Royal Mail sorting office - get it sorted!

competitionscafe

I did most of my Xmas shopping online last year (2005) and around 5 items never turned up. I had cards to collect various items from the sorting office and so when I went to collect the parcels I assummed that the parcels given to me were all that they had waiting for me. Clearly not. All 5 companies I have contacted said that the orders were returned to them marked 'not collected' or 'not claimed'. So either the sorting office is extremely badly organised with parcels for the same person all over the place or unlikely as it seems they are delibarately withholding parcels so that they get reposted (ie: posted twice) thereby earning them more profits??! I can understand this happening once, but five times in 3 weeks?!

Some of the companies contacted have said they will resend the order but there is a 'redelivery fee' or I will have to pay the delivery charge again. I don't see why I should when this is through no fault of my own. Not to mention the inconvenience of items not arriving on time in the first place and making 3 seperate trips on foot to a distant sorting office only to find out that they did not hand over all my parcels. If online shopping keeps on growing at current rates Royal Mail will really have to get it sorted.

MrT_5

I don't really understand this as you received cards for the parcels that were undelivered. The cards you got would have been associated with certain parcels which would have been returned to the sorting office and kept in one place, not returned to the desk of your delivery man. When you went to collect them, you would have received the parcels that were mentioned on the cards so what happened with the returns I don't know?

It is the duty of the guy delivering to leave a card if he can't deliver so how he could return it to the sorting office and then say he had left a card when he hasn't is beyond me.

Sorry if that sounds confusing but basically the delivery guy is taking them back and saying he has left a card, you have not noticed other cards and thrown them away or have a look under the doormat. Alternatively have you a dog who might have eaten them or family that picked them up, thought they were junk and threw them away. PO would never purposely hold back anything as that would be commercial suicide if it came out. Are you sure it is not the sending company that is working a fiddle?

Have to say they do not give anything like the service that we gave when I was in the job.

magentadreamer

Nothing surprises me when it comes to my local collection office. During the summer a special delivery item was lost after I was left a card to go collect it. All my cards state go in 48 hours to collect items - twice I've been after the 48 hours was up and they've still not had them back, another time I had to stand my ground and say you have got it as someone told me in your office this morning who the letter was from! after another 15 minutes they found it! Just before christmas I went to collect another special delivery item, they checked this woman's driving licence and gave her a letter - they then denied giving my letter to her - luckly I ran down the street and caught up with her - my letter contained tickets with a high face value Yes I know the company would have refunded me after I'd complained to them but they checked this womans driving licence and still gave her my letter!!

Rant over and apologies to competitionscafe for hogging their thread!

Becles

If the postman leaves a card, he doesn't always take the parcel back to the sorting office. He'll usually "pouch off" at the nearest Post Office on the delivery. This means the parcel gets a sticker to say a card has been left, and the parcel goes back through the postal system to the sorting office. It's possible that parcels can get lost during their second journey from Post Office back to sorting office. It happened to me last year.

magentadreamer

Becles wrote:

If the postman leaves a card, he doesn't always take the parcel back to the sorting office. He'll usually "pouch off" at the nearest Post Office on the delivery. This means the parcel gets a sticker to say a card has been left, and the parcel goes back through the postal system to the sorting office. It's possible that parcels can get lost during their second journey from Post Office back to sorting office. It happened to me last year.

Yeah, they do it at my local collection office. The mail is returned via a local post office to the main sorting office 10 miles away and then if your lucky it gets returned at some stage to the local collection office, where they either forget to book it in or send it back for some unknown reason to the main sorting office or give it to the person in front of you in the queue.

LilacLillie

On many occasions my postman (different ones), has given me letters and parcels......................................and told me the contents!!!!
When I complain they send a book of 6 1st class stamps and say they can't get the staff, so have to take what they can get!
My postie knows what I get in my mail before me!
Local sorting office have even asked me if I have 'A secure, safe address I can have my mail delivered to?' I have lived here for 26yrs, its only the last 4yrs this has been happening.
Madness!
LL

Xenomorhic

Oooh yes I had the book of stamps too!

Spent 300 quid on an ebay transaction. Sent a cheque, clearly addressed, lrg envelope, first class stamp. I'd already reached an agreement with the seller to send the payment late, on my pay day, so they were waiting for it!
The week wears on. I tell the seller I have sent the cheque, seller does not believe me. Gradually things get tense and negative feedback etc. is threatened. I get their number and begin calling every day to see if cheque has arrived. Finally I get desperate. I tell them I am cancelling that cheque and will send a new one out ASAP.
I stop the cheque- cost of around 7quid if memory serves. I send a new one out special or next day delivery or whatever they call it, costs 4 quid.

The two letters show up TOGETHER the very next morning. The chap is most amused. The only good thing about it is that obviously I was not lying! I get my item a day later!

I wrote to the Post Office commenting that over a week to post a first class letter was RIDICULOUS. I asked for a refund of the costs incurred.

Of course I didn't get it, but I took a no ask, no get approach. A book of stamps instead..! Not REEALLY equivalent, but better than nothing eh?

Hermia

Nothing my local sorting office does would surprise me! I had to go there to collect a parcel and the guy went out the back to fetch it and came back with three! The other two parcels had been sent separately so that is two cards the postman didn't bother to put through my door. How was I supposed to know they were there exactly?!

pandaonmyshoulder

My OH was a manager at a royal snail sorting office but left over 4 years ago (he worked for RM for over 10 years) as the place was a shambles. He did manager cover at other NW offices too and they were all prety much the same..... thick staff, no staff, drunk staff, theft, etc. and higher management didn't want to know. :rolleyes:

These days our "morning" post arrives after 12 noon and sometimes we have none for days and then at least one day per week the mat behind the front door is covered in post.

MissMuppet

My parcels just recently have been returned to the sender saying 'gone away!'... they don't leave any cards for me so I just assume the sender hasn't sent the parcel! I contacted Royal Mail and they told me it was up to the sender to investigate the situation...

I now get all parcels delivered to my partners work address as there are people there all day long to take delivery of them!

Xmas 2004 I lost half of my parcels, they just got lost in the system... luckily the senders were kind enough to give me refunds.

Royal Mail are RUBBISH! It's a shame we can't switch companies like you can do with your utilities... I'd be first in the queue!
:mad:

MissMuppet

Hermia wrote:

Nothing my local sorting office does would surprise me! I had to go there to collect a parcel and the guy went out the back to fetch it and came back with three! The other two parcels had been sent separately so that is two cards the postman didn't bother to put through my door. How was I supposed to know they were there exactly?!

Exactly the same thing has happened to me although I went to collect a parcel for me and he also gave me a parcel for my OH!!