A Word of Warning re First Class Recorded Delivery

custardy

thats great but anything on delivery needs to be robust and compatible with RM's systems
ive seen some newer scanners and while they are smaller than our own hand helds they are still bulky
ive yet to get a hold of one of the new on delivery scanners
they would also need to be able to handle some amount of water.its just not possible to keep dry for over 3 hours in the pouring rain

also ive yet to have some things confirmed
eg what does a foot postie do with the scanner at the end of a duty if they dont return to the office?
how is the data monitored/downloaded
eg i need to check what a postie has delivered the day before,can i access that data

custardy

Road_Hog wrote: »

Please stand back and pretend that you're third party in this.

My original point, Recorded is failing and RM continue to take money for a service that they're not providing and to compound it they're arguing over the compensation to boot. They've cost me a lot of money and a fair bit of negative feedback, so you'll understand if I'm a little upset about it.

Quite frankly in all this time RM have been selling Recorded delivery, if they haven't been able to come up with a waterproof system, then I'm shocked. Little things like permanent marker pens, tend to help.

The office is closed, yep, that sounds like a great recipe for lost parcels. Where do they go for the night then? And my comment on that is, the office should stay open longer (Warwick shuts at 6.00pm) or the shifts should start earlier.

At the end of the day, I'm not bothered which they do, as a customer, all I'm interested is they do one or the other to ensure the parcel is signed for or returned to the delivery office.

I know why it probably isn't happening, cost cutting, but that isn't my problem.

One final question, for you. Five years ago, Recorded wasn't a problem, how did they deal with the rain and the office shutting then?

posties took out less mail(a lot less),they got more people home,less people used recorded and were all finished well before the office closed
remember the 2 delivery system?

as for the office staying open later,thats great however who staffs it?
you need qualified staff to do this,staff trained in the special delivery system etc
like i do
except i need to be in in the AM to deal with deliveries
RM wont pay for this,end of
as for starting earlier,remember the strikes and one of the main sticking point was the later starts? welcome to the result of later starts
my office is one of the busiest in Scotalnd(and generates huge income) yet my dept has had its staffing cut by 50%
permanent markers mean nothing when a piece of paper is soaked to pulp

ceanothus

My little take on this - Custardy makes some fair and logical points, but really you shouldn't have to defend the company you work for or the actions of the folks in it. Make no mistake, I'm pro Royal Mail, I use it extensively and I think it's a fantastic organisation that should be supported. My business would be stuffed without it, and I can see the day coming when the general population wake up and realise what a mess we're making of it with unfair 'competition' and cost cutting. Sadly that will probably be too late, it's another Dr Beeching in the making and we're witnessing it.

The people I have met who work for RM (and I've met most in my local area) are trustworthy, reliable, go out of their way to help, and I take my hat off to them.

Having said all that, Road_Hog has it right - if any company continues to sell a service and doesn't have the logistics / resources / systems in place to provide that service, it's wrong. If Royal Mail cannot provide the advertised service, for whatever reasons, they should suspend it until they can. End of.

baffcat

ceanothus wrote: »

If Royal Mail cannot provide the advertised service, for whatever reasons, they should suspend it until they can. End of.

Oh, you little tyke, you. :T

custardy

ceanothus wrote: »

My little take on this - Custardy makes some fair and logical points, but really you shouldn't have to defend the company you work for or the actions of the folks in it. Make no mistake, I'm pro Royal Mail, I use it extensively and I think it's a fantastic organisation that should be supported. My business would be stuffed without it, and I can see the day coming when the general population wake up and realise what a mess we're making of it with unfair 'competition' and cost cutting. Sadly that will probably be too late, it's another Dr Beeching in the making and we're witnessing it.

The people I have met who work for RM (and I've met most in my local area) are trustworthy, reliable, go out of their way to help, and I take my hat off to them.

