WARNING - Mail Sent using Recorded Delivery

WHA

You can't really on Special Delivery either.

I used to send important things by recorded, but a very large proportion (around 30%) were not "tracked" - i.e. they were lost or a signature wasn't asked for. This made the whole thing pointless. As for compensation, they won't pay for replacement of documents etc - only the "actual" value of the paper and the ink - again completely useless if you lose something expensive to replace, like a bank statement where there is a £10 replacement charge - the RM would only pay a few pence.

I moved onto Special Delivery. In my experience, around 10% doesn't get tracked on their tracking system as being delivered. RM aren't able to provide proof of delivery (often say the sorting office can't find it), but somehow they are certain it has been delivered and won't pay compensation. That is the case even where the recipient confirms they didn'd receive it.

I now use simple first class, with proof of posting, for anything up to £28 in value, and I use couriers (not Royal Mail) for anything more valuable. I wouldn't waste my money on either Special Delivery or Recorded. Even though couriers are more expensive (around £8 for paperwork packet), my overall postal budget is the same by saving money on the pointless SD and Rec.

Roll on privatisation and open competition - couriers' pricing will reduce.

raeble

I used to work in the Post Room of a medium sized organisation that used to regularly use special delivery - we had three things delayed and they paid compensation - the cost of postage and one thing apparently go missing, they paid compsation immediately because there was no signature. The item had been delivered though, didn't bother telling them that. Not bad for six years.

Roll on privatisation and open competition - couriers' pricing will reduce.

Rubbish, prices will increase. Unless you are a great big multi-national who sends thousand and millions of items a day you will not see any benefit in privitisation. Have a look at the parcels market if you don't believe me - the cheapest operator in the parcels market was Parcel Force for the charity that I worked for. We didn't send enough volume to make TNT cost effective, the uk parcel price that Parcel Force was charging us was £4.10 (they did frequently loose things, but they were all we could afford, they have improved though didn't loose a thing in the last two years I used them) and TNT was about £12 for the same two day service. We also had a company come round touting for business with the mail, as soon as they found out how much mail we were sending we never heard from them again, obviously it wasn't enough for them.

Paul_Varjak

shrek101 wrote:

All recorded delivery is, is proof of posting

OK there are no special security arrangements but, surely, it provides both proof of posting and proof of delivery?

criminal_smile

Just a point of interest. ALL the 'lost' mail in the UK is handled by the RM office in Tomb Street, Belfast, N.I. If your item is undelivered, address illegible etc, then this is where you should ring to find it. I found this out by chance one day when a worker in this particular room rang me for advice.



View Belfast from a webcam on top of the RM building in Belfast HERE
(Select the Price Waterhouse Coopers preset to see where I work!)

showers_2

I too sent a letter Recorded Delivery. The person who I sent it to found it posted through her letter-box with the rest of the post. I phoned the P.O. and they promised to look into the matter to see why it was not signed for by the householder. Several calls later, and being sent from pillar to post, I gave up. It was extra money wasted.

zakony

criminal_smile wrote:

Just a point of interest. ALL the 'lost' mail in the UK is ...

View Belfast from a webcam on top of the RM building in Belfast HERE
(Select the Price Waterhouse Coopers preset to see where I work!)

ho, ho , interesting view

Murtle

my postie signs for ours, and then sticks it through the letter box having written - signed for by postie on the envelope! More useful, so long as I get it - and he doesn't run off with it - then the timings of the place you have to go and collect it from, heaven forbid they are open when people aren't at work!!! And then they return them if you haven't collected them in a certain time frame - bang goes holidays too.....I agree roll on privitisation - or bring back the pigeons, or make the RM something to be proud of again.

Jasper

Jasper wrote:

The Royal Mail's description for sending a RECORDED DELIVERY LETTER.

Important documents to send? There's one less thing to worry about with our Recorded Signed for service. You get an automatic receipt as proof of posting, and we also ask for a signature on delivery. Most First Class Recorded items arrive by the next working day. And it's great value too, at just 66p plus First or Second Class postage = 96p

I used this service to send a very important letter {Private & Confidential} as marked on letter.

However the recorded letter disappeared without trace? Royal mail could give no explanation to where the letter had gone and offered a book of stamps as compensation.

Reported Royal Mail to Postwatch {complaints department} Still Royal Mail could not trace the letter.

They gave the following explanation:

Recorded Delivery items are handled in the same way as 1st & 2nd class mail. Items are not tracked as they travel through the postal system and, should an item fail to arrive, it is very difficult to establish exactly why and where the loss occurred.
The main difference between Recorded and normal 1st class mail is that we take a ‘record’ of the item being delivered. The only tracking that is made of a Recorded item is whether the item has been delivered, refused, attempted delivery made or item is being held in local delivery office or that the item has been returned to sender.
There is no track for MR ****** item and we cannot establish whether it was delivered or not. As a recorded delivery travels anonymously, there is no added value to initiating a search. Therefore I am unable to offer any redress in relation to this complaint.

My advice is, do not pay Recorded delivery charges, which appear to go missing without trace. Send them as normal 1st class letters with proof of postage, which is free of charge and is easier for customers to claim for compensation should the need arise. Believe me, they do get to there destination,

Just a reminder not to waste your money on recorded delivery of letters

Firefly

I'm in exactly the same position. Important letter was sent by recorded and didn't arrive. It actually contained an original receipt that doesn't have any value itself (much the same as the cashback scenario).

It took days and days of phoning the number to check item hadn't arrived, so much so it was suggested as a Friends and Family number! (not always possible to check via www).

I complained and was sent 6 stamps as compensation which is frankly an insult. I can't believe they don't even care where the mail goes!

Has anyone ever got any decent compensation from Royal Mail?