Royal Mail Vent - And Queries

rebeccak

I ordered three items from Amazon and on three consecutive week days had notes put through my door saying that Royal Mail had tried to deliver a package but they were too large to go through the letterbox. I arranged for them to be re-delivered on Saturday and waited in all day - only to find that the postie had just pushed another 'sorry you were out' note through the door without even ringing the bell. I contacted RM via their website to complain and now have had a reply back saying that they have contacted the local delivery office and they can't find the items and that the sender can submit a claim for lost items.

Firstly, can I just say 'aaaaaaah!' because I contact them with one complaint about being inconvenienced and they basically get back to me by not really answering my original concern but just saying 'yes, that happened' AND NOW WE'VE LOST ALL YOUR PARCELS TOO!!!!

I have sent them another message just to double-check. If my parcels had just not turned up on Saturday, I would believe that they had gone missing (e.g. they got delivered to the wrong address) but I have a note from the postie on Saturday which basically says 'I have all three of your parcels in my possession, I am taking them back to the delivery office and you will need to either collect them or contact us to arrange another delivery.' How do they all go missing in these circumstances?

Does anyone know how items are sorted at the delivery office? E.g. Is it by delivery date? I'm just wondering if the fact that these parcels now each have two delivery dates (the original one and the alleged attempted re-delivery), they might have only looked under one date? The delivery office is quite a trek for me to get to but, if it might help in locating the items, I could go down there and try to get them to search properly.

The other issue is what my position is if the items don't turn up. All the items cost under £100 and I paid by American Express. Royal Mail had attempted at least the initial delivery but I have never received the items. Is Amazon responsible for the safe delivery of these items to me (even if the fault is with Royal Mail rather than them)? Has anyone got any experience of how co-operative they are in these matters? One of the purchases was from amazon, one from indigostarfish and one was sold from another company but was listed on the main page for that item (ie I didn't click through to the marketplace). Will this make any difference?

gazebo

I can answer in terms of the packets at the delivery office - they should be in the collection area (or cage) under the correct letter of the alphabet which corresponds with your surname. delivery dates have no impact at all on how items are dealt with (at least, not in my office).

In terms of the postperson actually physically returning said packets to the delivery office, this is not always the case. We are allowed to take the items to the nearest Post Office (After endorsing them with details of why they have not been delivered), the items are then processed with all other Post Office items for that day. Some Post Offices will seperate these and hand them to the collecting postperson - so they can be retained at the delivery office. If this doesn't happen (and that's most of the time), the items will actually be processed through the entire system again, as in, they will end up at the main sorting office (e.g. in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London) before being returned to the original delivery office. This process can take longer than if the postperson just returned the item to the office on the same day.

I hope this helps a little.

In terms of the other queries, I cannot assist.

I hope your items do turn up (common problems are filed under wrong initial and also delays in return from central sorting office or being held up at the post office)

johnnyboyrebel

If they were just lost in the post then it would be down to Amazon to sort however in fairness to them it is really down to Royal Mail to sort this. Someone somewhere at Royal Mail is talking rubbish. I would get down to the delivery office, explain the situation and demand they look properly. I am always amazed at how a personal visit to the delivery office makes missing packages "appear".

I had a similar situation years ago with various packages from one company which simply never arrived and the company in question reimbursed me and said they would sort with Royal Mail. It was only pure luck that my mates dad (a postie) popped round one day with the missing packages and said they were simply lying around in the sorting office. This was around 2 months after they were dispatched. This, and various other experiences, put me off ever using Royal Mail where possible and always paying the extra few quid for a courier.

Amazon will refund quite easily, they are very good like that and as much as some people on here may say it is their responsibility, demand a refund bla bla bla it is simply not the right thing to do. Dont let Royal Mail get away with not doing their job, it is not rocket science to deliver a package from here to there.

johnnyboyrebel

gazebo wrote: »

I can answer in terms of the packets at the delivery office - they should be in the collection area (or cage) under the correct letter of the alphabet which corresponds with your surname. delivery dates have no impact at all on how items are dealt with (at least, not in my office).

In terms of the postperson actually physically returning said packets to the delivery office, this is not always the case. We are allowed to take the items to the nearest Post Office (After endorsing them with details of why they have not been delivered), the items are then processed with all other Post Office items for that day. Some Post Offices will seperate these and hand them to the collecting postperson - so they can be retained at the delivery office. If this doesn't happen (and that's most of the time), the items will actually be processed through the entire system again, as in, they will end up at the main sorting office (e.g. in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London) before being returned to the original delivery office. This process can take longer than if the postperson just returned the item to the office on the same day.

