Royal Mail Special Delivery

[AndrewSL76]

Hello,

I just wanted to ask if others were experiencing issues with the Royal Mail and their special delivery next day guaranteed service? I have recently bought a number of items from two different people who live in different parts of the country. Both packages have not arrived by 1pm the next working day. One took two days and the other took three days. I feel like a right moany old git asking the seller to put in a claim (I am sure they have better things to be doing!), but the Royal Mail do not allow the receiver to do this and I am quite frankly annoyed that they are not delivering on their service standards.

I appreciate that part of the reason for the special delivery is the enhanced insurance, but the main point for me for paying the extra is the 'guaranteed' speed of delivery.

Anyone else noticing problems with the service?

Andrew.

[BackyardBullion]

Did they arrive with orange labels on saying "do not fly" or "not fit for airmail"? 

Fairly common occurrence for me and I always put in a claim even if it is a day late. 

[Mariner1961]

Tbh I think Royal Mail are getting worse.

It wasn't PM's but over Christmas I had 3 complaints running with them at the same time over delayed or lost items. The one item I posted next day by 1pm took two days in mid December and they made a full refund when I applied.

[AndrewSL76]

1 minute ago, BackyardBullion said:

Did they arrive with orange labels on saying "do not fly" or "not fit for airmail"? 

Fairly common occurrence for me and I always put in a claim even if it is a day late. 

Morning, BYB,

Only one has arrived, the other is still en route as we speak (somewhere!) No orange label on the one that arrived, no apologies, just late delivery. Frustrating.

Andrew.

[wolfiemac]

I don't like anything coming via royal mail, two recent deliveries via special delivery by 1pm were both open, one resealed in a clear bag and one with a sticker over the hole, thankfully the contents were intact but my heart was in my mouth, both packages were from dealers and worth a few quid.

The one in the bag looked suspiciously that it had been tampered with, but the dealer had made a great job of double wrapping the silver.  

Marc   

[Groundup]

I get the same royal mail delivery person @ the same-ish time every day 1130-1230...have done for years. They tend to bring the next day before 1pm packages. No complaints on my side.

Our service guarantee is to attempt delivery by 1.00pm the next working day - exceptions apply to some addresses.

👆 The use of  " attempt ' to me is maybe a get out clause.

[AndrewSL76]

41 minutes ago, Groundup said:

I get the same royal mail delivery person @ the same-ish time every day 1130-1230...have done for years. They tend to bring the next day before 1pm packages. No complaints on my side.

Our service guarantee is to attempt delivery by 1.00pm the next working day - exceptions apply to some addresses.

👆 The use of  " attempt ' to me is maybe a get out clause.

I normally have a good service too. I get most of my post delivered to my business address and we have a reception that are excellent. It's just been that last few weeks that the RM appear to have stopped caring!!

I think the 'attempt' refers to the fact that they cannot guarantee that someone will answer the door - and that 'attempt' indicates they will either hand over the parcel or leave a 'while you were out card'. That is my reading of this. 

[Groundup]

I think the 'attempt' refers to the fact that they cannot guarantee that someone will answer the door - and that 'attempt' indicates they will either hand over the parcel or leave a 'while you were out card'. That is my reading of this.

AHH.. yes that does make sense.

[goldking]

6 hours ago, AndrewSL76 said:

Hello,

I just wanted to ask if others were experiencing issues with the Royal Mail and their special delivery next day guaranteed service? I have recently bought a number of items from two different people who live in different parts of the country. Both packages have not arrived by 1pm the next working day. One took two days and the other took three days. I feel like a right moany old git asking the seller to put in a claim (I am sure they have better things to be doing!), but the Royal Mail do not allow the receiver to do this and I am quite frankly annoyed that they are not delivering on their service standards.

I appreciate that part of the reason for the special delivery is the enhanced insurance, but the main point for me for paying the extra is the 'guaranteed' speed of delivery.

Anyone else noticing problems with the service?

Andrew.

Am I the only one here thinking that the sellers are claiming the late delivery compensation and pocketing it themselves? 

[Seasider]

Doesn't SD come with some sort of track and trace service which may help you see where the delay is?

[AndrewSL76]

56 minutes ago, Seasider said:

Doesn't SD come with some sort of track and trace service which may help you see where the delay is?

No. Whilst you can track and trace, it does not explain why there is a delay on a parcel expected by 1pm the next day. What would they write? 

"Sorry, the Postman has a hangover"

"Your dog barks when we come to the door and so we have to give the parcel to the postman who does not mind dogs. He is off work sick after being bitten by a dog last week"

[AndrewSL76]

10 minutes ago, zhoutonged said:

Thats a bit of a tricky one, if the average wage is £20-£30 an hour and you ask the seller to spend 30min to make a claim on your behalf is it really fair on the seller?

The claim takes less than five minutes to fill in online. Only the sender can process the request. 

