1. Which countries do you service?

2. What about the other countries?

3. Which of these countries can you import goods from?

4. What about local holidays?

5. What are your standard shipping times?

6. What timed services are available?

7. Do you offer collections overseas?

8. What is your latest collection time?

9. Can you ship refrigerated goods?

10. Can you ship dangerous goods?

11. Can you ship alcohol?

12. Can you handle personal effects?

13. Is there anything you can’t ship?

14. How should the goods be packaged?

15. Do I need a packing list?

16. Do I need commercial invoices?

17. Are my goods insured?

18. How do I calculate the shipping weight?

19. How do I arrange my shipment?

20. How do I get a price for my shipment?

21. How do I pay for my shipment?

22. Are there any additional charges you haven’t mentioned?

23. How do I find out where my package is?

24. How can I get proof of delivery information?

25. What if my goods are damaged in transit?

26. What if my goods get lost?

27. What are your standard Terms and Conditions?

28. How do I open an account with you?

29. Can I get pre-printed stationery?

30. Where can I get support about the use of your website?

31. What do I do if I see one of your drivers driving in a dangerous manner?

32. What else are you working on?

33. The animation on the front page looks a bit funny.

Answers

A1. We can service most of the countries in the world with some level of service or another. Typically, we can offer scheduled services to about 80% of the countries in the world. Oh and we also offer a full UK service.

A2. Where we can’t offer standard services to specific countries (e.g. Namibia) we have a network of agents around the world who can arrange to get your goods out to most of the rest of the world.

A3. It depends what you’ve got, where it is and how quickly you want it back – we can easily get lost keys back from Spain or surfboards from Australia – just give us a call with the details and we can arrange a quote.

A4. Transit times are quoted in working days – obviously this means you need to know when the local holidays are – the “Holiday Calendar” link on the hub on the left will give you this information. Also remember that not all countries take weekend breaks on a Saturday / Sunday so this may impact your expected delivery times. If you need a delivery on a public holiday, please contact us for details.

A5. Standard shipping times depend on the chosen shipping method, level of service chosen, and of course the destination. In addition, some countries have more rigorous customs entry procedures which can delay delivery.

As a very rough guide, the following table shows the approximate delivery schedule for major urban areas assuming no major customs delays. If you need detailed delivery information, please phone us with the town and area code (zip code) and for most African countries the phone number.

A6. UK deliveries are split into several categories: next business day; next business day before noon; next business day before 9am; Saturday delivery; Saturday before noon and Saturday before 9am. These services are not available to all post codes – please check the service you want is available prior to shipping.

A7. We can offer collections from most overseas destinations, however there are some items that we are not allowed (due to local laws or customs regulations) to ship. Please contact us with a note of what you want to ship, where you want it collected from and approximately how quickly you would like it back.

A8. For Parcel services: for Glasgow and the surrounding areas the close out time for the standard deliveries is 18:00 during the week and 17:30 on a Friday. For Edinburgh the close-out is 17:00. For London (inside M25) the close-out is 15:00. For the rest of the country please contact us with a postcode.

For pallet services: goods need to be booked in with us by 12 noon for a collection that day (assuming collection from a major urban area). For collections from rural areas, please contact us the day before you require the collection.

These are the standard close-out times - if you miss these then we can often arrange something special for you.

A9. We can collect and deliver in one of our two refrigerated vehicles, or offer some fly-drive services for goods packed in dry ice.

A10. We can arrange dangerous goods transportation, but need to know the dimensions and quantities; the UN number and the packing class. It is the customer’s responsibility to provide the dangerous goods documentation including the Tremcards.

Where the customer does not declare the goods as dangerous, any costs to rectify any issues will be passed back to the customer, and the goods may be destroyed.

A11. Quick answer – Yes. More considered (and therefore more accurate answer) – it depends how much and where it is going. We have years of experience in supporting the Scottish Whisky industry in moving samples, bonded goods, etc. worldwide so please call us with your requirements and we will endeavour to assist.

A12. Of course we can. There are some limits as to what can be sent based on both shipping restrictions (no aerosols, combustibles, etc.) and others based on local customs policies (no second hand clothing to Nigeria). There are also countries where additional cost are incurred for different products (food and drink in Australia; alcohol for the USA).

A13. We like to think not – we can ship livestock if you need to – but there are obviously some restrictions based on both UK and international law (there’s a fine line between “exporting” and “smuggling”). Generally speaking, if you are shipping standard items there shouldn’t be a problem – if it’s a bit complicated then give us a call when you start thinking about it.

A14. Goods should be packed appropriately for the type of journey they are about to embark on: many of these packages will find themselves in and out of the back of articulated trucks or transport aircraft. We suggest using jiffy bags and bubble wrap for things that are a bit sensitive to knocks and blows.

