31st July: The Goose Chase
Wake up to tracking site stating the item arrived at the 'Delivery Location' (local depot) at 3:03am, meaning it should be in transit over the next few hours.
But wait. The Tracking site now states the 'expected delivery date' is the 1st of August, which is not as earlier noted, meaning the item is still not Out for Delivery - the usual way of saying "on its way".
A few hours later, the expected delivery date jumped to 4th of August, which is evidently longer than 24 hours(!)
I check the tracking number against the BusinessPost corporate tracking page as well; this is a company linked to UKMail and has the same tracking system, but with more details. This related site contains the following data on my item:
Collection Date: 31/07/2014 (what?) Del Service: Next Day (...!) Collecting Location: Huddersfield
Note those expressions of emphasis - a wrong collection date with this so-called 'Next Day' service!
Later in the day, Customer Services were called again - at 3pm. "All our agents are busy at this time; please wait" was interspersed with tinny music for a record 30 minute hold wait.
A female representative checks all the basic details again, and is unsure of issue. She dispatches an employee to the Exeter depot to follow-up after I provide her with my mobile number, but get no response after multiple hours.
Third call to Customer Services is placed after around 2 hours and 30 minutes, with a short 10 minute wait before speaking to a new female representative. (thank goodness for free call minutes!)
It appears that Huddersfield dispatch team delivered to the Exeter depot without notifying Exeter.
There is no chance of delivery tonight (31st), so the is delivery set for tomorrow (1st August), she says. This representative takes mobile number for callback to confirm this has been sorted.
The expected delivery date then updated to the 1st (again) on the tracking system, along with details confirming the weight and my personal details, which looks promising, right when the same representative actually calls back.
She states that I should receive a 1 hour timeframe tomorrow morning via the consumer Tracking site, as it's 'guaranteed' (quote) to arrive tomorrow.
For now, that marks the end of the problems - I will be surprised if UKMail stick to their time slot, but to receive the parcel at all throughout tomorrow is good enough for me. To clarify: this is no fault of the eBay seller, to make that clear, as every event after collection is in UKMail's hands.