Have been waiting on getting a thumbstick from Keith Pickering in Yorkshire, hoping to try it out on Dartmoor next week . . .

Out the house this morning, there's a card from the Post Office: "We tried to deliver this parcel at . . . 8.05am . . . but you were not in."

Oh yes I bloody well was. Now it's a trek to the sorting office to get the stick. Anyone else had the same problem?

Yep. And then the phone at the sorting office is permanently engaged. When you finally get through and ask for it to be moved to a local Post Office it doesn't get done. And so on and so on. :O]

Don't let the bastards get you down!

spud that is much better than your postman bringing your new digital camera which cost a few hundred, and leaving it on your doorstep and putting a card thrugh the door saying "signed for by your postman - Rog", you come home at 6pm after work and there is your parcel which has been there since 9am. i was most suprised.

or the courier company that when you try and trace where you parcel has got to it says "attempted delivery at 11am on 15th october" well i was working outside the front of my house from 9.30am-2.30pm and i didn't even see a van from said company.

Oi it's not the Post Office. It's Royal mail you should be slagging off.
I used to be a subpost master and understand your plight. Get onto your local RM sorting office and kick ass. Then appologise to all the PO's you've given the Gyp too.Ya rum coooooont.

can't answer as I don't want to be post-ist.

Think yourself lucky - I've just managed to find out that the flat I have lived at for the last 3 years doesn't exist, and that therefore the 3 days a week when mail isn't 'returned to sender' is only because the postman had been delivering my mail to me by mistake...... ????

I've had the same problem in S.Wales, Spud. The second time it happened I ran out into the street (in dressing gown), demanding that the postman return with my package (which he did, sheepishly).
Postman also forced 'signed for' package through my letterbox without bothering to knock to get the signature, which I had paid for when ordering.

Yep. Me too. One day last year I waited in all morning for postie to turn up, and then when I got the 'sorry you were out' note through the door (an improvement because usually he didn't leave one) I went running after him to be told 'sorry, I didn't knock, I didn't think you'd be in'.

Better than the time that he didn't bring the parcel with him because he didn't expect me to be in.

And then there was the parcel of books left on the doorstep in the rain.

I don't mind the postie putting 'signed for' things through the letter box when I'm out though - saves me a trip to the sorting office.

Oh so it is not just me then !

Thanks, I was beginning to get paranoid.

I live in a bungalow so it's quite possible not to hear someone knocking on the front door.

That's why I fitted a clever little invention called a doorbell.

Last time it happened I asked the postie (who I know well) if I could come down to the sorting office and give a powerpoint presentation on how to use this wonder of modern invention!

(He saw the funny side of it, so I think I am OK Darren!

It's happened to me a couple of times with Parcel Force deliveries, although generally my normal postie is very good (and I try to get a lot of stuff delivered to work anyway - but I know not everyone can).


But it does make me wonder, are we all just the victims of lazy postmen OR just possibly could there be be something/someone in their management regime putting them under pressure to complete their rounds in an unrealistic time so that they cut corners by not knocking / waiting?
Cynical, moi?

You have a point there Matt, I was taking to a district nurse recently who said that she is given 15 minutes with each patient as a general guide, but she is NOT allowed travelling time, which she has to try and make up if she can.


What did they used to call them? Time and motions wasn't it?

Matt, the post is the last thing to worry about now...

I've unleashed the dogs ready for the hunt...


1...
2...


3...
4...

are you running yet?

Yes, and consequently I don't use 'Signed for' (used to be Recorded Delivery) any more. If I have something that needs to get there, and I really do need a signature, I use Special Delivery instead. They can't mess around with that as they do with 'Signed For', because it's trackable.

I buy and sell some bits and pieces on Ebay from time to time, and the stories involving the Royal Mail almost made my hair stand on end!

Can I just put in a vote in favour of Royal Mail?

My posties are always very friendly and wait paiently for ages whilst I try to find the front door keys.

Unlike those private courier companies who ring the bell and make a run for it two seconds later, having first put a card through the door inviting me to;

1. Wait in all next day on the off chance they may bother to turn up again.

2. Make a two thousand mile round trip to their depot to pick up the package.

On one occasion the depot was actually further away than the retailer I'd ordered the goods from!

They then threaten to send the item back to the retailer if I can't be bothered to rearrange my life to fit their business.

Not to mention the local ditribution networks some companies use. When I order stuff from NEXT it's more likely to arrive in a taxi or battered old pickup truck than in a van. The woman who delivered my last parcel was rather annoyed that I couldn't manage to be in the house 24/7. "Ah yes, we've had trouble with you before, haven't we?" she said.

She then launched into a rant about how she didn't have enough room to store parcels at home. She looked at me as though I were from another planet when I suggested that maybe she was in the wrong business!

So Royal Mail gets my vote, at least in comparison to the competition. There, I feel much better now having got that lot off my chest.

Andrea.

I concede that Andrea has a point. Although I've had what feels like more than my fair share of issues with Royal Mail deliveries, I generally only order from companies that deliver by Royal Mail or by Parcelfarce. At least that way I know that when I'm not in (or they can't be bothered to bring the parcel with them) I can pick it up at a time convenient to me (ie 7am) without too much of a detour on my way to work.

That pushing a note through the door, and not ringing the bell thing? I've even caught meter readers at it.
Had an after 12 appointment for a gas maintenance visit last week. Got home at 11.20 and found a card saying, "visited as arranged but you were not in".
I phoned the call centre immediately, asked what time it was, "11.25",
"What time was my visit planned for?"
"After 12".
"Well I've just had a note etc.".
A very red faced and uncommunicative engineer arrived about 15 minutes later.

A friend of mine sends important documents back to his parents and sends them 'recorded'.

Almost everytime the postie just 'removes' the recorded sticker and just shoves if through their door anyway.

If someone's paid to send something recorded, and the Royal Mail don't have a signature to prove they have delivered it, you should be able to claim compensation of up to £32 per item (if you can be bothered to go through all the hassle of trying to contact the right department)

I once returned from holiday to find a note saying 'unable to deliver - left parcel in bin'. I never found out what the parcel was.

Well you could only claim compensation if the item had actually been lost / damaged etc. and assuming it had not been then you would be commiting a fraud.

But equally - if you pay for recorded and they don't get the signature they should compensate you.

But taking the recorded sticker off (so you didn't know it was sent that way) is just under-handed! ;(