Royal Mail delivery

[Lynne]

No post here.

[Sue]

I got three items today. But still not the one I'm waiting for.

[craigyboy71]

No post for me. I am still waiting for a small parcel posted to me first class 3 weeks ago (as well as lots of Xmas cards)! Off I trot to the Highshore Rd delivery office once more... at least it's my daily exercise :)

[JohnL]

LOL it's easier to send a small amazon gift card than a christmas card.

[haslev]

I'm in exactly the same situation as all of you who have not received post over the past 3-4 weeks. I have received two Christmas cards by post and I know of many friends and family who have sent cards. I'm in my 70s and it means a lot to me to be able to keep in touch - especially at this time of year. It seems impossible to send a text or an email to Peckham sorting office. Thought I found a number to which I could a text but it didn't work. I live in SE22 and baulk at the thought of walking to Peckham a mile away to try to retrieve my post.

[haslev]

Same here

[craigyboy71]

Ok, I just went to the Peckham delivery office. Apparently they haven't made any real headway and there is a HUGE backlog. The focus is on parcels and special delivery apparently with letters a low priority - I was told I'd probably be receiving Xmas cards in February!

[staplemeg]

Flurry of Christmas cards this morning, franked 18th December.

[Lynne]

Might as well save the cards for next year.

I wonder if it would wake anyone up if everyone who'd wasted money on stamps and cards asked for compensation?

[singalto]

I have received the first delivery in three weeks: a bank statement, nothing else! Apparently, a lot of mail is still sitting in boxes unsorted. And the price of stamps is shooting up!

[garages2018]

Hi Is this a record _________

Received letter today , post mark 17th December 2020.

This letter has taken 13 days to be delivered from Oglander Road, se22 to

Heber Road se22, not even one mile.

COME ON IS THIS A JOKE

[Sue]

garages2018 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi Is this a record _________

> Received letter today , post mark 17th December

> 2020.

> This letter has taken 13 days to be delivered from

> Oglander Road, se22 to

> Heber Road se22, not even one mile.

> COME ON IS THIS A JOKE

But the trouble is, they don't deliver straight from house to house!

The letter is collected from the postbox (I presume it wasn't collected from the house), then goes to a mechanised sorting office (not in East Dulwich) where it is sorted to the delivery area, which could be anywhere, then from there to the delivery office (in this case in Peckham), then from there to - eventually - delivery to your house.

It is the final stage which is presently causing the delays. As for the rest of it, if you have a more efficient method of getting everyody's post to them I'm sure Royal Mail would be very happy to hear it :))

I deliver all my local Christmas cards personally, at least then I am sure they reach their destination safely and on time!

[kford]

Really urgent legal docs finally arrived, postmarked Dec 10th, plus a replacement credit card ordered Dec 3rd. Shocking.

[tomskip]

Post received today - small parcel from Chichester dated 21/12, small parcel from Burnley tracked as despatched on 18/12, another small parcel from Newport ordered well before Christmas.

This is our first delivery since 24th December, our second since 16th December, I'm pretty sure we only had one or two more in the whole of December.

[Lynne]

Royal Mail Customer Service

Freepost

20 Turner rd

St Rollox retail park

Glasgow

G21 1AA

If you have any faith in any of the complaints procedures. I can't see that any of my complaining has done any good, still not getting any post. Still, if we don't complain, they'll feign ignorance

[Sue]

Don't know if Amazon parcels are delivered by Royal Mail but I just got one I only ordered yesterday (and I only ever get the free delivery - not Prime).

So that's pretty good service!

[Lynne]

Post!!!! Card!! A bit late, I could grumble.

[garages2018]

Hi Sue

As to your message. First you write a card out, put a stamp on it (first class)

walk to the post box, collected by the postman, goes to the sorting office sorted

and then posted by the postman. There was nothing said about door to door.

ITS CALLED A SERVICE. 13 DAYS TO ARRIVE (disgusting) CAN YOU SEE HOW IT WORKS

[Trousaprezz]

Going to sound a little like the devil?s advocate here but...a friend of mine works for Royal Mail, not at Highshore Road but in south London and she had given me some insight.

