Postman and Royal Mail Signed For service

Gra76

I ordered a custom made top around 6 weeks ago which was posted out to me last week (I got a dispatch email earlier in the week to say it was coming) and as I was off last week I figured I'd be in to get it, the only time I went out was on Thursday morning to go out for a coffee with the wife as it was her day off too.

As of yesterday the top still hadn't arrived so I emailed the company that had sent it. They replied to say it'd been dispatched by the Royal Mail Signed For service. I didn't know they'd sent it tracked as the original email they sent didn't have a tracking number on it. They told me it had been signed for so basically tough luck.

When I look up the tracking number the 'signature' is what I'd describe as a toddlers scribble. There's absolutely no way in hell it's a signature. It's a series of up and down scribbles and a loop at the end. It's neither my wifes signature or mine, that's for sure. So when was it 'delivered'? Last Thursday when we were out in the morning. Typical.

Worryingly on the screenshot of the supposed delivery it's my surname that's been put down as the person who signed for it. That's impossible as we were 20-ish miles away at the time!

There's also other things that were supposed to have been delivered around that time by a different company but via Royal Mail (a box of 20 Cadbury's creme eggs and a bottle of extra hot sauce) and they haven't turned up either. I've been refunded for these now though. They were due to arrive on or around the Thursday as well which has got me thinking.

I've been through every possible scenario in my head as to where the things are and only two that makes any sense. The least likely but vastly more preferable option is that postie couldn't be bothered to fill in a card and stick it through the door so he signed for the item himself (it's happened before at a previous address) and then he's put the stuff back on the van to be redelivered but has forgotten about it somehow. The other option I don't like to think about is that postie kept the stuff for himself for some reason. I can't see how this would be the case but I suppose you never know.

Either way I'm annoyed as hell. I rang the post office last night and they said they'll ask the postie where the items are as they weren't at the post office where I'd normally collect them if a card had been posted. I've half a mind to collar him tomorrow when he comes to see if can enlighten me further...

bod1467

Option 3 ... he signed for them then left them somewhere like your recycling bin.

Sally22_2

I have a little porch thing above my front door and quite often they have hidden packages in the eaves of that and I haven't realised for a few days! Do you have anything like that?

I very much doubt that he has stolen your items.

If your postman is the same every day then it might be worth having a polite chat with him. But don't come across of aggressive or throwing accusations! He might think he has left the items somewhere obvious to you

Gra76

Option 3 was already considered. The first thing I did last night was to check the usual places where things have been left and there's nothing there. There wasn't a bin collection on the day when the delivery was 'delivered' so the bins would have been at the back of the house and not accessible anyway. Usual postie has always put a card through when they've left anything anywhere and there wasn't one on the day in question.

I can't imagine he's stolen them either but I've got to consider it as an option when the obvious options have been ruled out, even if it is an unlikely one.

SleeplessinScandinavia

RM offer 'Delivery to a Neighbour' these days which (I think) includes 'Signed For' items. Silly question maybe, but - have you spoken with any neighbours?

Other than that, resort to RM Customer Services so that they can investigate. I would do anyway as I don't think its for the customer to go traipsing door-to-door: postman should have left you a card if an item was left elsewhere.

benjus

Gra76 wrote: »

When I look up the tracking number the 'signature' is what I'd describe as a toddlers scribble. There's absolutely no way in hell it's a signature. It's a series of up and down scribbles and a loop at the end.

That's about the best I can manage when trying to sign on one of those electronic things with a little plastic stylus.

Gra76

It's resolved now! I collared the postie by chance as I was near my house this morning looking at a new job on company business and asked if he knew anything about it. First of all he said he didn't but after thinking about it he changed his mind and asked if I'd looked in the garage yet...why the hell I'd look in my LOCKED garage I don't know but anyway....he said my garage isn't too hard to break into and that he'd signed for the item himself....I went home, unlocked the garage and there infront of me were the parcels. All 3 of them neatly stacked!

Now I'm in a position where I've got to call the companies involved to let them know that I do actually have the items because because my postie is good at breaking into locked garages but not so good at remembering to tell people that he's done it! I'm not impressed he's signed on my behalf either so I'll be letting the post office know as that's really not on.

tomtontom

Rather than reporting the postman, who clearly thought he was doing you a favour, why not take this as an opportunity to review your home security? You are aware that the postman could lose his job if you report him - signing for items is a sackable offence?

lovinituk

The post office won't be interested - he works for Royal Mail, not the post office.

To be honest it would serve the postman right if he was disciplined although I agree a sacking is far too harsh.

Postmen not getting proper signatures for Signed For are a pain in the backside for sellers and buyers.

Gra76

Doing me a favour by breaking into my locked garage and not letting me know he's done it? What if he'd damaged the garage? I can't see how he managed to open the door so I'll be asking him when I next see him. Is it Royal Mail policy to break into garages to leave parcels? Doing me a favour would have been leaving a card through the door to ask me to go to the local post office and collect the parcel and sign for it there (like they normally do). If he thought he was doing me a favour then he thought wrong as all it's done is cause me to log complaints for non-receipt of goods with the companies I ordered from.

tomtontom

Gra76 wrote: »

Doing me a favour by breaking into my locked garage and not letting me know he's done it? What if he'd damaged the garage? I can't see how he managed to open the door so I'll be asking him when I next see him. Is it Royal Mail policy to break into garages to leave parcels? Doing me a favour would have been leaving a card through the door to ask me to go to the local post office and collect the parcel and sign for it there (like they normally do). If he thought he was doing me a favour then he thought wrong as all it's done is cause me to log complaints for non-receipt of goods with the companies I ordered from.

He has not damaged your garage though has he?

You are overreacting. If you would rather the postman left the items for you at the sorting office in future then tell him that, I'm sure he'll oblige.

Of course you have every right to complain, and as mentioned he'll probably lose his job. And maybe next time you make a genuine mistake whilst trying to be helpful karma will do the same to you?