Postman Complaint

frivolous_fay

jacx wrote: »

I sold an item on ebay and sent it recorded delivery. That was for MY benefit, so I had proof of delivery. The buyer turned out to be a con man who tried to get a refund - claiming he hadn't received the item - because his postman/woman didn't bother to get a signature. He opened a Paypal dispute against me. Luckily I called his bluff, as I found out he'd done it before with other sellers, and he admitted he had received it. The fact that he had been able to do it before shows that his postman/woman must also make a habit of not obtaining a signature.

Get used to it! A very low percentage of Recorded is actually signed and processed correctly. Special is the one you want if you're worried about a buyer on ebay.

isplumm

custardy wrote: »

theres a lot of factors involved here that you really dont need ot get bogged down in
if i were you i would go down and request ot speak to a manager
theres no point speaking to the postie unless you know its actually them
many offices run different set ups for packets so its not always clear cut
even better if you can get the sector managers email address.i have it for the central scotland area if anyones needing it
you would be surprised how quickly that can get things moving

Custardy .,....

I was just about to say that there might be different processes, depending on the weight ..... drawing from my TNT / DHL days, anything under 2kg (may not be right weight!!) would be classed as a packet - we would inject into RM for the last mile delivery .... anything else would be delivered by courier.

Mark

ViolaLass

bap98189 wrote: »

Ah and herein lies the dilemma. Our postie does this, and most people around here are very grateful. She also leaves parcels in the shed if they don't fit through the letterbox. It saves us having to trek to the sorting office, which is 5 miles away, and if you work, only accessible on a Saturday morning. This is against PO rules, but it's saved me a lot of journeys to the sorting office over the past few years.

I found out that my postman was signing for me. One day, when a recorded delivery item came through the door and I realised he hadn't knocked, I ran after him and pointed out that he hadn't got my signature. "I signed for you because I know you're alright."

This was Central London and frankly he didn't know me from Eve so what he was thinking, I just don't know.

annimooboo

**Update**

I went to the local sorting office today to collect my recorded delivery package that is supposed to be there (according to Royal Mail website rather than the card we should have received) and they've advised it's not there and they cannot locate it and to come back with the tracking number.

I've contacted the ebay seller who has supplied the tracking number and rang the Post Office customer service number regarding the complaint made yesterday and the fact that they now appear to have lost the package completely.

They've rang the sorting office and again confirmed that the package cannot be located and advised it was attached to another package we collected from there last week (not true)!

The customer service agent took my details and advised he'll call me back as they need to investigate this further.

In the meantime, I've had to order the same goods again and have these delivered to my work address as I need these for next weekend and don't think I can take the chance that my package will turn up!

custardy

isplumm wrote: »

Custardy .,....

I was just about to say that there might be different processes, depending on the weight ..... drawing from my TNT / DHL days, anything under 2kg (may not be right weight!!) would be classed as a packet - we would inject into RM for the last mile delivery .... anything else would be delivered by courier.

Mark

unfortunatly its not even that clear in RM now
theres actually a packet template for packets a 'foot postie' could take
however it doesnt allow for weight and allows packets up to shoe box size!
a big packet to carry in the red bag
then you have office that run 2 foot posties working from a van and doing larger packets
some offices send SD items on a van ,others give them to foot posties
etc etc
so its not always easy to advise on what would happen in a posters area

jacx_2

frivolous_fay wrote: »

Get used to it! A very low percentage of Recorded is actually signed and processed correctly. Special is the one you want if you're worried about a buyer on ebay.

Yes, as I said in my previous posts, I'm well aware that a lot of recorded items don't get signed for. I do usually use special delivery, I only used recorded on that occasion as it was a relatively low value item. I won't be using it again.

bap98189

jacx wrote: »

But the whole point of the service is that the delivery is RECORDED. The sender paid for that service because they want proof that the item has been delivered, and to just put it through the letter box can cause problems. That's the only point of the Recorded Delivery "service", because apart from that and proof of postage (which can be obtained for free), items go in the normal post so are not secure like Special Delivery.

Maybe it is, but they still get proof of delivery. When our postie signs the recorded delivery form or whatever, there is presumably a signature. It's the posties signature, but when I sign for parcels etc., especially on those electronic pads, I just put a vague squiggle. The mark never looks like my actual signature I use on cheques and stuff.

jacx wrote: »

It shouldn't be about making life easier for the postman/woman or the recipient. (And you don't have to make a trip to collect it, you can also arrange redelivery).

If it makes my life easier, I am all in favour of it.

Redelivery around here isn't a great option really. Despite working only 8 miles away, my office is in a different area so they won't redeliver there. The nearest PO is 2 miles away and only open during the day, and the sorting office is even further away and only open similar hours. The upshot is if anything needed to be signed for, I would only be able to get items on a Saturday. For this reason, I am very grateful to our postie for bending the rules.

jacx wrote: »

I've actually had postmen/women put recorded items through the letter box when I was at home - I know for a fact that they didn't even bother to knock on the door and at least try to get a signature - and I have friends who have had the same thing happen. It's just laziness.

That's what our postie does. Well I say that, she may knock., I have no idea, Like many houses, there is never anyone in our house between 8.30-5.30. We both work.

jacx wrote: »

I sold an item on ebay and sent it recorded delivery. That was for MY benefit, so I had proof of delivery. The buyer turned out to be a con man who tried to get a refund - claiming he hadn't received the item - because his postman/woman didn't bother to get a signature. He opened a Paypal dispute against me. Luckily I called his bluff, as I found out he'd done it before with other sellers, and he admitted he had received it. The fact that he had been able to do it before shows that his postman/woman must also make a habit of not obtaining a signature.

But you would presumably still have a signed proof of delivery. It would just just be that the postie had done the signing, so to you it would make no difference. The only real loser would be the post office if they had to pay out compensation.

Hey, it's horses for courses. You say terrible.....I say fantastico......let's call the whole thing off.

pmduk

A few years back my then postman decided that obtaining signatures was just too much trouble for him. His depot manager refused to accept there was a problem until I produced several sets of packaging and there was no record of them having been delivered via that office.

Littleoldme

Not that this is any help to the OP problems but it might help people in general.

We have written a letter to our sorting office "authorising" our postie to leave any packages in our garage if there is no one in. This does not include any that need signed for , we still have to go to the sorting office for them, but does cover many of the bits we get delivered.

custardy

Littleoldme wrote: »

Not that this is any help to the OP problems but it might help people in general.

We have written a letter to our sorting office "authorising" our postie to leave any packages in our garage if there is no one in. This does not include any that need signed for , we still have to go to the sorting office for them, but does cover many of the bits we get delivered.

like many things RM it depends on the office
my office was way too large to even contemplate such a system
coupled with a large turnover of staff it wouldnt be workable