Dispatches, 8th Feb: Post Office Undercover

custardy

cyberbob wrote: »

Also wonder what problems Dispatches would find if they went undercover with some of these couriers!

fact is with RM's size you have near every personality type under the sun in there
spend enough time and you can get all you need for a dispatches type program
the fact(i assume) this is an office using agency staff then it speak volumes for the way the office is running
mind you im just a disgruntled soon to be ex staff member

amcluesent

Confirmed everything we suspected IMHO. What a barmy army.

ACEsaver

For 2 months, since moving into a new build property, we've had an absolutely appalling service from Royal Mail. We're now lucky if we get 1 delivery per week, and for the first 6 weeks we only had 2 deliveries in total. This is despite also paying for a redirection service from our old address too.

The hassle we had getting the property listed with Royal Mail was a joke, customers shouldn't be responsible for arranging this. But even now, they know we're here, we're often told by companies that mail sent to us is being returned to the senders. This is entirely unacceptable.

We get treated like dirt when going to collect our mail from the delivery office because "there is so much it's going to take ages to sort out" and whenever we speak to a manager we're told "it's not been assigned to a route yet".

Complaining via the proper channels has so far fallen on deaf ears and we were even told that the address had been deactivated; as the letter which gets sent out automatically when an address is made live was returned back to the Royal Mail!

This is causing so much stress as we have lots of important mail due to be delivered. Setting up things such as council tax and contents insurance is almost impossible as we're not receiving the relevant correspondence.

I have lost faith in the Royal Mail entirely, and if there were an alternative - I'd have no hesitation in switching.

All that said, I do feel for the honest, hard working postal men & women who are trying to provide a service which the company are failing to deliver, in any every sense of the meaning.

If I were to claim compensation (12 first class stamps per item) I'd be owed in excess of 400 stamps! The problem is, I don't want compensation - I just want my mail delivered!

hubballi

I had loads go missing last year. We get other people's mail, we never know if and when our post is going to arrive. Postmen in shorts, fag hanging out their mouths, foreign workers who can hardly speak English (nothing against their ethnicity ). Not going out because of a few snowflakes. I just couldn't believe it. Good grief, the Royal mail used to deliver in the second world war blitz, freezing hard winters past. What happened to the days when people were proud of their jobs and uniform ? when your mail came before you went to work ? yet another example of broken Britain. Very depressing.

StaffsSW

Wooo - "Huge Organisation Has Some Rogue Employees."

Hold the front page for expose of the century... Well, the front page of the Daily Mail anyway.

SailorSam

The last time Dispatches did one of these undercover investigations at the post office didn't they go to the same sorting offices in London.
I think wherever they went they could find things wrong but maybe they know the best offices to visit to get a good story.

ACEsaver

SailorSam wrote: »

The last time Dispatches did one of these undercover investigations at the post office didn't they go to the same sorting offices in London.
I think wherever they went they could find things wrong but maybe they know the best offices to visit to get a good story.

They did specifically state that they didn't choose which delivery offices the undercover reporters went to, the agency they were employed by did.

Those of you who think this is sensationalism obviously haven't suffered the problems some of us have with the Royal Mail. I too had nothing for praise for them, but over the last 3 years things have become shambolic and since moving house the service is non-existent.

StaffsSW

ACEsaver wrote: »

They did specifically state that they didn't choose which delivery offices the undercover reporters went to, the agency they were employed by did.

And therein lies the crux of the problem...

Grunt01

"They did specifically state that they didn't choose which delivery offices the undercover reporters went to, the agency they were employed by did."

Its quite easy - Its a common trick.

* Sorting/Delivery office X is having industrial troubles/is in bad shape.
therefore
*Sorting/Delivery office X will generally have a lot of agency staff
therefore
*Sign up at agency in the localality of the sorting office you know the Royal Mail is using for agency staff need

RESULT:

Lo and behold, you get agency staff in the dodgy office and can claim "the agency sent us there guvnor!"

Dont believe the hype - Dispatches got hammered the last time (2005) they set out to do a hatchet job on royal mail and were forced to post a fairly groveling apology by offcom (i cant post links - look on the channel 4 site for what i mean)

Looks like they been looking for revenge since then and took the opportunity of

industrial action + bad weather + dodgy office + xmas heavy traffic - for an easy show

ACEsaver

Trust me, I don't believe the hype! I am capable of forming my own opinion based on the service I'm NOT getting, which is far worse than anything shown on last night's show. At least there were reasons for the shoddy service in the "investigation"; Industrial disputes, adverse weather & excess delivery demand over the Christmas period.

My delivery office has no excuses other than a complete lack of management and a general disregard for the customer. I can say this with confidence as I've experienced it first hand for 2 months now. I suggest you try living without a postal service for 6 weeks and finally making do with 1 delivery per week (if you're lucky) before condemning last night's show as a "hatchet job". I could enlist another 20+ new members here who will share the horrors of our local delivery office which are entirely different to the problems I'm facing.

To all those that are happy with the postal service, congratulations. But shows like dispatches can sometimes help explain to those of us who aren't what is happening behind the scenes. Whether or not that is indicative of the entire service, we're entitled to know what is going on at this publicly owned company!