Royal mail's recorded delivery service is a joke

edmond

Need to get this of my chest.
Been waiting for a piece of mail which was sent recorded delivery through the royal mail.
however despite the fact you are given a ref / tracking number if you go online or call there help line they cannot track the item been mailed until it has been received and signed for. They can not tell you when it was posted or when you should expect it.There is no process to track a recorded delivery item when it is going through the royal mail.
So what are you paying extra for?? You are paying extra to have the postman ask you to sign for a piece of mail, there are no internal procedures to track the item, it is treated as a normal piece of mail with an orange sticker on it. The sooner the royal mail introduce a tracking system like ANC and other courier companies the better.

scottishlass

I had no problem tracking my last item that was sent recorded delivery - because of the strikes it had been delayed by a day but they were able to tell me which sorting office it was at. Guess it depends on the individual offices

custardy

edmond wrote: »

Need to get this of my chest.
Been waiting for a piece of mail which was sent recorded delivery through the royal mail.
however despite the fact you are given a ref / tracking number if you go online or call there help line they cannot track the item been mailed until it has been received and signed for. They can not tell you when it was posted or when you should expect it.There is no process to track a recorded delivery item when it is going through the royal mail.
So what are you paying extra for?? You are paying extra to have the postman ask you to sign for a piece of mail, there are no internal procedures to track the item, it is treated as a normal piece of mail with an orange sticker on it. The sooner the royal mail introduce a tracking system like ANC and other courier companies the better.

they have a tracking system.its called special delivery.
you paid for recorded delivery so its a record of when the item is delivered.
as you say you are paying for a signature to be obtained

Badger_Lady

Occasionally, a bit of recorded mail gets lumped in with the standard first class, so you actually get no additional service for your money. It could be received but not signed for.

(I used to work for a post-receivers at a large company, and was shocked by the reality of the postal service as it has declined over the last year!)

chipmunk

When we paid off our mortgage, the original deeds to our property were returned to us by the mortgage lender using the recorded delivery service.

We found the parcel on the doormat when we arrived home that evening - the peel off barcode strip had been removed but obviously we had not signed to say we received it. It turns out the postman signed it himself because there was no-one home :rolleyes:

custardy

Badger_Lady wrote: »

Occasionally, a bit of recorded mail gets lumped in with the standard first class, so you actually get no additional service for your money. It could be received but not signed for.

(I used to work for a post-receivers at a large company, and was shocked by the reality of the postal service as it has declined over the last year!)

also labels can come off/get damaged.
ive had SD items(banks are bad for this) where the label is stuck to PVC type bags which they dont stick to.
with no tracking number you have no way to link a signature to an item

i wont deny service is dropping but you need to look to the top on that one

custardy

chipmunk wrote: »

When we paid off our mortgage, the original deeds to our property were returned to us by the mortgage lender using the recorded delivery service.

We found the parcel on the doormat when we arrived home that evening - the peel off barcode strip had been removed but obviously we had not signed to say we received it. It turns out the postman signed it himself because there was no-one home :rolleyes:

whilst they shouldnt have 'doorstepped' the item.
i often sign RD's for customers but generally when i spoken to them beforehand.
you cant win,you get people moaning when you do and others moan when you dont

edmond

custardy wrote: »

they have a tracking system.its called special delivery.
you paid for recorded delivery so its a record of when the item is delivered.
as you say you are paying for a signature to be obtained

No I am paying to make sure the item is delivered.
Why then when I go online does it ask for my track and trace number
the number on the orange slip means nothing, it can only be tracked once it has been delivered, at no point through the postage system can it be traced.
If it was common knowledge what the recorded delivery regulations were no one would use it.

I work for a mailing house, as a whole I have no problems with the Royal mail,
they do quite a good job, there have been times when we have had a delivery of empty postage sacks and these sacks have had bundles of mail in the bottom of them, some which are recorded delivery items.

If TNT can introduce there own door to door delivery system rather than relying on the Royal mail to do the final mile things may change.

custardy

well again the system is down to those at the top.
TNT are trialing right now,ive no problem with fair competition.

theres no secret RD isnt tracked,from RM's site

If you have an important item to deliver, our Recorded Signed For™ service gives you complete peace of mind with proof of posting and an electronic copy of the signature available online.
Proof of posting
Signature on delivery
Online confirmation of delivery
Up to £34 compensation
Prices from 70p plus normal postage

Sometimes it’s not enough to post your item and hope it gets delivered the following day. Choose Special Delivery™ Next Day and we’ll guarantee to deliver your urgent item the next working day before 1.00pm – or your money back.

Key features
Guaranteed delivery before 1.00pm
99%* UK coverage
Online tracking
Up to £2,500 compensation
Prices start at £4.30. See full price list

look at the difference in price.do you think 70p covers the cost of manually scanning an item through the full postal system?

edmond

custardy wrote: »

well again the system is down to those at the top.
TNT are trialing right now,ive no problem with fair competition.

theres no secret RD isnt tracked,from RM's site

If you have an important item to deliver, our Recorded Signed For™ service gives you complete peace of mind with proof of posting and an electronic copy of the signature available online.
Proof of posting
Signature on delivery
Online confirmation of delivery
Up to £34 compensation
Prices from 70p plus normal postage

Sometimes it’s not enough to post your item and hope it gets delivered the following day. Choose Special Delivery™ Next Day and we’ll guarantee to deliver your urgent item the next working day before 1.00pm – or your money back.

Key features
Guaranteed delivery before 1.00pm
99%* UK coverage
Online tracking
Up to £2,500 compensation
Prices start at £4.30. See full price list

look at the difference in price.do you think 70p covers the cost of manually scanning an item through the full postal system?

price is not an issue for me, i would be more than willing to pay the additional to make sure an item arrived.
when i spoke to the royal mail they could not tell me when the item was mailed, but according to the above i should be able to get a Proof of posting
or is my Proof of posting the orange counterpart

edmond

Dave_Brooker wrote: »

TNT is the Dutch postal service, just as DHL is the German postal service, why would you want to support a foreign company over the RM???

People like you won't be happy until were all wearing clogs and eating smelly sausages...

I work very closely with the royal mail on a daily basis, but I can appreciate a good quality service, and at the moment TNT offer that.
Anyway I look good in my clogs