are you waiting for a royal mail parcel?

[dulwichquine]

My friend is a correspondent for BBC News and he is trying to find out what's happened to the many parcels that have failed to turn up thanks to the Royal Mail strikes. I've told him about the terrible problems in East Dulwich. He's keen to hear from anyone who's still experiencing a long wait for delivery. His name is John Moylan and his email is [email protected]

[nancysmum]

i ordered something off ebay at the beginning of sept, still not received, as well as something from an online shop a couple of weeks ago...where are my parcels!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ladymuck]

I ordered some Nematodes (live creatures for use as a biological control in organic gardening)...they are sent out by 1st class post and once received HAVE to be kept in the fridge until use. I ordered the first batch in the beginning of September...they never arrived...the company sent me another batch in the middle of September...they haven't arrived...worse, I actually feel guilty about ringing up the company again...even if they do arrive now they will be of no use as they will be dead. The sorting office are unhelpful - blaming "temporary staff"...and as for Head Office...Well...I feel utterly powerless...it isn't as though we can vote with our feet and go elsewhere. If your friend can help - then good on you...if you would like further details from me please let me know.

SO frustrating.

[Jeremy]

Don't order things which will be posted via Royal Mail. If they don't offer the option to "upgrade" the postage, go somewhere else. Forget about Royal Mail, surely it's only a matter of time before they disappear.

[jaybee82]

I'm still waiting on a package I ordered at the end of last month with supposed First Class delivery...

[fractionater]

I'm waiting on a new SIM card that orange sent out last Tues!

[melbourne groover]

I have actually recieved a couple of parcels now so am (mildly) hopeful that the final two will arrive.... Most recent one received was sent 19th Sept.

[AcedOut]

Still waiting for ?230+ worth of orthotics stuck in the sorting office somewhere. They were sent off recorded delivery on 23rd Sept.

[shimbo]

Ordered stuff off Amazon (within UK) 3 weeks ago and it still hasn't come! grrr

[Asset]

We are still waiting for several things from beginning to mid-September

[fractionater]

still no Sim - which means no phone!

[TJ]

always use the royal mail guaranteed next day service if you need something to arrive reliably. It is still cheaper than couriers and seems to be running ok.

I have been using if for important docs and parcels for the last month as a result of too many 1st class delays and it seems to be delivering as promised to-date.

[goblinqueen]

Got a parcel today, that was posted on the 8th September!

[Ladymuck]

An update on my nematodes. 3 parcels arrived today...1 which was sent beg. Sept...the other 2 which were replacements sent mid. Sept...still one missing...opened one up...WHAT A PONG...the nematodes are dead and the product completely useless...now have to ring the company up for a refund...though I do not believe that it is they that should have to foot the bill.

[sallyann1234]

My daughter received a card last week saying the Post Office had something for her which was too big for the letterbox. When she went to pick it up from the office in Highshore Road, there were FIVE parcels for us. We hadn't received any notiifications and they'd attempted delivery on 28th August for one of the items. It might be worth checking the big delivery offices around you.

[Steady Eddy]

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[KidKruger]

These Royal Mail guys seem to be striking of terms/conditions that are not guaranteed to most people, they want to be insulated from reality it seems, in their quest to achieve this I think they may be causing so much loss in confidence in Royal Mail that suppliers and individuals will look elsewhere (ie. for a service that can deliver what it says on the tin) to an extent not previously experienced.

I am cancelling some magazine subscriptions on account of unreliable delivery and getting 3x weeks issues all on one day retrospectively etc etc, surely I won't be the only one and the magazines will take their trade elsewhere if they want to hang on to their customers..

[Jeremy]

Agree with the last two posts. I don't think Royal Mail has a future - both because of the changing nature of communications, and because they have proved time and time again that you can't rely on them.

[goblinqueen]

Well they've now lost part of their contract with Amazon http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/07/royal-mail-amazon-postal-strikes

[Ladymuck]

goblinqueen Wrote:

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> Well they've now lost part of their contract with

> Amazon

> http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/07/royal-mai

> l-amazon-postal-strikes

Thanks for that goblinqueen...doesn't bring my nematodes back to life, but it makes me feel just a teeny weeny little less frustrated with RM.

[Penguin68]

Steady Eddy wrote:- It is now about to become a national strike.

In fact the ballot, which had a high turn-out and which had a significant majority, authorises the union to call a legal national strike, but does not require it to - and in fact the union have not (yet) declared any intention of actually calling a strike - at this stage it is a weapon which they can hold to the heads of the company negotiators.

Having said that, I suspect it is a weapon that the union will use as I cannot see the company being prepared to offer what is being asked for - which are essentially levels of guarantee which no company can offer.

However the union is correct in stating that the pension deficit is, at least in part, a function of the way that the pension was initially funded when the Post Office moved from being a department of state to being a nationalised industry - in effect the pension fund was 'funded' by 2.5% Consuls at nominal (face) value - they were then trading at about 30p in the pound. At the time this didn't seem to be a problem - most pension funds were taking holidays from making contributions, but it did store up a mess of future problems - the BT penison fund (BT was initially a department of the nationalised Post Office) - is in much the same fix, which is why there was a strange 'guarantee of last resort' from the Government placed on its pension fund when it was privatised.

I cannot see any swift or pain free resolution of the problem now, and I suspect that many of us will be looking for alternatives to Post Office carriage for the forseeable future - e-Christmas cards - which I am not normally a fan of, will I suspect be suddenly much more common.

At the moment if you pay for next day delivery you still get it - but if a national strike emerges this too will disappear. It will be interesting whether they choose to strike continuously, or maintain disruptive days of action - or more accurately, of cousre, inaction.

[Steady Eddy]

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[SeanMacGabhann]

Not everyone can afford to do that tho can they?

[H]

I have put my love film account on holiday after getting only 2 discs in September. I told the lady at love film it wasn't because I was unhappy with them but because of the strikes and she said that loads of people are ringing up and doing the same. This must be really hurting a lot of businesses who cannot afford it right now what with the recession.

[Jeremy]

SeanMacGabhann Wrote:

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> Not everyone can afford to do that tho can they?

Better spending an extra couple of quid than not getting anything at all.