DTDC and its Shortchanging Schemes

[JessePinkmanYo]

DTDC at it again - its devious best !

Have been experiencing delivery hiccups from pretty much all courier companies post COVID but what makes DTDC case special is the exceedingly high tariffs and unscrupulous trade practices to go with it. Its been a couple of years since tariffs were revised and yet there is no clarity on products and related cost either on their website or at their outlets. Franchisees now avoid displaying the revised tariff hoping you'll go ahead with the booking one time regardless even after learning the rates.

Shipping to North East - the entire NE has now been removed from East Zone and put aside in ROI. Not only that, anything outside Guwahati is now considered a "remote" location with extra charges and 5-6 day delivery TAT. It goes without saying that documentation regarding this revised treatment is missing and customer has no choice but to take the franchisee's word for it !

Changing category as per Convenience - This is the biggest issue. DTDC website states that they have a lot of products eg., DTDC Plus, DTDC Blue, DTDC Lite, etc catering to different needs and with different delivery timelines. However I have booked several consignments  for DTDC PLus service (having next day delivery facility) during last few months wherein the service has been changed to  DTDC Blue (having 48 hours delivery) instead. In cases even the 48 hour delivery TAT has not been followed and parcels have been delivered 3rd day EOD. Flat charges of Rs.365/- are levied for DTDC Plus for upto 500gms (as against 250gm segregation for DTDC Lite). Meanwhile they have reduced the default insurance amount from 2K to 500 bucks and I guess eveyone has experienced the endless badgering for buying insurance at their outlets.

I'm not sure if these methods are being employed just by the franchisees near me or if this is a pan India phenomenon. But the fact that the company is not taking any efforts to address these issues and even service calls made after hours of waiting are not being addressed for relevant issues raised and emails unanswered/ignored, makes their intent amply clear.

I have long been avoiding booking anything with them and now I do it only if the buyer insists on it ! DTDC 'Plus' is a strict NO-NO. In my experience its one of the most shortchanging schemes in the market now. If you have to do DTDC, go for 'Lite' with good packaging. It will often get delivered before Plus !

[Krish Chandran]

Agree. I have walked out of DTDC offices, frustrated and annoyed by their staff behaviour and policies

[Bharat Varma]

As per an old friend in a small courier company, prominent Courier Agencies that have shut down in the recent years -

Blazeflash
OnDot
First Flight
Overnite Express
Prakash Air Freight


DTDC now seems to be heading there.

[pk5user]

The local Dtdc courier franchise near my place is pro-actively pushing towards STCourier since he says they are more caring of their (franchisee problems) problems and told me that his other dtdc operatiors in nearby areas have stopped delivering their dtdc delivery packages since the head office doesn't acknowledge and pay the realistic prices which are currently workable and I shudder to think about all the undelivered packages lying there. He says they (dtdc) 'head office' are not addressing the local conditions present. I sent my package thro' stcourier and it was delivered safely for now. Apparently they partner with Blue Dart. Quite a fluid situation! Phew!

[Raghav_K]

DTDC has refused to deliver packages to my address for sometime now. Reason: the local franchise has closed, and package lies within the nearest 'super franchisee' for few days. No intimation to me. Either I have to go pick it up myself, or it's delivered by ST courier after few days. Doesn't matter if its plus, blue, premium etc.

Sometime ago, I had to return a lens to a dealer, DTDC flat refused to insure the package saying they will insure fragile items like lenses only if its in manufacturer sealed packaging as it might break in transit. I asked them not to insure for breakage, but to insure against loss of package. Reply I got: "package wont get lost, but we wont insure it". I went with DTDC green, which was 2x of the lite, but the package was delivered in two days safe.

Decided to stick with local dealers, or dealers who ship via blue dart hereafter.

[JessePinkmanYo]

This is just an update on DTDC services. In line with the exemplary and confidence inspiring trade practices outlined above, DTDC continues to :-

(1) Deliver packages whimsically as per convenience. If you are lucky you might get it in a couple of days or even one day. If not, it can take more than a week, even for "priority" parcels. Refer images attached for an example of just how fantastic their "priority" service is ! Same article sent from same address/pincode to same address/pincode using same service can take 2 days to deliver. Or can also take a week. Go figure.

(2) As if changing between priority/express and normal/lite services was not enough, now they are changing even carrier/method of shipping from "AIR" to "SURFACE" frequently. The worst part is this change does not get updated in the tracking system but becomes known to customer only when he sees the protracted delivery timelines. So you pay for air and you get surface with all associated damage risks. No refunds either. This also relates to point no.(4) below.

(3) They will change the "content" description also as per their convenience to avoid liability/insurance in case of loss/damage in transit. So the "stationery" in image 2 is actually a camera with batteries and charger !

(4) All kinds of content are now prohibited. Liquid was already out. Batteries were already out. Now metal is out. DTDC franchisee near me is now outright refusing to carry anything with even a gram of metal content. Plastic is probably next under the hammer. Which leaves us with paper. Waiting for the day when they decide to carry only empty envelopes. By the looks of it that shouldnt be too far :-P

PS - All those guys insisting on "DTDC shipping" only, might want to reconsider.

[DeepakS]

All those guys insisting on "DTDC shipping" only, might want to reconsider.

Interesting.

[vatsalgoyal]

use delhivery. they have a very nice online portal and you don't have to argue or speak with anyone. they come with their tamper proof bag - you put your packed stuff in it and hand over. that's it. if there is a problem (e.g. with liquid), they will return it back to you.

[JessePinkmanYo]

use delhivery. they have a very nice online portal and you don't have to argue or speak with anyone. they come with their tamper proof bag - you put your packed stuff in it and hand over. that's it. if there is a problem (e.g. with liquid), they will return it back to you.

That precisely is the point and purpose of this update - The choice of courier in most cases (including mine) rests usually with the buyer. So it they who might need convincing, not me. I have tried Delhivery many times but most of buyers seem to prefer DTDC over Delhivery for some reason, probably since Delhivery is priced marginally higher.

This is NOT to say that there are good alternatives out there. Far from it. This is just to say if I am resigned to getting shoddy service regardless of which courier I choose, let me choose a cheap one. If I cant save myself the hassle, at least let me try save myself the money.