Forum Topic

Poor service from Royal Mail Sorting office on London Road

Having just been inconvenienced by poor service at this Sorting Office it occurred to me that there might be others who have had similar experiences.  I would be grateful if people would post their unstaisfactory experiences here so that I might take them to the manager of the facility who has promised to investigate mine.  Who knows, we might be able to get a better level of service if the manager is aware that his customers are dis-satisfied.I am particularly interested in people who have been at home AND YET had a card pushed through their door stating that Royal Mail has not been able to deliver because no-one was at home.And has anyone else trekked down to the Sorting Office only to discover that their parcel is not there either having been sent back OR disappeared altogether?Thanks.

Jon Hardy ● 6344d18 Comments

There is 'polar positioning' regarding Post office service and if you chat to the established 'post people' you will probably get to some answers very quickly.Our Postie is great and often links post to people when it would have been placed in the wrong house - goes the extra mile, so to speak.  We used to say that we knew when our Postie was on leave, but recently the stand ins seem to be better at what they are doing.A few years ago we used to get the post for our house number, but for many streets around us, and we ended up sending each other Christmas cards.  One lady came round to thank me because the ordinary envelope which I had pencilled a greeting on before popping it through her letter box, had a £50 premium bond cheque inside!The only complaint I have is that I repeatedly ask the Postman to keep the bills ...

Sarah Felstead ● 6344d

We had the same postie for years, who knew everyone and their numbers. Nowadays it's like Heinz 57, you never see the same person twice, and the service is not as good. I put this down to crap management of the Royal Mail, it was the best postal service in the world, left to the new breed of 'manager' and the fact they have not been able to compete on a level playing field, leaving them at a disadvantage. Makes you wonder if this is a deliberate ploy to push privatisation, sack Crozier and save his ludicrous salary and bonus and get someone in who knows what they are doing.

Vanessa Smith ● 6344d

I am told by the manager at the Brentford office that the service they provide is not as 'poor' as I believe it to be: apparently they are the second best parcel office in the country; I would question what benchmark they are working to.Leaving aside the posties - and I do miss Steve who was our postie for years - this strand is about residents being in and yet having a card through their letterbox saying that the parcel could not be delivered because no-one was home.anyone else had this experience?

Jon Hardy ● 6344d

We get several items of spam mail a week - frequently the same one. The gate is always left open and red elastic bands are strewn on the path and pavement outside.I had a collection card once for an unstamped letter which turned out to be spam. The London Road office wanted me to pay the postage on it  and I told them where to stuff it.JL

Jim Linwood ● 6344d

Jon - But it is the postie who leaves the card saying you weren't in - either your postie or the van taking the larger parcels around.Son, in another Town, heard the post being delivered and went to pick it up.  In amongst the mail was one of these cards and he heard the postman outside talking to neighbour downstairs, so he called out the window to be told that the Postie actually didn't have the parcel with him!

Sarah Felstead ● 6344d

As a postman it doesnt really make sense putting a card through your door and not bothering knocking.Because it would be in the interests of the postman and the customer to get deliver the item.If the customer requests a redelivery the postman has to take it out again so there doesnt seem any point in just leaving a card.Which of course bring me on to requests for redeliveries which currently are free to the customer.Do you really think if The Royal Mail is sold off a private company would redeliver an item for free...I THINK NOT !!!

Mark Welland ● 6343d

My item was re-delivered today - strange that I did not have any trouble hearing the postal-worker who delivered it this time!  Perhaps because I complained there were special instructions....As regards it not making any sense for postal-workers not to deliver it first time around; I want you to imagine the following scenario: postal-workers are demoralised by the latest negotiations on pay and conditions; a postal-worker has a plethora of parcels to deliver and is falling behind schedule - no overtime if he is late back to the depot - so which would be quicker - delivering each of the remaining parcels i.e. ringing the door bell, waiting for the resident to come to the door, get them to sign for it etc OR pop a card through and say that no-one was home?I'm not saying that this happens but such a scenario would explain why I have to visit the parcel office so often when I HAVE been home when the postal-worker called and left a card.And NO, I don't want Royal Mail privatised - I just want a good service - a poor service makes it all the more likely that it will be privatised.

Jon Hardy ● 6343d

I have no problem with the service and the postie/s in our area are always cheerful and helpful. Just a small irritation though is that they throw their red rubber bands on our path all the time. I don't know why they don't keep them and re-use them. They must go through a helluva lot of rubber bands!

Steve Taylor ● 6342d

The purpose of making the rubber bands red was so that postmen would be able to see them and bend odwn and pick them up.  Another good idea gone south.No I agree Steve, postmen are invariably cheerful despite being messed around by their employers.This strand is not about THAT - it is specifically about poor service over the delivery of parcels/recorded delivery

Jon Hardy ● 6342d

Jon - have a chat with a long term postie and ask how the service is going - you will find out quite a lot in a short conversation.

Sarah Felstead ● 6342d

Hi Sarah - I'm ahead of you - until he was replaced I had regular chats with my old postie so have a fairly good idea about the current situation.That is why this prolonged winge is NOT about posties - I have a lot of time for them - but the system.

Jon Hardy ● 6342d

I have a Postman that if the Back Door to Our Block is Locked he Refuses to Deliver our Mail.The Entrance to Our BLOCKS up here is Via the Front Black Door which has a Intercom System and a Button 4 the Postman to push to Gain Access but he refuses to do that.There are days we Don't Get our mail, we cant keep the Door at Back Unlocked Over Night as of Youths coming in Doing Drugs, Graffiti, Drink not to Mention the Attempted Break in Last week at a Flat in 1 of the Blocks up here.

Simon Anderson ● 6342d

Jon, the system can be teased apart by a Postie with a good background in their job.  You will hear all about the casuals and how they are recruited from an agency with links to the wife of one of the Post Office top bods (doesn't she own the agency they recruit from or run it or something?).I know somebody who did a short stint with the Christmas post and came back with amazing stories.If the management of the Royal Mail is any good they would want to set up a system to hear what is going on, so they can bear this in mind when managing the Post - unless they do want to run it into the ground of course.Simon, isn't there somebody at the delivery centre you can talk to about this?

Sarah Felstead ● 6342d

Hi SarahI am going to Get in Contact with them on Monday.Hope u r having a Nice Weekend

Simon Anderson ● 6342d

"This strand is not about THAT - it is specifically about poor service over the delivery of parcels/recorded delivery"Thanks Jon - I take your point. Yes I have had experiences in the past, usually on a Saturday morning, when a card has been pushed through the door to say I was wasn't in for a recorded delivery or small parcel (when I was in)  and I have jumped in my car and gone to the sorting office and and indeed the parcel was there so there is little doubt that the Postie had it with him in the first place!!!  In fairness though, that last happened in November. I remember it well because it was my daughter's birthday parcels

Steve Taylor ● 6341d

Steve, if you got to the sorting office whilst the Postie was on his rounds, he would still have the parcel with him and you would not be able to collect it from the sorting office until later that morning.  Sounds like it wasn't taken out on the round.  Ask a Postie if this is a mistake or a ruse.  :-)

Sarah Felstead ● 6341d

Hi SarahYes - that was the point I was trying to make. It seems they go armed with the cards advising they 'tried to deliver the parcel' when in fact they don't have the parcel with them in the first place.

Steve Taylor ● 6341d

Oops... sorry Steve.

Sarah Felstead ● 6341d