Well Done Royal Mail.....
Discussion
Called them today because a month ago I cancelled my business reply service. They wrote saying did I want to cancel the service (yes mate, that's what the letter said). I called their 0845 helpline and after 6 levels of 'press 1 for this and 2 for that' got a 'we are really busy message'. To set up that service I had to send them recorded delivery letters as they kept losing it in the post FFS.
Of course you can help me expand my business, after all you are so competent and efficient yourselves, why wouldn't I ask you to help?
Sell it to TNT and sell it now.
Of course you can help me expand my business, after all you are so competent and efficient yourselves, why wouldn't I ask you to help?
Sell it to TNT and sell it now.
A week before I was off to a concert (Bon Jovi, Bounce, maybe it was karma 
) I contacted the ticket office and they said my tickets had been delivered nearly 2 weeks previously and correctly signed for.
So off I trot to the post office to be greeted with the ever so helpful gentleman behind the counter who told me I had signed for it and that was that, nothing he could do. I asked for the copy of my signature and he said no problem, went and retrieved it and showed it to me. It was a stupid squiggle which was nothing at all like my signature. I told him it wasn't mine and he informed me that I was incorrect. I lost my temper and ended up being told to leave the office.
The ticket office couldn't re-issue tickets as they had been signed for, the Post Office refused to accept that the signature wasn't mine. So I was about 260 odd pounds out of pocket and now not going to the concert.
After some digging it turned out that the post box where the bags are kept while the postie does his rounds was broken into. So instead of informing people of this they simply kept quiet and signed off stuff which needed signing for.
When I went to claim compensation I was given about 30 pounds from memory and that was a goodwill gesture from them, basically saying I was lucky to even get that. When I enquired about getting the full amount they basically told me to have a try but it wont work.
I've never used them again and have heard numerous horror stories about the general crapness and awful customer service in general. They are a joke.
Dave!
) I contacted the ticket office and they said my tickets had been delivered nearly 2 weeks previously and correctly signed for.So off I trot to the post office to be greeted with the ever so helpful gentleman behind the counter who told me I had signed for it and that was that, nothing he could do. I asked for the copy of my signature and he said no problem, went and retrieved it and showed it to me. It was a stupid squiggle which was nothing at all like my signature. I told him it wasn't mine and he informed me that I was incorrect. I lost my temper and ended up being told to leave the office.
The ticket office couldn't re-issue tickets as they had been signed for, the Post Office refused to accept that the signature wasn't mine. So I was about 260 odd pounds out of pocket and now not going to the concert.
After some digging it turned out that the post box where the bags are kept while the postie does his rounds was broken into. So instead of informing people of this they simply kept quiet and signed off stuff which needed signing for.
When I went to claim compensation I was given about 30 pounds from memory and that was a goodwill gesture from them, basically saying I was lucky to even get that. When I enquired about getting the full amount they basically told me to have a try but it wont work.
I've never used them again and have heard numerous horror stories about the general crapness and awful customer service in general. They are a joke.
Dave!
singlecoil said:
How many pieces of mail get posted each day? I expect it's quite a lot. How many pieces go astray? I expect it's quite a small proportion.
Oh, I haven't bothered with the many letters I have posted which never arrive, or those which require a signature which do arrive, but without being signed for, or even those which I have had delivered (one was placed through the open window in a bedroom we rarely use, which rendered it behind a stereo, so I didn't find it for a week!) without my knowledge!!At one stage, we were not receiving about 30% of all letters and documents sent to us. A few clarifications later and we now get most of our post, with just the odd thing wandering off to never never land. However, the feckin' junk mail always manages to arrive.....
This one had From, and To written on it. It didn't go Astray per se.... It went to the person marked FROM.... Namely me...
In defence of Royal Mail, I think they do a great job. At least when you're not in when they deliver, the parcel is generally taken to your local post office. If I miss a parcel delivered by one of the popular companies, it often means a 40 mile round trip to collect the bloody thing.
Howitzer said:
A week before I was off to a concert (Bon Jovi, Bounce, maybe it was karma ) I contacted the ticket office and they said my tickets had been delivered nearly 2 weeks previously and correctly signed for.
So off I trot to the post office to be greeted with the ever so helpful gentleman behind the counter who told me I had signed for it and that was that, nothing he could do. I asked for the copy of my signature and he said no problem, went and retrieved it and showed it to me. It was a stupid squiggle which was nothing at all like my signature. I told him it wasn't mine and he informed me that I was incorrect. I lost my temper and ended up being told to leave the office.
The ticket office couldn't re-issue tickets as they had been signed for, the Post Office refused to accept that the signature wasn't mine. So I was about 260 odd pounds out of pocket and now not going to the concert.