I hope this helps a little.

In terms of the other queries, I cannot assist.

I hope your items do turn up (common problems are filed under wrong initial and also delays in return from central sorting office or being held up at the post office)

I take it you are a postie? It would be interesting to hear the explanation on why a "sorry you were out" ticket was just put through the door without them even bothering ringing the bell. You dont appear to have commented on that part of the original post.

gazebo

I can't actually comment on that particular part of the post directly as I was not the one putting a 'Something For You' card through the door. I can make a general comment as below.

It is not standard or normal procedure to put a card through a door without attempting to deliver the package.

Unfortunately, there are multiple occasions where I personally have knocked on a door, rung the bell, rattled the letterbox and not had an answer. I have then written out the card, put this through the letterbox and as I have walked away, the door has been flung open and I've been told 'I'm in, you didn't knock'

reasons for people not answering the door - in the toilet, radio up too loud, assuming it's the police (thanks to force of the knock), dog in the way, in the bath/shower.

Does this answer the question?

johnnyboyrebel

gazebo wrote: »

I can't actually comment on that particular part of the post directly as I was not the one putting a 'Something For You' card through the door. I can make a general comment as below.

It is not standard or normal procedure to put a card through a door without attempting to deliver the package.

Unfortunately, there are multiple occasions where I personally have knocked on a door, rung the bell, rattled the letterbox and not had an answer. I have then written out the card, put this through the letterbox and as I have walked away, the door has been flung open and I've been told 'I'm in, you didn't knock'

reasons for people not answering the door - in the toilet, radio up too loud, assuming it's the police (thanks to force of the knock), dog in the way, in the bath/shower.

Does this answer the question?

To be honest, your reply was not very impartial as expected and obviously down to suggesting the OP did not answering the door as opposed to the postie simply not bothering letting him know they were on the doorstep.

Bit odd how posties on here particularly always seem to clearly side with Royal Mail and a lot (not saying you) refuse to accept that some posties simply do not do their job properly. I never quite uderstand this as, after all, it is only a job.

gazebo

I have not stated that on this occasion, the postie did or did not attempt to make himself known, nor have I said that the op was at fault.

Welcome to my block list

vuvuzela

johnnyboyrebel wrote: »

To be honest, your reply was not very impartial as expected and obviously down to suggesting the OP did not answering the door as opposed to the postie simply not bothering letting him know they were on the doorstep.

Bit odd how posties on here particularly always seem to clearly side with Royal Mail and a lot (not saying you) refuse to accept that some posties simply do not do their job properly. I never quite uderstand this as, after all, it is only a job.

Weird reply. You clearly were desperate to misinterpret the response, and in that you succeeded. Well done.
And before you make more idiotic statements, I don't and never have worked for the PO or RM and only opened this post as I had a similar experience to the OP in that they have this weekend mislaid post for me that should have gone back to the sorting office.

jc808

johnnyboyrebel wrote: »

To be honest, your reply was not very impartial ...

Could be worse, Custardy hasnt posted yet :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

indigostarfish is basically Amazon and if the parcels don't arrive you will have no issues, you just need to contact them by clicking on the help link at the top of any Amazon page and they will sort this out. If you purchased from a 3rd party marketplace seller you will need to contact them separately by going to the 'Your Orders' section, viewing that order and clicking on the sellers user name which will load the contact form. If they don't help (but most will) you are covered by the Amazon A-Z guarantee.

I'm not a Postman but haven't heard of parcels being taken to a Post Office and then processed through the system again and wouldn't be happy if Royal Mail did this with one of my parcels! The parcel should be returned to the local delivery office and then returned to sender after a certain time.

However if the email you received stating the parcels aren't there was from Royal Mail customer services I wouldn't take their word for it. You should contact the delivery office direct either in person (address should be on the card they left) or by phone. Look on saynoto0870 for a land line number, if nothing there try 192 with the address on the card. Royal Mail's 0845 numbers frustrate me no end with with their pointless info you have to listen to and long winded options menus which can end up with you back to CS rather than the delivery office.

vuvuzela

ludovico wrote: »

I'm not a Postman but haven't heard of parcels being taken to a Post Office and then processed through the system again and wouldn't be happy if Royal Mail did this with one of my parcels! The parcel should be returned to the local delivery office and then returned to sender after a certain time.

This is what the sorting office told me had happened to the parcel I went to try and collect yesterday as the postie couldn't be bothered to tak it back to the depot. I was quite cross about this as it's got lost somewhere in the process.