Lost in post - Claiming from Royal Mail

[ejralph]

I refer to them as Royal Betrayal behind closed doors, for good reason!

I have to admit that all my posties are very good as our the staff at our local PO. But its the seasonal staff and cover staff that tend to not give a monkeys isn't it.

Emma

[sea-thistle]

The problem is they are casuals a lot of them delivering the mail! I have had photos bent in half when it says in big writing Please do not bend Photos!! I get a different postman every day ! They do a lot of rounds on overtime!

The  mail  going/coming missing abroad is dealt with the Foreign section in London, They deal with mail going out and into the country, that is where you P25 think it's called goes after it's been to Customer Care. They deal with it and will probably liase with the foreign post offices. They will send a form to confirm that the item has not been received by the customer , before they investigate.

[deeko1968]

I work for royal mail for 21 years now, most of the new people we get in are chimps.

I would not use recorded mail , waste of time.
cost more is special delivery which is better.

sorry to hear about all the probs people are having, royal mail is going down hill fast, i will be the last one there to turn out the lights.
Deeko.


p.s. delivery and people are nice,  managers ect are all brain dead.

[beadysam]

I've been lucky and haven't had much go missing.  A few have been returned - customers haven't recieved a card to collect it though.  A couple damaged.  The one that really jerks me off, is that every time I send out tools they go walkabout!  I must have 20%+ of my tools disappear.  It doesn't seem to matter how I pack them either.  This is so much of a problem taht I am considering stopping making them.  Its so much hassle to claim for missing good too...but then they rely on that don't they?

[sea-thistle]

I work for royal mail for 21 years now, most of the new people we get in are chimps.

I would not use recorded mail , waste of time.
cost more is special delivery which is better.

sorry to hear about all the probs people are having, royal mail is going down hill fast, i will be the last one there to turn out the lights.
Deeko.


p.s. delivery and people are nice,  managers ect are all brain dead.

I worked for them for 17 years!  left in 1993! Royal Mail is going down fast, and i am a tad worried about my deferred pension!! When I last looked my pension hadn't changed in 15years!!

Recorded Delivery you are right is not worth using as it goes with the rest of the mail. Special Delivery is the only way to go if something urgent or valuable!. I worked on the delivery side when I first started in 1978! and went to counters after 10 months. in 87 went to Royal Mail , worked in the offices Business Unit, Postal codes Customer Care, Franking machine unit. Had enough, as my job was going to somewhere like Basildon and i live near Peterborough!!lol

Must say most of the postmen are ok on my delivery and if a recorded comes they sign for it! as otherwise i have to drive 2 miles and wait till 4pm to collect it, and there is no where to park, so they are being helpful.  Karin

[Blue Box Studio]

My postman actually rang my door bell and asked if he should sign for all my parcels for me so I didn't have to go to the sorting office 2 miles away.  I said not and each time it happens I make a complaint but so far no one heads my cries.  I stopped using my logo when things started to go missing.  I've found there is no difference in service if I use Registered and most of the time I can't get proof of signature, ewven when I paid extra for it a whiloe back, for Special Delivery.  Both Airsure and International Signed for are a waste of time for me and Paypal claims.  With PP it's always been a case of 'you should have used the other one' which ever one I use.  With International Signed For it's only tracked in the UK so of course any lost parcel is lost outside of the UK, or so they always tell me.  Airsure is tracked to the door but no signature so if the customer says 'well, I never got it' then you are stuffed once again.

I would like to think it is not the case now but I worked in the benefit service for 25 years until 2000; the number of giros that were fraudulently cashed by postmen was amazing.  Thing is they aren't too difficult to spot in the post if you are looking and in Dorset there seemed to be an awful lot of them looking.  Not sure what else they pinched but birthday cash and uncrossed postal orders often seemed to go missing from envelopes.  I'm certainly not saying that the post office is full of crooks (although I reserve judgement for those who work out which claims gets paid on) but our local sorting office back then kept our fraud teams very busy. 

