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Royal Mail issues

R

rescuest3ve

pfm Member
Does anyone know how one might be able to report an area or branch for either theft or gross incompetence? Reason I ask is because I've had four things go missing now since lockdown, and it's driving me up the bleeding bend!

I've had an Audioquest DAC lost locally, a pair of Grado SR325s go (thankfully fully refunded by the seller, bless them), a CBT oil thing - signed for as 'Black Lives Matter'! - and now a pair of Phillips X2 cans. All sent tracked, and with the exception of the Grados, technically delivered cos someone has signed for them, so no way of getting a refund easily. Total cost is perhaps £700 for the items brand new? All gone.

Now I know the normal mail's coming through because the bloody bills still show up (plus I get records send 1st or 2nd class, and haven't had anything go missing there), so I suspect that there might be a different mail person for the tracked items? Is that a thing? I'll collar the postie on Monday, but I fully expect the answer to be 'dont know, guv', so was just wondering if there was anything else I can do as I feel a bit helpless.

It made me wince when I saw that they might be starting a collection service, too, when they clearly struggle with just delivery! Can you imagine how chaotic that's going to be...
 
I suspect that you are actually dealing with Parcel Force, but it could be RM. Plus you probably don't know where things have actually "disappeared".

If things go missing and they are properly covered for value, why worry or get worked-up? Just claim.

YES, I know it is a total PITA.
 
'collaring' was probably aggressive in tone. I just meant that I was going to ask him if he knows if there's a way of finding out where the parcels might actually be.
 
Have you tried either contacting the local sorting office the official complaints process (link)? Is there anyone at your end that could be signing fraudulently, i.e. are you in a flat with a shared front door? Could someone get hold of your non-delivery red-card? If it actually is the postman/delivery person is a crook it should be very easy to trace and they will be dealt with. To my understanding no other scenario could put the sign-in at the correct place/time, i.e. it has to be either a dodgy neighbour or the postie looking to get sacked pretty damn sharpish.

FWIW prior to covid 19 (I’m not prepared to go inside a post office) I used RM/PF for all pfm business and I never encountered any criminality. If things went missing they tended to do so on foreign shipments well out of RM jurisdiction. I had a few things arrive damaged, but a tiny, tiny percentage, and a couple of things turn up late, but on the whole very good indeed. My local postwoman is great, very conscientious and I’m amazed by just how much even poorly packaged stuff arrives undamaged. I’ve nothing but praise for them to be honest.
 
Vinny said:
I suspect that you are actually dealing with Parcel Force, but it could be RM. Plus you probably don't know where things have actually "disappeared".

If things go missing and they are properly covered for value, why worry or get worked-up? Just claim.

YES, I know it is a total PITA.
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Nah, they're Royal Mail, and the few items have gotten as far as the local depots - either Croydon or Norwood - then been out for delivery and signed for by a stranger. The fact theyve been signed for makes it a nightmare to claim off them.

Plus I just want my Dac and headphones, dammit! It's been months now where I've bought something, had it sent tracked, lost it, claimed for it, tried to buy another one, lost it. I just suspect something fishy s going on locally.
 
Tony L said:
Have you tried either contacting the local sorting office the official complaints process (link)? Is there anyone at your end that could be signing fraudulently, i.e. are you in a flat with a shared front door? Could someone get hold of your non-delivery red-card? If it actually is the postman/delivery person is a crook it should be very easy to trace and they will be dealt with. To my understanding no other scenario could put the sign-in at the correct place/time, i.e. it has to be either a dodgy neighbour or the postie looking to get sacked pretty damn sharpish.

FWIW prior to covid 19 (I’m not prepared to go inside a post office) I used RM/PF for all pfm business and I never encountered any criminality. If things went missing they tended to do so on foreign shipments well out of RM jurisdiction. I had a few things arrive damaged, but a tiny, tiny percentage, and a couple of things turn up late, but on the whole very good indeed. My local postwoman is great, very conscientious and I’m amazed by just how much even poorly packaged stuff arrives undamaged. I’ve nothing but praise for them to be honest.
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Thanks for the advice, I'll surely check it out.

I agree with the pre-covid sentiment: I didn't actually EVER have an issue, to the point where I've commented before that the whole 'RM lose everything' cliche is totally unwarranted. Since then tho, literally everything tracked goes AWOL.
 
MAYBE worth reporting to the Ombudsman and/or the police if it is on-going.

VERY rare with RM/PF but one of their guys round here was nicked a few years back for ambushing Dell packages. Lunatic number of £1000's...... He MUST have been dafter than a very daft thing - SO easy to trace things back in their systems.
 
rescuest3ve said:
I agree with the pre-covid sentiment: I didn't actually EVER have an issue, to the point where I've commented before that the whole 'RM lose everything' cliche is totally unwarranted. Since then tho, literally everything tracked goes AWOL.
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The current process is this:

“Changes to our delivery procedure in relation to signing for and receiving items in the UK

In order to protect both our people and customers, as much as possible, we will not be handing over our hand-held devices to customers to capture electronic signatures. Having initially knocked on your door the driver will then step aside to a safe distance while you retrieve your item. This will ensure your item is delivered securely rather than being left outside. Our drivers will log the first and last name of the person accepting the item on their devices, then put 'XP1' in the signature field, and we will record the geolocation of the delivery. This will apply to all deliveries that normally require a signature.

Our normal redelivery processes apply. Please follow the instructions on the card.”

(link).

