Securicor comes under attack

Securicor Omega Express has been severely criticised by independent booksellers, who claim that problems with its service over the past six months have cost some customers up to £10,000. The problems faced by the booksellers range from late and lost deliveries to bad customer service and spilt shipments.

Tim Godfray, chief executive of the Booksellers Association, has written to Pauline Stevenson Fraser, c.e.o. of Securicor Omega Express, demanding improvements in the level of service received by his members. "It is not our style to fire off complaints at the first possible opportunity," Mr Godfray writes. "However, it was so obvious to me at the last board meeting that service deficiencies were not just occurring in one area, but nationwide."

Alex Mizrahi of Portland Bookshop in central Manchester said: "We lost about £10,000 in November and it might have cost us a contract with an education authority worth £20,000 a year.

"When I complained to Securicor, they told me our shop wasn't a priority. They had to deliver to Waterstone's and Kendals [the House of Fraser department store] before us."

He has since moved to a different courier for goods out.

David Taylor, chairman of Swotbooks.com, recounted several incidents of late and lost deliveries. "Drivers don't get people to print their names below the signature, which makes tracing impossible. One order wasn't signed for and then it was left on the doorstep in the rain."

Mr Taylor also criticised customer service. "The central telephone helpline often takes up to 10 minutes to get through. Then they will not give depot numbers but instead send a chasing fax which is rarely followed up with a reply."

Securicor declined to comment.