Apparently the entire year (since mid-Feb) has been like one long Christmas period, with mail traffic ? particularly parcels ? being well in excess of normal levels. The ?real? Christmas pressure period started much earlier than usual when the network was already struggling to cope with the demands put on it. The country is in the midst of a worsening pandemic and staffing remains an issue ? people have had to self isolate when a family member has tested positive, etc and posties have also gone sick because hey have contracted Covid. My friend knows of two colleagues who have died from Covid. She says that social distancing in her office is impossible ? the amount of work coming in on a daily basis means that fire regulations are probably not even being met, so it?s not a question of employing more people because there is simply no space to put them. From what I gather, certain types of delivery are considered priority and have to be cleared on a daily basis so a backlog of less urgent deliveries inevitably builds up as every day brings another avalanche of fresh priority work. My friend says that whilst her and her colleagues worked long hours each day it was simply impossible to keep on top of everything and what did go out on delivery (and therefore what stayed inside) was down to the manager?s discretion. She and her colleagues ended up tired and stressed and her own Christmas was non-existent (familiar tales of not getting to the supermarket until the shelves were near empty); she was so knackered and fed up that she felt she was letting her own family down at what is, after all, a family-orientated time of year. She also pointed out that, like the rest of us, she has a home address and her mail has also been delayed and sporadic ? there?s not some secret postie-only route that remains open for employee?s mail!

It sounds to me like Royal Mail?s network and working methods has been severely challenged by all that?s occurred this year and it?s been unable to keep pace with the way things have panned out. It?s a big organisation, so the time it would take to implement structural changes might well coincide with the ending of the pandemic and a return to some kind of normality ? or is this the new normal? Like so much of 2020, the present and future is riddled with uncertainty.

I doubt many of you would blame overloaded hospitals on the doctors and nurses working there; Royal Mail is obviously not an emergency service but I know how hard the organisation has worked this year in the most trying of circumstances and I am prepared to cut it some slack.

[Sue]

garages2018 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hi Sue

> As to your message. First you write a card out,

> put a stamp on it (first class)

> walk to the post box, collected by the postman,

> goes to the sorting office sorted

> and then posted by the postman. There was nothing

> said about door to door.

>

> ITS CALLED A SERVICE. 13 DAYS TO ARRIVE

> (disgusting) CAN YOU SEE HOW IT WORKS

I think you should read my post again.

It is you who has misunderstood the process.

There is more than one sorting office involved.

And no need to use caps ..

[Sue]

Trouzapress, what your friend says is undoubtedly true.

However the problems in East Dulwich are compounded by having moved the delivery office to Peckham, and had started before the pandemic kicked in.

[garages2018]

trousaprezz

As my message on 22rd December. we have 4 small streets beside each other Heber,Rodwell,Pellatt,Wheatley (ex Dulwich post sorting office)The postman parked his van and took post out to do two of these roads and when i ask if he was doing my road he put his bag in the back and drove off. post wasn't delivered for a few days later.

Nothing in post offices to say there will be big delays in delivery of post, and still sold 1st class stamps to deliver 10 days later.

It seems East Dulwich has been hit the worst because sorting office was closed down, but that was 2 years ago

As my mum would say, a card means more then any present you get because the words inside BUT NO POSTTO READ THEM

[garages2018]

As my message on 22rd December. we have 4 small streets beside each other Heber,Rodwell,Pellatt,Wheatley (ex Dulwich post sorting office)The postman parked his van and took post out to do two of these roads and when i ask if he was doing my road he put his bag in the back and drove off. post wasn't delivered for a few days later.

Nothing in post offices to say there will be big delays in delivery of post, and still sold 1st class stamps to deliver 10 days later.

It seems East Dulwich has been hit the worst because sorting office was closed down, but that was 2 years ago

As my mum would say, a card means more then any present you get because the words inside BUT NO POSTTO READ THEM

[garages2018]

Sue.

Where did house to house come into your message, when it was posted

And again 1st class should not take 13 days in any postage service.

You misunderstood the postage how the customer see it and what they pay for

No caps in this one..

[Lynne]

Yes, I'm sure life has been hard in the sorting offices. But the management has had most of the year to sort things out. Why didn't they take on more staff if there's more work?

I suspect the answer is simple, it would have cost them more and they prefer profits to giving a service.