Left Luggage ('Excess baggage company') warning

[yorkie]

A member on here warned me that the Liverpool St bike racks looked unsafe, and another member recommended the left luggage facility, stating that friends of his had used it to store bikes.

Their website is at http://www.left-baggage.co.uk/

So, I gave them a ring and they said they accepted bikes, provided they are under 32kg. Well, I have not weighed by bike but it certainly weighs a lot less than that!

Anyway when I got there, I had to queue for around 20 minutes (the queue wasn't that long and I've seen it longer so some people may be queuing for 30 or longer at busy times!) only to be told that they do not take bikes. They asked what number I called, I told them the number on their website, they looked at me blankly, so I read out the number. They made no attempt to call it and simply said that they were "wrong".

I gave them ample opportunity to make amends for this mistake and they declined to do so, therefore I made it clear that I would be recommending people do not use them, they said that was fine. So I am doing just that!

I do not recommend them because:
1) You could miss your train due to excessive queues of potentially 20-30 minutes, and maybe longer. On Advance tickets that could be disastrous.
2) They do not adhere to what their head office says, therefore how can you be sure they will be open at the times their website says? If travelling on an evening service that could have severe consequences
3) Their customer service is poor, what if you have a problem? I wouldn't risk it.
4) If they do make a mistake, they are unwilling to offer anything in the way of compensation, this could be costly if they cause you to miss your train
5) They do not appear to be a reliable, friendly company to deal with.
6) They are extremely expensive

By the way, I checked out the bike rack at Liverpool St and it did look very much more secure than the member here thought it was, and I was able to park my bike in good view of CCTV cameras, so I would recommend that!

 

[Lampshade]

One thing I find particularly annoying is the rather extortionate charges at the London stations. How can they justify charging by 24 hours? Do people even need that long?

The queues at Euston last time I went were horrendous as well.

 

[Pumbaa]

While I find them expensive, their Edinburgh Waverley office is excellent, helpful and courteous staff. Very useful service, but wouldn't hurt to have some competition open up?

 

[nedchester]

Why not have luggage lockers just like they used to........

(Don't give me all that bombs and terrorism guff!)

 

[theblackwatch]

Why not have luggage lockers just like they used to........

(Don't give me all that bombs and terrorism guff!)

Because having a left luggage facility enables them to charge more! Or perhaps I'm too cynical...

Incidentally, left luggage rathert than lockers has been around for quite a time in London - I remember in May 99 when I went down, I left a load of railtour brochures with left luggage there rather than take them to my hotel (they were rather heavy to cart about and I needed a trolley!).

 

[yorkie]

No wonder they didn't care when I said I would be warning people about them.

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/transport-international/excess-baggage/

Yes, that's the same company. UK rail stations are just one of the many pies they have their fingers in.

Sample reviews include, "Do not use Excess Baggage!!....", "Don't be tempted to use these Clowns....", "This is without a doubt the absolute worst service I have ever had the misfortune to use,..." and "Do not use this company!!..."

Glad they didn't get any of my cash now! Numpties!

The website states "we offer outstanding service to all of our customers" yet all documented experiences that I can find appear to suggest the opposite is the case!

 

[At_traction]

No wonder they didn't care when I said I would be warning people about them.

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/transport-international/excess-baggage/
[...]
Glad they didn't get any of my cash now! Numpties!

The website states "we offer outstanding service to all of our customers" yet all documented experiences that I can find appear to suggest the opposite is the case!

Good that you posted the thread. Twice I've considered them for left luggage instead of lugging (pun intended) the wares around but both times decided against it, first time carrying the stuff, second time leaving it to the hotel post-checkout.

Not that they would have necessarily lost my luggage, but if indeed even with such fixed and steep pricing they cannot give correct information on the phone or honour a promise given on the phone (either one is incorrect) and moreover give two fingers as "service", that doesn't sound very professional.

 

[Railjet]

I've seen it reported that a useful ploy is to use the luggage lockers at the British Library between Euston and St Pancras.

Apparently, they can take a reasonably large backpack, and require a £1 coin to operate - this is refundable.

Just make sure the library is open when you want to retrieve your bag - and I doubt you can leave things overnight.

 

[ukrob]

I have used the one at Euston many times over the last five or six years and never had a problem nor a large queue.

 

[Any Permitted]

Oh god I feel terrible for recommending them now, if I'd have known any of this then obviously I'd have never even mentioned it. I certainly won't be doing it again.

The only chance I've ever had to use them was at Gatwick and they were fine there so perhaps it's just railway stations they're awful on.

 

[thefab444]

Sample reviews include, "Do not use Excess Baggage!!....", "Don't be tempted to use these Clowns....", "This is without a doubt the absolute worst service I have ever had the misfortune to use,..." and "Do not use this company!!..."

Given that there are only 7 reviews, presumably these are the 7 angry customers out of how many happy customers?

Also note that most of those reviews are based on their international shipping service.

 

[yorkie]

Oh god I feel terrible for recommending them now, if I'd have known any of this then obviously I'd have never even mentioned it. I certainly won't be doing it again.

The only chance I've ever had to use them was at Gatwick and they were fine there so perhaps it's just railway stations they're awful on.

Don't worry about it I am glad they didn't take any of my cash now and I now know Liverpool St has a good bike storage facility anyway so it was all good in the end!

Given that there are only 7 reviews, presumably these are the 7 angry customers out of how many happy customers?

