Hello Everyone, Great news that the fund has reached 35%, so a huge thank you for your support.

Hello Everyone, Great news that the fund has reached 35%, so a huge thank you to every single one of you, I really do appreciate your support. 

There are limits on the amount of words you can add on Just giving, so it’s impossible to include every single detail, it has to be condensed. On a comment yesterday, I was questioned about the fund and my circumstances. I wanted to be crystal clear about the amount I am trying to raise and why. If there’s anything missing that I should have added, I will be more than happy to add it.

I need a machine that will produce 6 litres of Oxygen. To make the machine as light as possible It takes the regular air, filters it, removes the nitrogen, other gases and concentrates the Oxygen for me to breathe. There are no tanks at all, no Oxygen, just filters, that is a very simple explanation. I will need to run this on the highest setting, to get the amount I need, which will reduce the battery significantly, giving only an hour or so.

As I have put in the title of the just giving page, I am trying to raise sufficient funds for the machine, additional batteries and an external charger. I have been speaking to someone at Portable Oxygen, who recommended those extra options to make life easier and give me the most independence.

I will be over the moon if this fund allows me to buy just the machine that will make a huge difference to me. But, If I can get the additional pieces then that would be great, however I will be more than happy to save up for additional batteries and charger. What I want to say is that I will be eternally grateful to each and every one of you for the support you have given whatever the final outcome.

I would have been offered liquid Oxygen, but as I have said in the main page, this would have been incredibly restrictive for me. It requires a large mother tank to be installed on the ground floor, then heavy tanks that need to be refilled. I have other conditions, which would make it impossible to carry the tanks, so the Oxygen Concentrator makes much better sense and will give me more independence and, hopefully the freedom I am after.

Thank you to each of you that have added your support, it really does mean a huge amount to me, helping me to get a machine, that will transform the quality of my life. If anyone else can help to reach the amount I need, I will be forever grateful to you.

Thank you so much and Take care xx

About My Just Giving Page: Thank you for the support.

I have started a Just Giving Page, I am hoping to get together enough to fund an Oxygen Concentrator. I have kept my health conditions fairly private, but the last 2 years have taken their toll and I find that now I just can't cope and keeping them under wraps is pretty much impossible. I thought I would add a video, all the words on earth can't explain what it's like. If you can help me, or you would just like to take a look at the page please take a look at: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/oxy-nick If you just want to take a look at my video, you can watch it on YouTube, or click on the video below.

This is the 4th or 5th attempt at saying a few words, it's quite obvious that I am going to have trouble saying thank you. I am so grateful to the people who have donated already, I can't begin to thank you enough. Having tried out the Oxygen Concentrator, I have experienced the difference it will make. It's hard to explain just how difficult things are at the moment, I am constantly breathless and the slightest increase in activity make breathing even more of a struggle. The G5, really will give me my life back and improve the quality. Take care & Stay Safe.x

The most unprofessional and deceitful company going, it's been devastating for Craftascope.

Hello Friends and Crafters. I’ve been kept busy by the wretched delivery company and to tell you the truth, it has taken me to an all-time low. Some of you will knw that I have just been plagued with bad luck for months and it seems there's just no end to it. I have reached the very depths of despair. This is quite a long post so I hope that some of you will take a look. I have provided everything they have asked for after finally getting and filling out my claim form.

There’s been lots of differences of opinion, not about the actual claim but they have disputed ownership and payment for the items lost in the parcel. I have provided invoices, which they have refused point blank. I contacted the company and requested them for other invoices showing payment has been made, they were happy to produce them with official company stamps. They have refused to even consider my bank statements which clearly show the payments for each invoice.

I was accused of editing these and providing fraudulent documents, the company has even sent me a statement listing each of the invoices individually, again company stamped and signed to show that all payments for the goods have been received by them and they have still refused the claim.

They have had the downright cheek to credit my account with a 15 pound credit to use for a future shipment. I can tell you, I would never use them again, not if they offered free shipping.

This has really depressed me and at times I have felt suicidal, I have had to take everything off the Hochanda website as I can’t offer the selection required, I only have the items on the Craftascope Etsy store. I can’t see any way of going forward now after losing such a great deal of stock and no way of replacing it, I just don’t have the funds to cover the loss and then make up the difference needed to place the minimum orders required.

I have loved haring and helping people with their crafting and will always value the friendships and customers that have been so amazing but I think this is where the journey will end. I have worked my socks off to bring the collections I have, hearing the comments and praise for my designs will never be forgotten. It’s devastating that an incident like this has been the thing that has destroyed it all. It seems that anyone working for DPD can take a fancy to anything they like and it’s the customer that foots the bill. How on earth can this be right.