After some digging it turned out that the post box where the bags are kept while the postie does his rounds was broken into. So instead of informing people of this they simply kept quiet and signed off stuff which needed signing for.
When I went to claim compensation I was given about 30 pounds from memory and that was a goodwill gesture from them, basically saying I was lucky to even get that. When I enquired about getting the full amount they basically told me to have a try but it wont work.
I've never used them again and have heard numerous horror stories about the general crapness and awful customer service in general. They are a joke.
Dave!
They lost a parcel I sent to a friend at her place of work. Gave me the usual run around saying the recetionsit had signed for it, caled the receptionist a liar etc. They did a half hearted investiogation and concluded it had been delivered (despite the person who signed not working at the place). I wrote pointing out the flaws in the investigation (like the receptionist had signed for 12 others that day and the signatures didn't match) and they told me they were not communicating with me again. I went to OFCOM and RM finally admitted they had delivered it to the wrong place, but no attempt to find out who had it. As you say, £37 in compensation, no apology.) I contacted the ticket office and they said my tickets had been delivered nearly 2 weeks previously and correctly signed for.So off I trot to the post office to be greeted with the ever so helpful gentleman behind the counter who told me I had signed for it and that was that, nothing he could do. I asked for the copy of my signature and he said no problem, went and retrieved it and showed it to me. It was a stupid squiggle which was nothing at all like my signature. I told him it wasn't mine and he informed me that I was incorrect. I lost my temper and ended up being told to leave the office.
The ticket office couldn't re-issue tickets as they had been signed for, the Post Office refused to accept that the signature wasn't mine. So I was about 260 odd pounds out of pocket and now not going to the concert.
After some digging it turned out that the post box where the bags are kept while the postie does his rounds was broken into. So instead of informing people of this they simply kept quiet and signed off stuff which needed signing for.
When I went to claim compensation I was given about 30 pounds from memory and that was a goodwill gesture from them, basically saying I was lucky to even get that. When I enquired about getting the full amount they basically told me to have a try but it wont work.
I've never used them again and have heard numerous horror stories about the general crapness and awful customer service in general. They are a joke.
Dave!
Our local rag had a story in a few weeks before Chrimbo of a kid's birthday card which arrived 'gutted' and the cash from granndada removed.
A few weeks later the unhappy chappie gets a Xmas card, stamped but with no postmark, calling him various names, none of which were very nice, for going to the press!
A few weeks later the unhappy chappie gets a Xmas card, stamped but with no postmark, calling him various names, none of which were very nice, for going to the press!
Jasandjules said:
singlecoil said:
How many pieces of mail get posted each day? I expect it's quite a lot. How many pieces go astray? I expect it's quite a small proportion.
Oh, I haven't bothered with the many letters I have posted which never arrive, or those which require a signature which do arrive, but without being signed for, or even those which I have had delivered (one was placed through the open window in a bedroom we rarely use, which rendered it behind a stereo, so I didn't find it for a week!) without my knowledge!!At one stage, we were not receiving about 30% of all letters and documents sent to us. A few clarifications later and we now get most of our post, with just the odd thing wandering off to never never land. However, the feckin' junk mail always manages to arrive.....
This one had From, and To written on it. It didn't go Astray per se.... It went to the person marked FROM.... Namely me...
And, yes, my calculations suggest that up to 30% of mail doesn't reach here most weeks. In our case, the problem is in the sorting office (the post goes out to the rounds pre-bundled) who can't tell the difference between 3 different, similar, local addresses. When I've taken mail around to the other 2 they've looked at the floor and admitted that they just throw away anything not intended for them... I've lost cheques, contracts, official documentation, letters from HMRC, the works.
There are much more reliable alternatives. They don't involve postal delivery of any sort. I send almost no post now - all invoices are electronic, things requiring a signature are faxed or couriered. I haven't physically had to post a letter (apart from Christmas cards - an eCard doesn't cut it) for 4-5 months. I tell my suppliers the same - if you want me to pay an invoice, get into the 21st century first. Most are helpful, and the rest are progressively losing a customer.
Howitzer said:
A week before I was off to a concert (Bon Jovi, Bounce, maybe it was karma ) I contacted the ticket office and they said my tickets had been delivered nearly 2 weeks previously and correctly signed for.
So off I trot to the post office to be greeted with the ever so helpful gentleman behind the counter who told me I had signed for it and that was that, nothing he could do. I asked for the copy of my signature and he said no problem, went and retrieved it and showed it to me. It was a stupid squiggle which was nothing at all like my signature. I told him it wasn't mine and he informed me that I was incorrect. I lost my temper and ended up being told to leave the office.