When we get the goods back to our warehouse, we will give them the once over to make sure that we believe they are fit for transit. If we think that they are inadequately packed, then we will give you a call (you did give us a contact number didn’t you?) to discuss how to proceed. We can often repack the goods at low cost on your behalf before shipping.

A15. If you are shipping personal effects then we will need a packing list with details of the contents of your shipment. This should be a relatively detailed list showing the type of item, the quantity and the condition (i.e. new). The case or box should be open as it may be necessary for us, our agents or customs and excise to examine the package.

A16. For any goods (other than documents) being exported out of the EU, then commercial invoices are required. These should contain your name, address and VAT number (if applicable); the address that the goods are being sent to; the quantity and description of the goods being sent; and the commercial value for tax purposes.

A17. Goods are covered under our Goods in Transit policy, but limited to approx. £1.70 / kg for UK shipments and £6.80 / kg for shipments covered under CMR.

Consequential loss is not covered.

A18. In common with most courier and freight companies around the world, we charge most shipments based on weight. This obviously makes it a bit difficult in terms of shipping bulky but light items (e.g. a plastic chair).

Under these circumstances we use a formula based on the dimensions of your package and the shipping service to calculate the volumetric weight - we’ve made it easy for you by including a Volume Calculator on our Hub (up and right).

Remember, you will get charged for the higher of the actual weight or the volume weight.

A19. Three ways:

• phone the office
• Email us
• Fax us

A20. Use the Volume Calculator on the hub (right and up) to calculate the shipping weight (the heavier of the volume or actual weight) and then call us or drop us an email with the collection address, delivery details (town, country, postcode and phone number for some African and Asian deliveries).

We’ll work you out a price and either email or phone you back (we can even send you a text message if you’d prefer) - just let us know your preferred contact method when you get in touch with us.

A21. We accept all major credit cards (not Diners or American Express), debit cards (not Electron), cash or cheque. We will also accept payments directly into our bank account for shipments.

A22. There are additional charges that are not in our control that you may have to pay: these include duty and taxes; alcohol and food permits; etc.

Additionally, if you have given us an inaccurate weight or dimensions, the price that you may have been originally quoted may be invalid - you will be phoned before the goods are shipped.

A23. You can phone the office at any time for status information on your shipment. Alternatively, you can use the track and trace function up and to the left on this web page.

A24. Proof of delivery information is available from the office, or from the Track and Trace system (see the previous answer).

If you need a hard copy PoD, then please contact the office for assistance.

A25. We endeavour to ensure that shipments arrive intact, however, if your goods are damaged, please follow these steps:

• sign for all shipments as ’unchecked’ - this is good practice for all shipments and all carriers;
• keep all of the original packaging
• get digital photograph’s of the damage if possible
• phone the Ecosse office number as soon as you are aware of the damage

A26. After a given period of time (this will change based on where you are sending and how), we will instigate the insurance processes in the same way that we would for damages (see question above).

A27. While we endeavour never to hide behind the ’fine print’, all of our shipments are covered by our standard terms and conditions of carriage. For all UK and international parcel consignments, these are BIFA 2005 terms. For direct drives, some of these terms may be superseded by the appropriate CMR terms.

More details can be found here.

A28. Please download a copy of the account application form from here. This gives us some basic background to you, as well as some trade references. It also confirms that you have made yourself familiar with our standard Terms and Conditions.

Once we have received the account application form, we will run a credit check and get some references. If you are a newly created company and / or have no credit rating (as per www.creditsafeuk.com) then we will open up a cash account for a pre-defined period of time / number of shipments until we have some degree of comfort.

It’s not that we don’t trust you - it’s just that we have a business to run.

A29. Once your account has been setup, if you need pre-printed consignment notes then please send an email to notes@ecosseworld.com with your account number and the number of pre-printed consignment notes you need, and we will arrange to get these out to you

A30. We don’t think the website is that complicated (but then we wouldn’t) – if you’ve got here then you’ve probably mastered it. If you still have any questions or would like to give us feedback then call the office, or drop us an email at sysadmin@ecosseworld.com.

A31. The most immediate answer would be: get out of the way. Being serious though, we do try to ensure that our drivers always behave in the best possible manner when they are out on the road. If you can get the registration of the vehicle, and the time and location of the incident please email a brief summary through to drivers@ecosseworld.com. Alternatively, if you believe that the offence warrants it, report the offence to the police yourself.

A32. At the moment we are trying to ensure that all of the core functionality of the website is working. Once we have done this then we are planning:

• another tool on the hub - the Ecosse Jukebox. This is in test just now, and doesn’t have all of the tunes yet.
• A detailed customer area which has detailed shipping information, customer specific pricing information, consignment note requests, etc.

A33. We have had a few reports of this - the background appears, but there is no foreground layer on the animation. This appears to be caused by a problem with the Flash media player. Click here to download the latest version of the software.