Interestingly, I decided to leave a review for my most recent experience. I wasn’t able to leave one for ParcelCompare/DPD as I wasn’t invited to share the experience. Maybe I am the only one who didn’t realise this but it’s the company who can select which customers can leave reviews on Feefo. Despite sending around 17 Parcels with them over the last 6 months, I have not once been asked to leave a review. No wonder they have such a high star rating, they have only selected those customers who have enjoyed a good experience. Worse still, I discovered that Feefo awarded them a ‘’Trusted Service Award’.

A 5 minute search on the internet brings up many other sites that, in my view reflect the service given by ParcelCompare far more honestly. It's appalling the amount of people that have suffered both mentally and financially by this company. Feefo have chosen to provide a public service in collating reviews to assist customers when selecting products or services. They have a huge responsibility to ensure that customers are given a balanced, with a true reflection of what they could and might expect. At present this is certainly not true of ParcelCompare, the other reviews, across many online sites have certainly shown this. Like many others, I rely heavily on review sites, as I mentioned earlier, Feefo had always been my site of choice, but now I am not so confident. Many of the customers who have or are suffering could also have made their choice to use this disreputable company by reading the glowing reviews on your site.

I have taken the time to read many of the other reviews and the service described certainly mirrors that of mine. Many of these have also shared proof that they were in fact customers of ParcelCompare, but like me, have been denied the right to share on the Feefo Site. Now I am aware that they are involved in the selection process, it's clear that they are being far more selective than they should. Obviously selecting those who have had an acceptable or better service.

 

The loss I have suffered on this occasion, along with the damage caused to another of my parcels has totally destroyed my small business. The length of time and excessive delays has left me with little, if any chance of recovery. I was so incensed by this that I contacted 'Rip Off Britain' a few months ago and they have contacted me for an update as they are preparing for their next series.

 

Below is the review I have written, it’s also available on the Feefo website, but for some reason the photos weren’t published. You all know that I am honest, I have always shred my reviews and experiences to help others, I really hope you will look at other review sites to get a mre honest view of this company.

 

Feefo should have the option of a ‘Zero Star ’ option, this company just do not deserve to be in business and certainly doesn’t deserve a star rating. I would implore people to go direct to the parcel company, these days the pittance you save is not worth the lack of Customer Service you get from ParcelCompare when it is required.

Before I start, I would like to share something very important. When I decided to share my most recent experience, I visited Feefo, who I have always trusted to share balanced and unbiased reviews. I believe the reviews on their site are 100% genuine, but I was shocked that ParcelCompare had such a high rating. It transpires that it is ParcelCompare themselves that select the customers that leave the reviews. In the last 6 or 7 months I had sent 17 parcels, in that time, I have never been invited to describe my experience or share an honest account of the Customer Care or service received. In fact in order to leave this review I have had to contact Feefo and ask for the right to share. It is no wonder to me that ParcelCompare have such a high rating on Feefo. I am certainly not alone, a five minute search on the internet and you will see there are hundreds if not thousands of reviews from people who have suffered both mentally and financially. Please take the time to look before deciding to use this company for your delivery needs.

I started a very small business 2 years ago, this year has been a very hard for everyone without experiencing any additional trouble. I needed to move my stock from the UK to Bulgaria before the end of the transition period. Through the year I had been sending 2 or 3 parcels at a time, I had a few niggles, but nothing could have prepared me for the last few shipments. Sadly they were all sent in quick succession so there was no way of knowing, believe me I wouldn’t and won’t ever use them again.

I had a shipment of 3 parcels each weighing approximately 29KG and obviously very large too. They arrived and one was missing, the other 2 looked like they had been kicked from the UK to Bulgaria. I got in touch straight away and was told that they would investigate, which could take up to 14 days. In the meantime I had to provide a list of the items involved. This was fairly easy as it was all stock that was to be shown on a TV show. The time passed and I kept asking for updates, cutting a long story short this went on for over 3 months, now nearer to 4 months. I had contacted the CEO of DPD by this time as I felt it was not being taken seriously at all. DPD said they had searched every office it could have passed through and therefore it was ParcelCompare that were causing the excessive delays.

I was so relieved when I finally got a claim form, I had lost so much by this time, I had to give notice to my wonderful design team, as I couldn’t sell much as the items lost formed part of collections,I just couldn’t afford to replace them without the claim being settled. I had continually told them that the longer it went on the more damage was being done, it had been devastating. I filled out the claim form. Since then they have disputed ownership my products, despite providing invoices, they refused to accept bank statements which clearly showed payments.

I contacted the company who makes my hand drawn craft designs and asked if they would provide company receipts, they did, all signed and stamped with the business stamp along with a document confirming all the invoices were paid, this was also stamped and signed. Parcel Compare came back to accuse me of editing the documents. I can prove they were all sent to me by the company by email. I have provided everything they have asked for again and again. I have not edited any documents, even my legal advisor can’t understand, they agree that the documentation clearly shows ownership and payment.