Having said all that, Road_Hog has it right - if any company continues to sell a service and doesn't have the logistics / resources / systems in place to provide that service, it's wrong. If Royal Mail cannot provide the advertised service, for whatever reasons, they should suspend it until they can. End of.

its a fair point.
the company is in tatters
heres an example of RM organisation
we move office in a month,letters have been sent out,posters put up etc
they have changed the hours for collection by adding 2 late night openings
no problem there
oh wait we have no staff for this???
nothing ha been said so we must open as published but with no staff

angel00079

I can see why there might be issues tracking parcels but surely RM aren't providing the service the customer has paid for. As per website, '
If you have an important item to deliver, our Recorded Signed For™ service gives you complete peace of mind with proof of posting and an electronic copy of the signature available online.'

If they can't provide you with a copy of the signiture how can they justify not offering compensation. If the OP has their part of the recorded delivery paperwork and RM does not have a signature surely it is RM's problem not the OP's.

Most people, me included may have thought that recorded delivered offered extra protection that it in fact probably doesn't. If you read the details on the website it becomes clearer that fully trackable may be the way to go although costs more. I suppose it depends on the type and value of the item.

I wonder if people are paying for recorded delivered and the post person maybe just delivering as normal. I recently purchased tickets on eBay and got someone to wait in for the delivery and it ended up in the normal post. The seller did not get what they paid for. It is a good job that I am not dodgy.

Changes in peoples lifestyle etc may mean that offering the service for an extra 72p may no longer be viable. If the post person has more deliveries to make and more of these are recorded where the person is out (extra time for card etc) is it time for a rethink? I do not know the ins and outs of RM but it seems to me that they overstretching their staff.

Spark

Sometimes they ask the neighbour to sign for the parcel. Then it depends on which kind of neighbours you have. How many have been asking their neighbours if they have got their parcels, and was told no while the neighbour had flogged your item or has thought he had an early Christmas present?
It should be signed by the person whose name is on the packet, or there is no point having a sign for. Then what do you do if you catch the postman and he tells you that your neighbour has signed for it but your neighbour deny it.
Since I have a dodgy neighbour who has been stealing my parcels in the past and intercepting my letters (quite a few years ago now, mind you) I have a poster on my door saying that if I am not here not to give my packets to anyone else. So they leave it behind my door (sometimes recorded sign for ones too, unsigned by you but who sign it?)or leave a card.

custardy

Spark wrote: »

Sometimes they ask the neighbour to sign for the parcel. Then it depends on which kind of neighbours you have. How many have been asking their neighbours if they have got their parcels, and was told no while the neighbour had flogged your item or has thought he had an early Christmas present?
It should be signed by the person whose name is on the packet, or there is no point having a sign for. Then what do you do if you catch the postman and he tells you that your neighbour has signed for it but your neighbour deny it.
Since I have a dodgy neighbour who has been stealing my parcels in the past and intercepting my letters (quite a few years ago now, mind you) I have a poster on my door saying that if I am not here not to give my packets to anyone else. So they leave it behind my door (sometimes recorded sign for ones too, unsigned by you but who sign it?)or leave a card.

problem is everyones different
i get people complaining daily that they have to collect an item as the postie didnt leave it with a neighbour/on the dooorstep etc
even without that,RM deliver to addresses not people so anyone in the address can sign

minimike2

Recorded delivery is meant to carry insurance of £36....so you are will within your rights to claim for the non-delivery of the item and the cost of the postage.

shohaib

I just read a bit about recorded delivery on royal mail website whch is a bit cheeky i think "We may pay compensation for loss or damage of an item on production of a copy of the certificate of posting. ", wonder what that may depends on. Also you mentioned getting youre money back for postage "If an item is lost or damaged beyond repair, we‘ll pay the replacement value – up to the value of the compensation for the service you‘ve used." so like the post before mine says. you should be eligible for that £36 or less depending on item value. Hope it works out for you in end and issue gets ressolved without too much fuss.