaint and the unauthorised charges.
I've now reported them to Trading Standards, started a chargeback process, and I’m warning others — if there's a problem, you will be ignored.”