The ticket office couldn't re-issue tickets as they had been signed for, the Post Office refused to accept that the signature wasn't mine. So I was about 260 odd pounds out of pocket and now not going to the concert.
After some digging it turned out that the post box where the bags are kept while the postie does his rounds was broken into. So instead of informing people of this they simply kept quiet and signed off stuff which needed signing for.
When I went to claim compensation I was given about 30 pounds from memory and that was a goodwill gesture from them, basically saying I was lucky to even get that. When I enquired about getting the full amount they basically told me to have a try but it wont work.
I've never used them again and have heard numerous horror stories about the general crapness and awful customer service in general. They are a joke.
Dave!
Providing you paid by credit card you could simply contact your card issuer, tell them you did not receive the tickets and get your money back. Regardless, the onus is on the sender to ensure the items are sent adequately insured for loss or damage. They sent tickets on a service that only offers £36 compensation.) I contacted the ticket office and they said my tickets had been delivered nearly 2 weeks previously and correctly signed for.So off I trot to the post office to be greeted with the ever so helpful gentleman behind the counter who told me I had signed for it and that was that, nothing he could do. I asked for the copy of my signature and he said no problem, went and retrieved it and showed it to me. It was a stupid squiggle which was nothing at all like my signature. I told him it wasn't mine and he informed me that I was incorrect. I lost my temper and ended up being told to leave the office.
The ticket office couldn't re-issue tickets as they had been signed for, the Post Office refused to accept that the signature wasn't mine. So I was about 260 odd pounds out of pocket and now not going to the concert.
After some digging it turned out that the post box where the bags are kept while the postie does his rounds was broken into. So instead of informing people of this they simply kept quiet and signed off stuff which needed signing for.
When I went to claim compensation I was given about 30 pounds from memory and that was a goodwill gesture from them, basically saying I was lucky to even get that. When I enquired about getting the full amount they basically told me to have a try but it wont work.
I've never used them again and have heard numerous horror stories about the general crapness and awful customer service in general. They are a joke.
Dave!
The company I work for sent just under 35k RM parcels over the past 4 months. The vast majority arrive with customers within 24 hours. I've only submitted about 20 claims for loss in that time. That is a very good rate.
IIRC RM deals with something like 85m items of mail per day. Even if only a tiny percentage of these go missing, that's still a lot of pissed off customers.
Incidentally, we use couriers for our more expensive items (for the extra compensation levels), but the rate at which these parcels go missing is greater!
ClioKarl said:
Providing you paid by credit card you could simply contact your card issuer, tell them you did not receive the tickets and get your money back.
Hmm. How do you prove to the CC company you didn't receive something when the RM holds a signature for delivery? This seems hard to do.ClioKarl said:
Regardless, the onus is on the sender to ensure the items are sent adequately insured for loss or damage. They sent tickets on a service that only offers £36 compensation.
Arguably the onus is upon the sender to ensure that the tickets arrive. The compensation level is a red herring - the contract with RM is with the sender, not the recipient, so it should be the sender claiming for compensation. Some senders may decided not to insure, but that is not the concern of the recipient (despite what eBay sellers try to suggest).ClioKarl said:
The company I work for sent just under 35k RM parcels over the past 4 months. The vast majority arrive with customers within 24 hours. I've only submitted about 20 claims for loss in that time. That is a very good rate.
Ah, but which services are you using? If pre-sorting mail, for instance, to take advantage of lower rates, your packages will bypass some of the more problematic parts of the service.Also, anything parcel-sized is sorted using different equipment and methods and is, frankly, harder to drop down the back of a conveyor belt (say) than a letter. This is not comparing apples with apples.
Finally, around these parts at least, parcels are delivered on separate rounds by posties in vans, whereas letters are delivered on a walking round. Therefore the failure modes and probabilities are different for the two methods.
I would be surprised if parcel loss rates are even a small percentage of the total loss rate for the service as a whole - letters are far easier to lose, and far more difficult to guard against loss.
ClioKarl said:
IIRC RM deals with something like 85m items of mail per day. Even if only a tiny percentage of these go missing, that's still a lot of pissed off customers.
ClioKarl said:
Incidentally, we use couriers for our more expensive items (for the extra compensation levels), but the rate at which these parcels go missing is greater!
Certainly ParcelForce do not have a great historical reputation, but then they're cut from the same cloth, as it were.Asterix said:
It's all relative - I'm in Dubai and over half the stuff sent from the UK never reaches me.
PetrolTed being the latest example.
In some parts of the world the trick is to wrap the package as normal and address it. Then use bank notes as an extra layer of packaging, followed by an outer wrapper, also addressed.PetrolTed being the latest example.
When the customs cappie opens the package to clear it...
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