Tweet
Petition for pre-paid traceable priorty handled returns for International clients
It has now been exactly a month since I returned a sample by standard international airmail (£3.15) and it is still not showing up as received by FTDNA. Obviously, I have opened a request on this and the reply that I received was as follows:
"We have not received the sample kit yet. The reason is that either the post office hasn't delivered it to us yet, or they have, but it still takes a little time to be checked in by hand once received, as we check in hundreds at a time. To be a little more clear, we have not lost the samples, If it is lost in the mail (this is very rare), this is the unfortunate result of the mail courier and we can always send a replacement for free. If you would like a replacement sent, please confirm the shipping address. However, we do not provide return postage, free or otherwise, to international clients.. We do provide free return postage for US customers, as this postage amount is standard. However, internationally-speaking, we cannot do this as postage rates can vary. Alternatively, I can get you a FedEx price quote if you would like. Let me know if you choose a free regular shipping kit or a FedEx quote"
I now wish I had paid for Royal Mail to return it with tracked priority handling (£8.70). The question is though, should we International testers have to pay anything extra post-purchase anyway, simply for returning our samples, when customers in USA do not have to pay anything extra post-purchase for their returns, as it is included in the $9.95 that all of us pay for shipping?
This feels to me like discrimination against the UK and International customer base, so, I propose some improvements that FTDNA can introduce to make it fairer and easier for International testers to return their samples more safely and securely. The following improvements could save us all the hassle of multiple trips to the post office, and the hassle of chasing up after lost or delayed samples and kits:
a) charge International testers LESS shipping than USA testers, perhaps $4.95 instead of $9.95, as we do NOT get return postage included in the shipping fee as USA testers do.
b) provide the option at the checkout page to pay for and upgrade to a pre-paid traceable priority handled return envelope for International customers, if so required. Perhaps charging an extra $5-$10 for the privilege would be a fair and appropriate amount in my opinion.
c) both of the above.
I personally would much rather pay upfront for traceable return priority handled postage. This would greatly improve the whole process of returning samples from the UK and provide us with a greater peace of mind too. The fact that I was eventually offered a FedX quote for returning my samples more securely seems to suggest that FTDNA are at least partially amenable to the idea anyway, so why not just go ahead and introduce this returns option to all International testers in the first place to begin with?!
So, fellow genetic genealogists, DNA researchers, and Project Administrators, I would be most grateful If you would please vote with a YES or NO included at the start of your replies, or in the subject line, then we can see if we can actually get this idea introduced for all of International testers, or not, depending on whether or not there is actually any demand for it in our DNA testing community!
"We have not received the sample kit yet. The reason is that either the post office hasn't delivered it to us yet, or they have, but it still takes a little time to be checked in by hand once received, as we check in hundreds at a time. To be a little more clear, we have not lost the samples, If it is lost in the mail (this is very rare), this is the unfortunate result of the mail courier and we can always send a replacement for free. If you would like a replacement sent, please confirm the shipping address. However, we do not provide return postage, free or otherwise, to international clients.. We do provide free return postage for US customers, as this postage amount is standard. However, internationally-speaking, we cannot do this as postage rates can vary. Alternatively, I can get you a FedEx price quote if you would like. Let me know if you choose a free regular shipping kit or a FedEx quote"
I now wish I had paid for Royal Mail to return it with tracked priority handling (£8.70). The question is though, should we International testers have to pay anything extra post-purchase anyway, simply for returning our samples, when customers in USA do not have to pay anything extra post-purchase for their returns, as it is included in the $9.95 that all of us pay for shipping?
This feels to me like discrimination against the UK and International customer base, so, I propose some improvements that FTDNA can introduce to make it fairer and easier for International testers to return their samples more safely and securely. The following improvements could save us all the hassle of multiple trips to the post office, and the hassle of chasing up after lost or delayed samples and kits:
a) charge International testers LESS shipping than USA testers, perhaps $4.95 instead of $9.95, as we do NOT get return postage included in the shipping fee as USA testers do.
b) provide the option at the checkout page to pay for and upgrade to a pre-paid traceable priority handled return envelope for International customers, if so required. Perhaps charging an extra $5-$10 for the privilege would be a fair and appropriate amount in my opinion.
c) both of the above.
I personally would much rather pay upfront for traceable return priority handled postage. This would greatly improve the whole process of returning samples from the UK and provide us with a greater peace of mind too. The fact that I was eventually offered a FedX quote for returning my samples more securely seems to suggest that FTDNA are at least partially amenable to the idea anyway, so why not just go ahead and introduce this returns option to all International testers in the first place to begin with?!
So, fellow genetic genealogists, DNA researchers, and Project Administrators, I would be most grateful If you would please vote with a YES or NO included at the start of your replies, or in the subject line, then we can see if we can actually get this idea introduced for all of International testers, or not, depending on whether or not there is actually any demand for it in our DNA testing community!
Comment