No one has folded my silver sheet in half yet but I expect one day they'll stamp on a postal tube of glass to make it flat enough to go through the letter box - and we have a redundant waste bin with lid next to the door clearly marked 'deliveries in here please' with corresponding note on door.  No excuses really.

[Pegasus]

Thanks so much for sharing this info. I was told by a post office employee that the maximum compensation is 10 x cost of first class stamp, so now I think it's £41.

[Blue Box Studio]

Thanks so much for sharing this info. I was told by a post office employee that the maximum compensation is 10 x cost of first class stamp, so now I think it's £41.

Only if you produce proof of postage, else they ignore you completely.  I print my own postage on-line for small things and unless you go to the PO and get a cert of posting they won't believe you posted - apparently we wcould be spending £1 on line to claim back up to £41.  If I go with pre-paid mail to my post office they make a real song and dance about Post Offices closing and I should buy direct from them.  Fair point but we don'ty all have 40 minutes spare time to stand behind an ebayer with 3 sacks (I kid not) of parcels.  Probably jealousy on my part because I don't have enough sales to fill one sack per day let alone 3.

[squirsygirl]

I've just had two parcels go missing, and got a proof of posting for each.

A 'customer service advisor' ( how's that for an oxymoron) offered me 6 first class stamps.

He got them back with a flea in his ear, and  I'm waiting to hear back with a decent level of compensation.

Kirsty

[sea-thistle]

Your too polite I'd have told him where to stick them!!

[ejralph]

I haven't had to claim too often from the PO. And when you think of how many packages I send out in a week, the number of claims is actualy miniscule.

But each one they have paid up without a murmur. That includes both overseas and UK orders and claims for my own handmade beads (which I made them reinburse my full selling price for) as well as retail supplies.

I am convinced that so long as you go in hard, with all the facts and paperwork and a covering letter making clear you know you are entitled to full compensation, they pay up as they know you won't be fobbed off.

But.... I equally bet they get a free toaster or something for all the claims the DO manage to fob off.

Of course, I am really lucky too - because my local post office is fantastic. It is also quite quiet, parking out front and it's usually me causing the queue 

Emma

[MangoBeads]

Emma this is hugely helpful Thank you 

[ejralph]

I think it helps to itemise in your covering letter exactly the amount you are expecting back, including the postage you paid out (although show that figure separately)

Any time I have had my own handmade stuff go missing (thankfully only twice) - I have printed out the product page, showing the selling price, from my website.

I also make very clear in my letter that I am the manufacturer of these beads and therefore, their selling price is their true wholesale cost, as it is the cheapest I can as the maker sell them for.

I include that with the claim form, certificate of posting / postage receipt, copy of the sales invoice etc.

So far, I have never had to wait more than about 3 weeks for the cheque to arrive.

They will always make it out to your business name if you include one on your paperwork though. So bear that in mind anyone who cannot accept cheques to their business name and adapt your paperwork accordingly!

These claim forms really don't take that long to fill in - especially if its just one item and you are the maker of it. So if they lose your stuff - do bother to hold them to account for it!

Emma

[Sandera]

On a slightly different note - one of my fused glass pieces arrived at the customer's house in a number of pieces. Unfortunatley she threw the original packaging out. Without this (or a photograph) the PO wouldn't reimburse. Wasn't a happy bunny! 

[Sandera]

Sandera the PO would just say that the item wasnt packed well enough for a glass item -  I had a lot of trouble claiming when I was posting eggs out for hatching - some packages arrived with egg dripping out of the boxes -  and these boxes were inches thick polystyrene purpose made for posting eggs - they looked like they had been jumped on from a great height.  I got my money refunded eventually - but with very bad grace.

Not all postal staff are bad - its just the few that ruin it and give the rest a very bad name.

I remember having a sinking feeling when I handed it to the guy behind the counter at the PO. The box was covered in FRAGILE tape. He took it then dropped it from waist height into the sack behind him. It didn't stand a chance but it was a lesson well learned as I now wrap at least 4 inches of bubblewrap around everything I post. There's so much bubble wrap that you can virtually bounce the package off the floor and it'll survive!!