Kudos for Fanatec, but not for UPS

OK, this wil be lengthy, but the upshot is that I had extreme issues solely down to UPS, all of which Fanatec resolved very quickly.

I've seen a lot of posts bemoaning Fanatec CS for not responding but my experience was completely the opposite. As such I though that I should even things up a little. It may also help those in the UK who have submitted orders....MORAL: keep a close eye on UPS and don't believe everything you see or hear

The saga starts with an order made 23rd January ( a Saturday). I expected delays due to COVID and Brexit. A few days later the tracking number was posted to the order, all good.

I watched as it progressed through Germany until an exception notice was issued saying that UPS needed some more details from Fanatec. I contacted UPS brokerage direct to confirm what I could and asked Fanatec to contact them for anything else. Within a day it was stated as having cleared customs, I'd paid the import charges, and a delivery date was issued for about two days later. Happy Days!

Then the fun starts with various "BREXIT" delays and exceptions until it was finally noted as being in the UK on 10th Feb and delivery was scheduled for 12th Feb. On the night of the 10th it reached the local depot and, on the 11th, it was scanned as having been loaded to a van for delivery on 12th as planned.

Waited in on the 12th and nothing arrived and no change to the tracking. Phoned UPS who said that they contacted the depot who would phone me. No call so I again contacted UPS CS, who advised that the depot had confirmed they had the package and it would be delivered Monday.

On Monday, there was no delivery and no change to the tracking, so I called UPS. They then advised that the package was not at the depot and it could not be traced on their system, even though it was still showing the scans at the depot. They even used the word "lost". They advised that I should contact the sender.

I emailed Fantec and , within a day, I had a reply from Fanatec to confirm that they had been in touch with UPS who were undertaking an investigation and dealing with the claim. Fanatec explained that it could take 10 working days to complete. The tracking was updated to reflect the investigation.

By the way, while all of this was going on, I had placed an order for the Maclaren wheel, and that was delivered in a little over a week

On 23rd Feb, Fanatec emailed to advise that UPS acknowledged the original package was lost. They offered me a refund or a replacement. I chose the latter.

The tracking for the replacement was issued on 25th February, and I noted that Fanatec had upgraded the shipping to Express saver.

Delivery was scheduled for 26th Feb.

On 24th, tracking advised that UPS had missed a transfer. There was then some toing and froing with it being cleared and going back and forth to the warehouse and finally a new delivery date was given for 1st March.

The package was duly delivered!

That is a little over 5 weeks from making the original order, but the replacement took less than a week !

So, nil points for UPS and maximum points to Fanatec for sorting everything that they could do so promptly.

And yes, the item ordered was well worth it ....the Podium DD1 and F1 wheel bundle is fantastic (also very pleased with the Maclaren wheel and everything else I have ever bought from Fanantec).