To my mind that very much places the responsibility on the postie to ensure you answer the door and accept the goods. That is certainly what happens here, the postwoman places the box containing the record (always a record!) on my doorstep, rings the bell, steps away and makes sure I answer and take it in. Sometimes she’ll ring and ask me to take something for my neighbour as she’s figured out I work from home and am likely to be in. Basically she is now the signatory and the drop should be geolocated. I don’t see how a postie would risk their job by stealing via this system. It makes no sense unless someone else in your location (flats, neighbours etc) was able to fraudulently sign. I know that sort of thing used to happen back when I lived in a flat in Liverpool in the ‘80s.
 
rescuest3ve said:
'collaring' was probably aggressive in tone. I just meant that I was going to ask him if he knows if there's a way of finding out where the parcels might actually be.
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A postie speaks:

They have no idea where your stuff is. And no way of finding out where it is either.

All your postie is concerned about on a day to day basis is what is in their bag/van for that day, because that’s the only thing they have control over. They might well be very nice people and want to help you, but realistically, they’re too busy to do more than have a cursory look around their work area, and possibly mention your problem to their manager, if they have the chance, seeing as most managers are long gone from the office before any postie gets back there after their duty.

Posties have zero customer service obligations other than than delivering the stuff on their duty for that day, and not pissing people off unnecessarily.

Please contact Royal Mail customer services via the website:
https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/contact

Or, if you really want to escalate the matter, and given the value of the gear that’s gone missing, you might want to circumvent customer services entirely and email the boss directly, try

[email protected]

I would seriously question however, why you wouldn’t be demanding stuff of that value wasn’t being sent by Special Delivery, which has insurance cover to recompense you or the vendor in the event of loss.
 
Is your house or address difficult to find or easily confused with another? Has your stuff been delivered by accident to a neighbour who perhaps doesn't feel they have an obligation to pass it on? Is someone pirating your goods after they have been delivered? Get one of those recording door bells perhaps and see if if someone's even attempting the delivery and track it down from there.
 
We ordered a new cooker hood recently.Was supposed to arrive the next day.It didn’t. The seller chase it up with their delivery company. Three weeks later the delivery company said it had been damaged in transit. Didn’t bother telling anyone. Sounds totally suspicious.
 
There are two issues here; the inconvenience of something, possibly rare, that you are expecting to be in your possession, and the fact that there is possibly a dishonest postie in employment. The former is a personal issue, the latter a collective issue - the OP owes it to the neighbourhood to report it whether or not he feels personally inconvenienced.
 
I hope you get sorted but if it is anything to do with my experience with them where they lost a parcel that came all the way from China, was "attempted delivery", then lost between my house & the sorting office half a mile away you will be lucky to see anything.

In my case no card was left, the parcel was not scanned back into the depot to be redelivered or collected by me, it disappeared off the face off the planet. I contacted the area manager, useless, contacted customer services, useless, passing the buck all the time until I threatened to report them to higher up the scale. The end result was "we have lost it" but I wanted to know where it was, either the postie who supposedly delivered it had stolen it, threw it away or sold it on, if it had been delivered to the wrong address then some sort of signature should have been produced. The fact that they knew who had tried to deliver never even bothered them, I asked for them to question said postie, they refused. At the end of the day I was refunded by the seller who then was told to claim, he was in Shanghai for Gods' sake.

Now I insist that when a parcel lands at my depot I collect only, that way it is guaranteed to get to me & not to be "lost".

This Covid signature is an opportunity for undesireables to get away with anything.
 
Is it not the duty of the place that you buy something from (e.g. Amazon) to ensure that item gets to you ?
I've lost a couple of thing while in the hands of the Royal Mail, but on both times Amazon have sent replacements no questions asked .

"Now I insist that when a parcel lands at my depot I collect only, that way it is guaranteed to get to me & not to be "lost"."

Not guaranteed! - one of my lost parcels was known to have been lost in the depot itself and no amount of searching could find it
 
zippy said:

Not guaranteed! - one of my lost parcels was known to have been lost in the depot itself and no amount of searching could find it
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That can be a problem I suppose but then at least you prove it has arrived there & been scanned in then not "lost" on a round. In my case I always get the parcel now first thing in the morning.
 
a long while ago i had an issue with the behaviour of a postal worker. I had captured the behaviour on CCTV. I was given advice by @Rob998 WRT to getting in touch with the person at the top. I got a result very quickly that i was satisfied with. However the key to my success was having evidence.
 
Royal Mail pay is piss-poor. The majority of posties are good people but there have always been light-fingered ones. However, with the cursed covid factor, posties have an incentive to leave the parcel in a 'safe place' instead of delivering to hand.

This must be both weather proof and concealed from the street. Mine is inside the blue recycling bin which is for everything non-organic so it's also reasonably clean.

Make sure that you use a service where you can tell them what the safe place is. Failing that, I'd try to visit your local Delivery Office and have a word, they might be prepared to make a note of it.

The Special Delivery service of Royal Mail is in a separate part of the Delivery Office from the general parcels. It uses dedicated staff. I've not had any problems with them but then I haven't used them in years.
 
2ManyBoxes said:
The Special Delivery service of Royal Mail is in a separate part of the Delivery Office from the general parcels. It uses dedicated staff. I've not had any problems with them but then I haven't used them in years.
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This is the only service I have been using with them recently, been ok so far.
 
rescuest3ve said:
Nah, they're Royal Mail, and the few items have gotten as far as the local depots - either Croydon or Norwood - then been out for delivery and signed for by a stranger. The fact theyve been signed for makes it a nightmare to claim off them.

Plus I just want my Dac and headphones, dammit! It's been months now where I've bought something, had it sent tracked, lost it, claimed for it, tried to buy another one, lost it. I just suspect something fishy s going on locally.
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