Royal Mail

[Rob]

I am so angry I feel a burning need to punch someone.

I heard the mailbox go this morning around 11:30. When I got their there was a brown jiffy bag. I examined it and found it was already open. Inside was a minibits leaflet and a Pendraken thank-you note with a receoipt for £130.50 stapled to it and nothing else. Another unrelated letter that was delivered at the same time was also open although the bill from the council was still inside.

I rang Pendraken but there is no one there to-day. I went to the police station who were not inter4sted and said go to royal Mail. I went to Royal Mail who said it could not be them and it was almost certainly the despatching company. How did I know they hadnt sent it like this? Tw*ts! I said the two items delivered today were both opened. They said are you accusing the postman? I said maybe, can someone at least talk to him as he will still be on the road. They said it could not be the postman. I asked why their quality control would allow a parcel in this state to pass through through theyr systems. I told them I had dealt with Pendraken many times and they had a reputation for being a solid efficient company goes the extra mile for its customers and would never despatch an open parcel. They changed their tune at that and said that their sorting machines often open mail and heavy items fall out. They will try lost property for me. They also ripped a peice of paper out of a notebook and wrote down a number that I could ring a make a complaint. This is of course closeed for the weekend.

Oh wow! I am so underwhelmed with their helpfullness.

What a useless bunch of half-witted w&*kers!

[Techno]

Feel your pain, Rob.

Parcel Farce are the b*ggers out here.
Twice they've delivered (and simply left in an outhouse) items to be signed for......at an addy '2 doors up', which is around 700 yards away.

It's only when the 'neighbours' go and check in that 'shed' that I find out where 'the item's' have got to.
Once, I'd already complained to the sender....and most recently when the 'thank you for your custom' letter turned up before the item...and I was gearing up for a "Where's my stuff ?", to a firm I'd not dealt with before.
Fair do's...the neighbour has almost the same name as me.....He's Peter Lewis, rather than Phil, and gets LOTS of deliveries......BUT....Both times the items have been clearly addressed to 'Techno Towers'...and on neither occasion can there have been a signature.....apart from the one the driver has scribbled in his book....I presume ?

Cheers - Phil

[Steve J]

You should be able to report it to the police as theft. We had a similar incident atound 10 years ago when the postie was opening stuff up and not delivering it. Enough reports led to a raid at his house and 'hey presto' most of the stuff was there (that had not already been sold). I'd definitely try and report it as theft.

[Poggle]

Disgusting! Something similar happened to me a few years ago. I bought some earrings from an American friend as a gift. The padded packet arrived torn open and the box missing. Due to customs regulations my friend had to put the contents on the label. Some ba$tard saw the word 'jewelry' and decided to help themselves! Needless to say the PO would do anything. 

[seb]

I really hope you get your parcel.

The last postman we had used to steal cards. You could post a card from the end of the road and it would never arrive. Nothing else, just cards every time. In the end I bought a nice big card and wrote the postman a blunt message inside. Funnily enough he quit the job the day after I posted it. True story!

The new one won't deliver anything other than a letter if it's raining, cold or too hot. Or if it's Friday or Saturday or Monday.

[Bodvoc]

Actually, the best thing to do here may be to contact Pendraken direct, tell them what's happened as they should have proof of postage. They may be able to claim from Royal Mail then re-send you your stuff. 
I have to say that our postie is a top bloke, honest, friendly and always pops parcels in the shed if we are out then puts a note though the door.

[Luddite]

This is what happens when you privatise a national service.

Anyway, there are a lot of excellent, honourable Posties out there.  Sadly, they're retiring to be replaced by extremely poorly paid and undermotivated time-servers.  A generalisation of course.

As to your problem, yeah, refer to Pendraken.  The chaps are at Warfare (in Reading?) this weekend i think, but they should be able to help you get this sorted out when they get back to the forges.

[haupt]

When I joined Royal Mail 35 years ago, you had to be ex-services , police or be vouched for by a relative who was already employed. The change came when a service became a buisness. i know many first rate postmen [and women] ,and one or two I'm glad don't deliver to my house.Really looking forward to retirement.......

[Steve J]

This is what happens when you privatise a national service.

Our incident happened way before privatisation. Had similar things happen in London back in the '80s. Some things never change .

[FierceKitty]

Take it straight to the police and report it as theft. Squeaky wheels, you know?

[Heedless Horseman]

Sympathise...and suggest an inquiry. But 99.9% of Post Office are doing a very good job, even now...but, as another comment said, running a business instead of a service has meant a decline in quality over the years...and it WILL get worse. We have had a postie who couldn't read...and heard of another casual who kept the registered packets that she SIGNED FOR!      Personally, I have had no problems with Royal Mail staff at all, although delivery times have wandered throughout the day recently. Don't know how a Pendraken packet could get accidentally opened in transit, even with the automated machine systems...hard enough to open the damn things myself... Lol!      
My own bugbear is receiving other peoples mail due to computer mailing address labels incorrect...not the postie's fault. We have also had mail delivered without house number, postcode or town...and it was for us!   
Swings and roundabouts...but privatisation is WRONG!   

[Luddite]

When I joined Royal Mail 35 years ago, you had to be ex-services , police or be vouched for by a relative who was already employed. The change came when a service became a buisness. i know many first rate postmen [and women] ,and one or two I'm glad don't deliver to my house.Really looking forward to retirement.......

Yep.

My late grandfather was a postie.  My father still is, and should have retired a couple of years ago.
I've seen it degrade over my lifetime.   

I get really angry nowadays when i get a package from some other company.  Even now I won't order from companies that declare they use something other than the Royal Mail.

[sunjester]

I get really angry nowadays when i get a package from some other company.  Even now I won't order from companies that declare they use something other than the Royal Mail.

That's fine if you are prepared to pick up the tab. Trying to send anything over 2 kilos via RM now is outrageous, any business charging a flat rate for shipping is screwed unless they look at more cost effective options.

[Luddite]

That's fine if you are prepared to pick up the tab. Trying to send anything over 2 kilos via RM now is outrageous, any business charging a flat rate for shipping is screwed unless they look at more cost effective options.

Except, it can be dreadful for the customer.

I've lost count of the packages that haven't been delivered, but a card left with a phone number which i'm then told i have to go to X location (20 miles away) to pick it up.

And also, many package companies simply pass it over to the Royal Mail for that last 'unprofitable' stage of the journey.

So yeah, i'm willing to pay a little extra for a proper delivery or the convenience of a 100 yard walk with my red card to pick it up from the local PO.

On a broader point of course, if there hadn't been the deliberate government policy of breaking up the PO, separating the profit-making parcel business from the loss-making letter deliveries, and if then the privatisation of the remaining public communications assets (build up over 400 years by taxpayer money) we wouldn't be seeing massive price hikes to maximise shareholder profit.

[Heedless Horseman]

Hear, Hear, Luddite. And, for the last decade, Government forced the Royal Mail to assist in the setting up of competitors operations by the 'watchdog' allowing them to use the P.O on the cheap, (Sheer lunacy!), while only allowing the cash strapped P.O tiny price rises for it's services. Then, as soon as privatisation was deemed 'necessary', off came the brakes and prices could be whopped up! It stinks.