There are plenty of companies on that site that have far greater than a 1-star rating. When all reviewers give a company a bad rating, alarm bells should ring.

Also note that most of those reviews are based on their international shipping service.

I know, but it's the same company behind it. The impression I, and others, have is that the company is unprofessional and does not care about its customers, and the more I read about them the more this is confirmed. I'm glad I know now, so I will always avoid them in future.

I've seen it reported that a useful ploy is to use the luggage lockers at the British Library between Euston and St Pancras.

Apparently, they can take a reasonably large backpack, and require a £1 coin to operate - this is refundable.

Just make sure the library is open when you want to retrieve your bag - and I doubt you can leave things overnight.

Thanks for the suggestion, I may check that out some time

 

[ukrob]

Also note that most of those reviews are based on their international shipping service.

I know, but it's the same company behind it.

I once had some grapes from Tesco which were off. Does that mean that all Tesco products are bad?

Don't be daft, you are deliberatly talking out of context to try and make a point.

And what thefab444 has merit. People generally only leave feedback when they recieve poor service. The Excess Bagage Company have thousands of customers a day, so six reviews left on and Internet review sites means absolutely nothing, especially considering four of them aren't even complaining about the division of the company you are posting about. Some perspective is needed.

 

[yorkie]

I once had some grapes from Tesco which were off. Does that mean that all Tesco products are bad?

If all the reviews of Tesco were saying they had received bad customer service from them, then it would suggest bad customer service.

Don't be daft, you are deliberatly talking out of context to try and make a point.

What are you doing then?

And what thefab444 has merit. People generally only leave feedback when they receive poor service. The Excess Baggage Company have thousands of customers a day, so six reviews left on and Internet review sites means absolutely nothing, especially considering four of them aren't even complaining about the division of the company you are posting about. Some perspective is needed.

That actually isn't really true in my experience. Let's go with your Tesco example, and randomly pick their ClubCard product. The reviews are here. There are plenty of reviews, the vast majority are positive, and the overall rating is 5 stars (out of 5). Note that I do not have a ClubCard, this is purely a random example.

At the end of the day I have the right to say I had a bad experience and I have done some research and found others have also had bad experience at the hands of the same company. If you disagree, and had a good experience, that's fine, maybe the staff at Euston are much better than elsewhere! Thanks for your opinion, which you are also entitled to. .

 

[ukrob]

If all the reviews of Tesco were saying they had received bad customer service from them, then it would suggest bad customer service.

What are you doing then?

Exactly the same as you, deliberately, to make a point .

That actually isn't really true in my experience. Let's go with your Tesco example, and randomly pick their ClubCard product. The reviews are here. There are plenty of reviews, the vast majority are positive, and the overall rating is 5 stars (out of 5). Note that I do not have a ClubCard, this is purely a random example.

You are comparing apples with (off) grapes. Clubcard gives you vouchers. You are not paying for a service.

I have just read the EBC reviews again. Every single one of them is about a totally different division of the company (which also relies on third parties worldwide) to the one you are talking about. Lets stay with Tesco. If one branch gives poor service, does that mean that every single branch does? It does with your logic. You just seem to have a bee in your bonnet about The Excess Baggage Company.

 

[yorkie]

Exactly the same as you, deliberately, to make a point .



You are comparing apples with (off) grapes. Clubcard gives you vouchers. You are not paying for a service.

You were comparing apples with (off) grapes with your Tesco grapes example. You then went on to say that people "generally only leave feedback when they recieve poor service" but a look at any major review site that I'm aware of, reveals that this is not the case. It really doesn't matter what example is given, but here is another one, a general review of Tesco Express, again the average is 4 stars. See reviews. My point is that many people clearly do give positive feedback on review sites, do you not accept that fact?

I have just read the EBC reviews again. Every single one of them is about a totally different division of the company (which also relies on third parties worldwide) to the one you are talking about. Lets stay with Tesco. If one branch gives poor service, does that mean that every single branch does? It does with your logic. You just seem to have a bee in your bonnet about The Excess Baggage Company.

I had a bad experience with them and have the right to share that bad experience, do you have a problem with that?

The bad experiences refer to the same company, which is cause for concern I believe, as they do not appear to value their customers. It was the best I could find. The other closest reviews I can find relate specifically to the Edinburgh facility, they can be found here, although the star rating doesn't appear dismal, when you read the reviews, it's fairly damning. If you think they're a good company, you continue using them if you want, but I certainly wont.

Me: Were any keys handed in from the Glasgow train today, about 8am?

Highly motivated staff member: Nut.

Me: Do you have a number for the lost property at Queen Street so I can check with them?

Highly motivated staff member: Nut.

Yep, that's consistent with my experiences.

 

[Max]

The British Museum is also a good place to leave bags, charges are considerably less than stations and the museum is open late on some nights too.

 

[ukrob]

Yawn. Yorkie is off on one (again) so starts putting words into peoples mouths and distorts and dodges points and makes sly remarks. Been there. Done that.

You had a problem with the once. You don't like them. Your opinion is perfectly valid.

I have used them problem free dozens of times. I like them. My opinion is perfectly valid.

That is all there is to it. I'm sure he will want the last word though.

+1 for British Library too.

 

[Max]

I do find them to be very overpriced on the whole, but sadly there's no competition so they can get away with it. I quite liked it when EMT ran left luggage in the interim St Pancras, the service was always friendly and it was a bit cheaper than Excess Baggage.