Buyer beware!
These days, it seems every industry or sector has its scammers, and unfortunately the courier and logistics industry is no exception. There are many fraudulent companies that will happily take your money in exchange for services they have no intention of providing. This leave customers out of pocket, delayed with their deliveries and stressed.
Here at TLX Group, we work hard to build local connections and understand our customers, so we know what it means for a business to fall for a shipping scam.
Here are a few pointers to help you stay aware of what to look out for when it comes to booking courier services. (Of course, you can just book with TLX Group and have enjoy peace of mind!)
Senders beware!
If you are sending anything, be sure to book with a reputable company. That means doing some research online. Don’t just rely on a website – they are easy to set up and can look professional, using customer ‘reviews’ and images.
Instead, use social media – are they actively posting on Facebook? Are there Facebook reviews? This will enable you to find genuine information from previous customers, but also allow you to understand how long the company has been trading 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.
Beware 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 convince 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.
There are many reasons why the scammer may want you to click the link – from viruses to identity theft – or sometimes even both. 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 more than likely is.
To book with a trustworthy, reliable courier company, give us a call on 01604 698237 or email us at sales@tlxgroup.co.uk