RM Special Delivery "cut off" time???

Snooze_Control · 4 September 2007 at 1:49AM

Greetings all,

Anyone heard of this Royal Mail Special Delivery "cut off" time, as detailed in my email to RM customer services earlier today, below? :

Dear Sir/Madam

Earlier today I visited my local Post Office (xxxxxxxx PO, xxxxxxxxxx, xxxxxxxxxxxx, xxx xxx) at 4.40pm to send a letter Special Delivery to Hull for delivery tomorrow and insured for £200. Your clerk on duty there today (an elderly gent) refused to process my request for Special Delivery for tomorrow (Tues) because I was apparently "too late for today's deadline". The daily collection at this post office is 5pm according to the post box outside and therefore I could see no reason why my letter should be refused. His argument was that processing a Special Delivery item for delivery the following day takes in excess of 20 mins and therefore I had missed this "deadline".

I have sent Special Delivery items from this Post Office on numerous occasions in the past and the younger clerk (30s) who is normally on duty has never had any issue with processing said items right up to the 5pm collection time (and they always arrive next day).

The clerk said that he would take it and it would go in tomorrows post, ie. to arrive Wednesday, or instead I could go to the central Post Office in xxxxxxxxxxxx as their cut off is 5.30pm. Given that this item had to be at its destination in Hull by tomorrow lunch time I was left with no option but to drive to the central PO and have my letter processed there. I arrived at approx 5.15pm and joined the queue (which was out of door). I eventually made it to the counter a couple of minutes after 5.30pm only to be told yet again that I had missed the deadline! I made my feelings known to your clerk and how this had come about from the incompetence of your clerk at the xxxxxxxx branch but she wouldn't budge and told me that it would now not reach its destination until Wednesday morning, 1pm at the latest.

As this was not acceptable due to me risking losing the business of my client in Hull, I am left with no option but to make the journey over there myself tomorrow which I am extremely annoyed about when this should be a simple task for yourselves.

As there is nothing on your website or in the aforementioned Post Office about Special Delivery "cut off" times 20 minutes before the normal post collection then I feel it is extremely unfair that I (along with my letter) were dealt with in the manner that it was and don't think it is unreasonable of me to ask for compensation for time and fuel costs for the journey I shall have to make tomorrow due to your clerk's actions.

I look forward to receiving your earliest reply (via email if possible please).

Faithfully,

xxxxxxxxxxx

:mad:

SC

SlyOne_2 · 4 September 2007 at 2:10AM

A clear example of another exemplary Royal Mail worker who's become way too comfortable in his job. I'm sure the solution is more strikes perhaps, and more pay rewarding such outstanding service.

I have to say I'm amazed at your political correctness in withholding the post office details. Given the level of inconvenience, I think a name and shame is more than warranted.

Anyway, I've personally never had anything like that happen to me, having posted SD items right up to the 1730 mark and once afterwards. It takes barely 1 minute to process a SD at the counter, so his argument doesn't hold. Unless the last collection from that particular post office had already happened, in which case I'm sure they're in breach of their own regulations??

Snooze_Control · 4 September 2007 at 3:07AM

SlyOne wrote: »

I have to say I'm amazed at your political correctness in withholding the post office details. Given the level of inconvenience, I think a name and shame is more than warranted.

I couldn't agree more and would normally waste no time in "naming and shaming". However, there are a number of small-minded members on here that have not agreed with, shall we say "my way of doing things" in my past posts and would take great delight in knowing my location so that they could be one step closer to "shutting me down" for the want of a better phrase.

For the purpose of this thread, those details are not important to anyone other than the Royal Mail themselves.

SC

soolin · 4 September 2007 at 7:44AM

My local sub post office also claim to have an earlier cut off time for special delivery than the nearby Crown post office but whether or not that is them being cautious, or whether the delivery procedure is complicated I don't know. I've never yet managed to get any response to email from RM customers services, I've always had to phone or use snail mail so I'll be interested to see the response you get.

Also, that same sub post office does not advertise the fact that lthough they are open to 12.30 on a Saturday their last collection is around 12 noon and the rest of the post sits there until Monday.

mej24 · 4 September 2007 at 9:34AM

My local Post Office is really good, I've seen them make the driver collecting the mail wait around for Special Delivery items, and they'll take them right up until 1730

frivolous_fay · 4 September 2007 at 9:49AM

Snooze_Control wrote: »

a number of small-minded members on here that have not agreed with, shall we say "my way of doing things" in my past posts and would take great delight in knowing my location so that they could be one step closer to "shutting me down"

Not me, I'd like to point out! I have better things to do

My PO operates a 5pm deadline, as does one in West London that I know of.
I think it depends on the time of the last collection (maybe?)

I've missed the deadline too many times, so I tend to get SD stuff posted at lunchtime if possible now.

RM Special Delivery "cut off" time???

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