Whistl.co.uk

Over the last five years I've had so many issues with companies that insist on using Whistl. Whistl are not a delivery company, their own words, but a middle-man distribution hub, who are supposed to pick up the mail and/or parcels from companies, and decide which courier service to send them with. First issue with this: why on Earth are companies wasting time/money with this firm, so that our deliveries are delayed, and passing on the extra cost to us? Second, why do they insist on using a firm who claim they are a 'distribution hub' whilst they also claim they don't hold stock, so this means either the company you order from has to send to them, or Whistl has to collect it first, but BOTH lie about whose job this is, when in actually fact just cut out this middle-man, and get the actual courier to collect it direct? Third, When you talk to Whistl, they fob you off, and blame your sender, so you speak to your sender, who states 'I will contact Whistl, and ask them where your parcel is (baring in mind that Whistl have already said my parcel is still with the sender, dispatched THREE DAYS prior, on 24h dispatch) and it can take 48h to get a reply. Wait, what? Why 48h for a reply? I have to email them. No, call them. I don't have a number for them. I literally looked it up on Google in 3 seconds, you can do it too. They don't answer the phone to us. Lastly, as an ex business woman I would have been mortified if I'd have had a customer complain to me once. Having one complain to me more than that, over a period of five years, about the same thing, and then claim I couldn't call the company in question? Wow, that right there is the very reason why you shouldn't be using them in the first place! The company I'm using is charging £7.99 for deliver, I've literally paid less for things to get here quicker from America! 'Dispatched' Monday, but NOT collected by Whistl, and told by the company that it states 'dispatch', but it's actually 3-5 day delivery. Groovy Tuesdays, apart from the bit where that's NOT on the web-site, and doesn't account for where other deliveries should still have been picked up by Whistl in the meantime, so why hasn't my parcel? Or the fact that in the past, when this has been LIVE PLANTS, on 48h tracked delivery, they've always turned up DEAD because Whistl don't get them sent out correctly. STOP USING THIS COMPANY!