- Joined
- Mar 5, 2002
- Messages
- 20,281
- Reaction score
- 1,794
A letter I'm about to send:
Dear Sir/Madam
On Saturday 4th August I was expecting to receive a parcel being delivered by Royal Mail so stayed at home to take delivery. Here’s the sequence of events that led to me actually receiving my parcel some five days later:
Saturday 4th August: Expecting delivery. Check mailbox 14:00 collect card from Royal Mail delivery person advising me I wasn’t at home and to collect my parcel from the main local sorting office at Charlton after at least 48 hours. Supposed delivery attempt, according to card, was 11:20. I was at home from waking at 07:30 to 14:00 hours.
Monday 6th August: Visit Charlton sorting office at 12:30, some 49+ hours after alleged attempted delivery. Was informed ‘It’s not back yet mate, try tomorrow’. Ok.
Tuesday 7th August: Visit Charlton sorting office at 11:30, parcel can still not be found. Royal Mail counter person asks for my phone number so he can advise me when to collect parcel. I give him business card with my mobile and home telephone numbers plus fax and e-mail details.
Wednesday 8th August: having heard nothing from the Charlton sorting office I visit the sorting office at 19:30 hours. Parcel still cannot be found, counter person asks for my phone number. I explain I’ve already given it but he takes my mobile number anyway.
Thursday 9th August: Visit Charlton sorting office at 11:30 and parcel still not there. Counter person seems concerned and goes in search of manager. Manager checks some kind of delivery records they keep and thinks the parcel may have been left at local Post Office. Asks me if I was advised to go to local post office and I show her the card that post person left me, which only advises me to visit Charlton sorting office, nothing about parcel being left at local post office.
I wonder why these records were not checked on my second or third visit.
Any parcels left at post office if I’m not at home to accept them are usually left at the Trafalgar Road Post office which is odd as that Post Office branch is a good 30 minutes walk for me whereas my local Greenwich Post Office is 5 to 10 minutes walk from me, but I digress.
I walk about three quarters of a mile to Trafalgar Road Post Office and my parcel is not there. I walk about another three quarters of a miles to my local Greenwich Post Office and there is my parcel. I am pleased and relieved but wait – they charge me £1.50 for the privilege of collecting a parcel that should have been delivered to me five days ago when I was at home to receive it.
I pay my £1.50 (copy of receipt enclosed) and undertake to write this letter.
Seems to me I’ve had to wait five days extra for a parcel delivery; I have wasted several hours in pursuit of that parcel; I have had to to walk fairly long distances for a person my age and am £1.50 poorer owing to another person’s incompetence or laziness.
This really is an unacceptable state of affairs and I hope you - Royal Mail – address the problem internally. I would also request you refund me the £1.50 it cost me to collect my parcel, postage stamps are acceptable to me for payment.
I would like to point out that I take delivery of a fair number of parcels to this, my home address, and the greater majority of post people are friendly folk who have had no problems delivering parcels to me. In fact some do go out of their way to make sure I receive my parcels. Generally speaking Royal Mail provide a good service in my opinion but in the instance I’ve described here something went very wrong, probably the post person who attempted delivery of my parcel giving the wrong advice on the calling card.
Yours faithfully
Dear Sir/Madam
On Saturday 4th August I was expecting to receive a parcel being delivered by Royal Mail so stayed at home to take delivery. Here’s the sequence of events that led to me actually receiving my parcel some five days later:
Saturday 4th August: Expecting delivery. Check mailbox 14:00 collect card from Royal Mail delivery person advising me I wasn’t at home and to collect my parcel from the main local sorting office at Charlton after at least 48 hours. Supposed delivery attempt, according to card, was 11:20. I was at home from waking at 07:30 to 14:00 hours.
Monday 6th August: Visit Charlton sorting office at 12:30, some 49+ hours after alleged attempted delivery. Was informed ‘It’s not back yet mate, try tomorrow’. Ok.
Tuesday 7th August: Visit Charlton sorting office at 11:30, parcel can still not be found. Royal Mail counter person asks for my phone number so he can advise me when to collect parcel. I give him business card with my mobile and home telephone numbers plus fax and e-mail details.
Wednesday 8th August: having heard nothing from the Charlton sorting office I visit the sorting office at 19:30 hours. Parcel still cannot be found, counter person asks for my phone number. I explain I’ve already given it but he takes my mobile number anyway.
Thursday 9th August: Visit Charlton sorting office at 11:30 and parcel still not there. Counter person seems concerned and goes in search of manager. Manager checks some kind of delivery records they keep and thinks the parcel may have been left at local Post Office. Asks me if I was advised to go to local post office and I show her the card that post person left me, which only advises me to visit Charlton sorting office, nothing about parcel being left at local post office.
I wonder why these records were not checked on my second or third visit.
Any parcels left at post office if I’m not at home to accept them are usually left at the Trafalgar Road Post office which is odd as that Post Office branch is a good 30 minutes walk for me whereas my local Greenwich Post Office is 5 to 10 minutes walk from me, but I digress.
I walk about three quarters of a mile to Trafalgar Road Post Office and my parcel is not there. I walk about another three quarters of a miles to my local Greenwich Post Office and there is my parcel. I am pleased and relieved but wait – they charge me £1.50 for the privilege of collecting a parcel that should have been delivered to me five days ago when I was at home to receive it.
I pay my £1.50 (copy of receipt enclosed) and undertake to write this letter.
Seems to me I’ve had to wait five days extra for a parcel delivery; I have wasted several hours in pursuit of that parcel; I have had to to walk fairly long distances for a person my age and am £1.50 poorer owing to another person’s incompetence or laziness.
This really is an unacceptable state of affairs and I hope you - Royal Mail – address the problem internally. I would also request you refund me the £1.50 it cost me to collect my parcel, postage stamps are acceptable to me for payment.
I would like to point out that I take delivery of a fair number of parcels to this, my home address, and the greater majority of post people are friendly folk who have had no problems delivering parcels to me. In fact some do go out of their way to make sure I receive my parcels. Generally speaking Royal Mail provide a good service in my opinion but in the instance I’ve described here something went very wrong, probably the post person who attempted delivery of my parcel giving the wrong advice on the calling card.
Yours faithfully