This has gone on and on, they have asked for the same information repeatedly, it’s as if they don’t know what they are doing. The have declined my claim, refunded the original payment for the shipping and as a goodwill gesture credited the account with 15.00, I would never use them again, even if they offered free transportation, I would rather get on a flight and collect things myself.

This has completely ruined my life, I have actually been suicidal, it has been devastating, thousands of pounds of stock lost, through n fault of my own, DPD have accepted the loss and yet I have no comeback. Mine is a very small concern, it’s devastating and I can’t see a way forward. I have spent hours trying to get them to see reason. It really isn’t fair, that I should have to suffer this loss, it seems that anyone at DPD could take and parcels they take a fancy to and it’s the customer that has to shoulder the loss.

The other shipments that I mentioned, there was so much damage in one of the parcels that nothing could be retrieved. I sent photos to the CEO of DPD and they conveniently disregarded the issue completely. I tried to raise the issue with Parcel Compare but the reply I got was curt and dismissive.  This is a polite warning not to use this disreputable company. If you need any help or assistance you will not get any, even approaching the courier itself will not help as the contract is direct with ParcelCompare, who show no empathy once they have had payment. The only time you will get any assistance is when it is to pay for a shipment, apart from that they couldn’t care less.

It’s totally beyond me how a large parcel weighing nearly 30Kg can possibly go missing, it is complete incompetence and shows sheer lack of responsibility for property. I was proud of my ‘Craftascope’ Brand of Craft Products, now I just can’t continue, they have destroyed everything. Please don’t risk feeling as bad as I do. They have made me feel like a criminal over the last few months. I never thought I could be affected so badly, but bit by bit they have chipped away and destroyed my confidence and ruined any chance I could have had of a recovery.

It might be the end for me but please share this as much as you can, I would hate anyone else to lose so much. People need to know before choosing to use their services, It's okay if you have no issues but if you do, there will be no help whatsoever. Just a few photos of the damage done, I can also provide proof of payment and I can confirm that this is an honest and true reflection of the experience I have had.

I would like to say that I first used ParcelCompare quite a few years ago, to be fair in the beginning the service was far superior, but now it is not even a pale reflection of what it once was.

Bless all of you for the support you have given, Take care and Happy Crafting.xx

  

The Craftascope Half Price offer ends tomorrow

Hi to all of you, I have and such a busy time chasing deliveries and answering messages and emails, I just haven’t had the time to add to my blog. Hopefully you will all have your special parcels. It sure has been a struggle and a lot of tracking to find out just exactly what was going on. I do hope that you are happy with all of your new goodies and that you will have many hours creating with them. The Half Price code ends tomorrow, so if there is anything else you would like to add to your collection the code is THANKS50 Just getting over all of the stress and frustration, thank you so much for being so patient and understanding. After Christmas I have been missing Mince Pies since I finished them all so I have made some of my own, I really could eat them all day, every day.

I would also like to thank all of you who have taken time to leave reviews on the Craftascope store. It was delightful reading them and I was really touched at the wonderful comments you have left, I was really touched. I am just so pleased that the excessive delays didn’t spoil your experience too much. I know what it’s like when you place and order and are excited about getting it, there’s nothing worse than long waits and delays. All you want to do is get crafting, I am the same, so having borders shut, parcels returned and suspensions, all on top of the coronavirus it couldn’t really have been a worse time. LINK FOR THE CRAFTASCOPE STORE.

The postal suspensions are still in place, so any orders will be packed immediately as normal and posted as soon as they are lifted, hopefully that won’t be too long now. Many of you know me well enough to know, but for those of you who don’t I can assure you that I would never let anyone lose out or suffer financially, so you can buy with that confidence when taking advantage of the 50% off code.

Some of you might know about the new VAT laws that the UK implemented on the 31^st December. To simplify it as far as ETSY is concerned. They are responsible for collecting the VAT on behalf of the UK Government now, so if you are in the UK the price will show differently to how it does in the EU. I can assure you I have not increased my prices. It’s the best time to take advantage of the 50% discount. There are lots of items in baskets and some items are very low in stock, the offer ends at midnight tomorrow (1^st Feb 2012), so please don't miss out an anything that you really want.

After my experience with the Royal Mail Labels, couriers are not an option at the moment with the restrictions still causing delays. Despite an explanation they refused to refund the unused labels as they were out of their 21 day limit and the amount of labels I was requesting refunds for, however they were more than happy for me to purchase replacements for them.  Hopefully things will get better soon, it’s times like this we realise just how much of ‘Normal Life’ we take for granted.

Take care and Happy Crafting. Stay Safe my Friends.