Resellers hit by delivery disruption as Amtrak fails

BT owns Amtrak collapse victim Dabs.com

UK customers – including an unknown number of IT resellers -- of troubled international courier operator Amtrak are suffering disruption to deliveries after the latter officially entered receivership.

A spokesman for the administrators at Ernst & Young said it was not yet known how many creditors Amtrak Express Parcels – registered as Netfold Limited – had but it was many customers may have been affected.

“Certainly organisations that have current arrangements for parcels that are already in the system, some of those customers have requested that parcels be delivered back to them for them to organise freight themselves,” he said.

The administrators were arranging alternative parcel collection and delivery methods for other customers, but considerable delays were possible, he added.

Amtrak was headquartered in Aldridge, West Midlands and had a second distribution hub in Warrington. A total 900 employees were based across the UK in 36 distribution depots, according to Ernst & Young.

Mike Gammie, technical operations manager at online reseller Misco, said he believed that a number of IT channel players had been involved, including online resellers Dabs.com and Microdirect.

“The combination of fuel price increases and consumer spend dropping this summer was always going to leave at least one casualty," Gammie said. “But we don’t use Amtrak at all.”

Dabs.com owner BT has confirmed the online reseller had used Amtrak. “We don’t envisage that all customers will be adversely affected. Amtrak was only one of our suppliers,” a spokeswoman said.

She said that Business Post was delivering Dabs.com’s Amtrak consignments. “I believe orders are going out today, so customers should expect to receive them over the next few days.”

She could not confirm how many Dabs.com customers might have been affected by the Amtrak collapse.

Online reseller Microdirect was also contacted by CRN but had not replied at the time of writing. Online resellers Wstore, eXpansys and Clove Technology were also contacted but said they did not use Amtrak.

A notice on Amtrak’s website has confirmed that the courier had ceased trading.

“Should you have any parcel collection or delivery requirements, you may contact Business Post Ltd, which will be happy to provide an alternative service,” it said.

A spokeswoman for Business Post confirmed it had stepped in to deliver the consignments still in Amtrak’s warehouse.

“There was a large amount, and I know we have been working around the clock,” she said. “But we haven’t taken over the customer base or anything like that.”
Ernst & Young has issued a statement saying that Amtrak had found trading in the current economic climate challenging.

“It is a business led by consumer demand and as consumer spending power has weakened Amtrak’s business has suffered,” it said. “We are currently assessing the financial situation of the business, and as a result the collection and delivery of goods may be disrupted.”

Amtrak itself would not comment further when contacted.

Administrators were appointed to Amtrak on 22 August. A date for the first creditors’ meeting was yet to be set at the time of writing.

“We aim to have wound the company up by the end of the week [ending 31 August],” the Ernst & Young spokesman said.