Very disappointed in the Passport Service's Courier service!!

Shiny.Side.Up

Not sure who they use - I have in my head it's DHL but I don't want to badmouth them to find it's not!!

As previously mentionned in another post, I've been having trouble tracking down my mothers passport - The three week service is, as of today, running into it's 5th week. Began chasing it late last week, and got a phone call yesterday.

They have found my mothers passport - And it has been delivered. Just, not to us.

You see, we live in a -REALLY- long road, and our postcode stretches through two villages. It turns out the postman arrived at "our" address according to his sat nav, but at the wrong village. (The road name stays the same, sowhereas we live at 1, A Road, This Town, AB1 2CD, he arrived at 1, A Road, That Town, AB1 2CD) He didn't get a responce knocking the door, so posted it through the letter box anbd he has confessed to forging the signature on the delivery report so that he didn't have to call back! This has only come to light when the kind people at that address handed the passport back to the PO. But since it's been opened, it's "security has been comprimised" and the passport needs reprinting with new numbers on it - Another 3 weeks wait.

The passport office have been really good so all praise to them - They've refunded some of the fee we paid for the troubles we've suffered. However, I can't help but wonder how many of the drivers of this courier company forge signatures like that?!

view

Ooo you will need to write a to the point complaint letter to the courier service's Customer Services Manager. The delivery person forged the signature?! You should be compensated from the courier company, the person involved given a written warning and hopefully your strongly worded letter will go a little way to others refraining from doing the same.... although don't hold your breath on that one.

To accidentally deliver to the wrong address is one thing, everyone gets lost, to forge signatures, be competely lazy and lie is another, especially when it comes to items of value like passports. Personally I would go to the local press and name and shame em!

Good luck
GJ x

myrnahaz

Aside from the fact that the courier was wrong to forge a signature in that way, I think you're barking up the wrong tree, because it's not the courier company that's at fault, here. Most postal service operators go by the post code, so the courier delivered the passport correctly to number 1, AB1 2CD - it's not their fault that there are two villages with the same road and postcode - which is a really stupid arrangement. It's the local council that's in the wrong - how stupid are they that they've not changed the post code on different parts of the road (different villages, even) it's amazing you ever get any mail.

I live on a road that's about a mile long, starts in one village, goes through a second and ends in a third - but the post code changes several times along the length. There are even three houses that have their own postcode (don't know why).

Shiny.Side.Up

myrnahaz wrote: »

Aside from the fact that the courier was wrong to forge a signature in that way, I think you're barking up the wrong tree, because it's not the courier company that's at fault, here. Most postal service operators go by the post code, so the courier delivered the passport correctly to number 1, AB1 2CD - it's not their fault that there are two villages with the same road and postcode - which is a really stupid arrangement. It's the local council that's in the wrong - how stupid are they that they've not changed the post code on different parts of the road (different villages, even) it's amazing you ever get any mail.

I live on a road that's about a mile long, starts in one village, goes through a second and ends in a third - but the post code changes several times along the length. There are even three houses that have their own postcode (don't know why).

I accept the fact that it's not the couriers fault he ended up at the wrong address - We have it happen sporadically on and off. However, usually couriers are right and this is the first time we've had a courier package go wrong - Normally, it's post we get for the other house and they get our post. I'm not so much annoyed at that, I'm annoyed at the fact that he posted a valuable docusment through the door without a signature and that he then went on to forge the signature to try and cover his (her? Don't want to be sexist!) own back.

omen666

We recently had ours delivered and they were delivered by these http://www.thedx.co.uk/ourservices/courier/

hollydays

But why has your local councillor not been approached to put the postcode issue right?
That must make it very difficult for couriers.

hollydays

myrnahaz wrote: »

Aside from the fact that the courier was wrong to forge a signature in that way, I think you're barking up the wrong tree, because it's not the courier company that's at fault, here. Most postal service operators go by the post code, so the courier delivered the passport correctly to number 1, AB1 2CD - it's not their fault that there are two villages with the same road and postcode - which is a really stupid arrangement. It's the local council that's in the wrong - how stupid are they that they've not changed the post code on different parts of the road (different villages, even) it's amazing you ever get any mail.

I live on a road that's about a mile long, starts in one village, goes through a second and ends in a third - but the post code changes several times along the length. There are even three houses that have their own postcode (don't know why).

agree entirely

Shiny.Side.Up

hollydays wrote: »

But why has your local councillor not been approached to put the postcode issue right?
That must make it very difficult for couriers.

It doesn't seem to be a major issue for couriers; Both my brother and I have things regularly brought to us by courier and I can't recall ever having a problem before this. As for why the issue hasn't been resolved, I've never found it to be any kind of real "issue" until now; Apart from the odd piece of mail once a week or so (Which, co-incidentally, normally turns out to be junk) we've never had any major trouble with it.

hollydays

You are a lot more trusting than me,i wouldn't be prepared to let my mail go astray.I think you should have sorted it out,before this happened.

Shiny.Side.Up

hollydays wrote: »

You are a lot more trusting than me,i wouldn't be prepared to let my mail go astray.I think you should have sorted it out,before this happened.

My problem isn't with the fact that the courier got the wrong house - I understand why this has happened and accept that it was a mistake, people are not perfect and do slip up.

My problem is that he put a delivery through the door that should have got a signature and then forged the signature to try and cover his own back.

supermezzo

My OH had a new passport couple of years ago. Waited in for the courier to deliver it (at the time we lived in a block of flats which you needed to be buzzed in to gain access). However, there were 11 flats in total in the block and from the front door, there really was no way to know which flat I had come out of - Rather than being the person they had buzzed for I could simply have been going out.
I opened the door and the courier said simply 'Passport for Joe Bloggs, sign here' and gave me the clip board to sign. He didn't even question that the name I signed was clearly very different to the name on the passport.