[Graham]

Mini Tracking devices
I had a thought this morning that perhaps I could fit a Mini tracking device inside the box used for transporting the cars, does anyone have experience of using these.
They are fitted to cars, but I also read somewhere that even disposable ones are available for tracking packages.

Anyone used such devices ?

[classicchrisk]

Mini Tracking devices
I had a thought this morning that perhaps I could fit a Mini tracking device inside the box used for transporting the cars, does anyone have experience of using these.
They are fitted to cars, but I also read somewhere that even disposable ones are available for tracking packages.

Anyone used such devices ?

Good idea, but no experience of them. I expect some will work better inside steel structured buildings etc.

[Kevan]

That sounds like a great idea at least we could track them real time.

[woodcote]

The issue with GPS trackers is battery life. I was encouraged to get one for an elderly relative who occasionally got lost. Sounded good, until I asked how many months the battery lasted. The answer was about a day if constantly transmitting, up to a week on standby.

With a proxy parcel, you’d need a battery that lasted at least a week or two - perhaps only transmitting once a day - but that does rely on each host remembering to charge the battery fully before dispatch. I think the current missing parcel has been gone 3 weeks? So the battery of any cheap GPS tracker would have died already.

[Graham]

The issue with GPS trackers is battery life. I was encouraged to get one for an elderly relative who occasionally got lost. Sounded good, until I asked how many months the battery lasted. The answer was about a day if constantly transmitting, up to a week on standby.

With a proxy parcel, you’d need a battery that lasted at least a week or two - perhaps only transmitting once a day - but that does rely on each host remembering to charge the battery fully before dispatch. I think the current missing parcel has been gone 3 weeks? So the battery of any cheap GPS tracker would have died already.

That's something I not even considered, however I had a look at one called Vodaphone Curve and that gives different settings for battery life.
a) 2hr update for 7 days battery life.
b) 30 mins update for 5 days battery life.
c) 5mins update for 3days battery life.
d) 3-5 mins update for 15 mins battery life.

So maybe this would be good enough for recharging at each host, with 1-2 day deliveries.

Even 2 hours update would be better than we get from the delivery service, and although it would not have helped that much with the current situation, it would perhaps have alerted me much earlier as to where the box had arrived at. As it was, we assumed that the parcel was on its way to us and then after the the 3rd day we had to start the treasure hunt to find out where it was. Even now we don't know for certain as yet that the parcel in the Lost Property Office is actually ours, as we only have the false MIC generated tracking documents to go by.

[Kevan]

24hr updates would be sufficient

[Graham]

ANNOUNCEMENT 
I am looking now at a reduced number of rounds in order to complete the Proxy prior to Christmas, and now contacting the hosts effected by the changes.

Should we be able to receive the box of cars in the next couple of weeks we should be able to continue the Proxy around the week ending 20th October.

[Kevan]

Sadly we have hit another blocked exit from DPD. Having managed to get from the Customer service to the Complaints department, there is still an impasse in getting Depot to actually send the parcel from the DPD (Lost Property Office) to the delivery address. And I have been refused permission to be able to collect myself.

So we are still waiting...which is now 22 days since I placed the "next day" delivery service order.

As you're the person who paid for this shipment, have you asked how a parcel in lost property can be 'claimed' by the owner?

...and what do they intend doing to get that parcel to it's delivery address.

If the DPD shipping label has been covered (wrongly) with a new shipping label have they tried removing it to see what's underneath, there should be two shipping labels, the one I put on with Kev in Burnleys address and under that is the one Graham put on to get it to me here in the IoM.

[Graham]

Sadly we have hit another blocked exit from DPD. Having managed to get from the Customer service to the Complaints department, there is still an impasse in getting Depot to actually send the parcel from the DPD (Lost Property Office) to the delivery address. And I have been refused permission to be able to collect myself.

So we are still waiting...which is now 22 days since I placed the "next day" delivery service order.

As you're the person who paid for this shipment, have you asked how a parcel in lost property can be 'claimed' by the owner?

...and what do they intend doing to get that parcel to it's delivery address.

If the DPD shipping label has been covered (wrongly) with a new shipping label have they tried removing it to see what's underneath, there should be two shipping labels, the one I put on with Kev in Burnleys address and under that is the one Graham put on to get it to me here in the IoM.

They are going to use the original tracking number and delivery address ( as it’s never been activated).
But I have asked Kevin to photograph the box before he opens it, should it arrive.

[Kevan]

Graham

They are going to use the original tracking number and delivery address ( as it’s never been activated).