[goldking]

7 minutes ago, zhoutonged said:

Thats a bit of a tricky one, if the average wage is £20-£30 an hour and you ask the seller to spend 30min to make a claim on your behalf is it really fair on the seller?

If I was the seller and the buyer had paid for RMSD and the item didn't arrive by the stated time, I would see it as my duty to lodge a claim and compensate the buyer.  Timescales and UK average hourly pay would not come into it.

[AndrewSL76]

IMHO:

The issue here is about integrity and good business. If a business offers a service and then fails they should be held to account.

This is my view about the Royal Mail and their ‘Guarantee’ service.

I appreciate that sometimes it may not be proportionate to make a claim and it could arguably be unfair to expect someone to do something that ultimately costs them money, but this is also subjective and something that is realistically to be decided on a case by case basis between the seller and the buyer.

I should add that In most instances I think there is no excuse to not recover the delivery fee for a failed service.

A.

[goldking]

4 minutes ago, zhoutonged said:

Personally if I had a tracking number and the item was a day or two late Id be happy to suck it up. Just me.

Yes, as the buyer, I'd probably do the same after some grumbling.  But being apathetic over it gives RM the green light that it's okay for them to deliver items whenever they feel like it  without any consequence, hence why I believe it's important to take the time required to lodge a claim to show them that it's unacceptable and hold them to account.  The only way to make these organisations take notice is to hit them in the pocket.

[Martlet]

You should definitely complain and get the sender to do so, otherwise the incidence of failed delivery goes under-reported and things wont get fixed. You buy a service, pay for it, expect it to be fulfilled even if it doesnt matter much to you. 

Funny thing is I got a 2nd class signed for today that only went out yesterday. 

[dicker]

My experience from receiving a lot of SD parcels is excellent.  
 

Not had a late one *ever* but I do have a fantastic postman who goes the extra mile.

I did have an odd occurrence last year when I SD’d a parcel to a fellow forum member and it was delivered to another address! Luckily I had labelled it as wedding photos and the recipient took it to the forum member.

Other delivery services have almost always been deficient in some way.

Best

Dicker

[sovereignsteve]

The RM SD service is mainly about the insurance as far as I am concerned. The next day delivery is rarely an issue.

I just think that as the RM can sometimes have problems delivering on time, they must have issues in certain areas, whether process, logistics or simply poor quality sorting offices. These issues will probably cost them money to resolve.

If senders start claiming compo for every late delivery, the Mail will cease to make any profit out of the service. Their likely response will be to ramp up prices or cease to offer the service completely. The former would be a pain, the latter a disaster. There isn't a viable, cost effective alternative as far as I'm aware.

I would urge people to think before they claim compo and not to do so unless the time factor really was an issue.

[Kookaburracollector]

Just curious here...I receive fantastic service from Royal Mail, but then again, I did tip my postman £10 at Christmas!

Did the people that get ‘crappy service’ also give the Postie a tip at Christmas...there may be a correlation😂🤔

[AndrewSL76]

26 minutes ago, Kookaburracollector said:

Just curious here...I receive fantastic service from Royal Mail, but then again, I did tip my postman £10 at Christmas!

Did the people that get ‘crappy service’ also give the Postie a tip at Christmas...there may be a correlation😂🤔

I am never at home when the post is delivered and so never see the postie. I tend to get things bought on here delivered to work and eBay goes to either work or Argos. I reckon when I’m retired I’ll probably be more sociable with the postie. Heck, I may even have a sociable dog that doesn’t go mental if someone even coughs outside...

[Kookaburracollector]

1 hour ago, AndrewSL76 said:

I am never at home when the post is delivered and so never see the postie. I tend to get things bought on here delivered to work and eBay goes to either work or Argos. I reckon when I’m retired I’ll probably be more sociable with the postie. Heck, I may even have a sociable dog that doesn’t go mental if someone even coughs outside...

You don’t need a doorbell when you have a dog ..that’s for sure! The Postman is public enemy no one when my dog sees him!

[TonyS]

At the moment I can’t track a RM package from Bairds. I know it’s been dispatched, the delivery information is correct so where is it?

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[Empire]

Never had any problems with my post where I am now. The postie is quite friendly.

[Serendipity]

On 28/01/2020 at 19:25, dicker said:

My experience from receiving a lot of SD parcels is excellent.  
 

Not had a late one *ever* but I do have a fantastic postman who goes the extra mile.

I did have an odd occurrence last year when I SD’d a parcel to a fellow forum member and it was delivered to another address! Luckily I had labelled it as wedding photos and the recipient took it to the forum member.

Other delivery services have almost always been deficient in some way.

Best

Dicker

I’ve also had no problems with receiving SD parcels compared to other delivery services. For some strange reason The Royal Mint delivers orders over £250 by DHL Express. I’ve experienced countless problems with DHL from parcels being signed by the deliverer rather than the recipient. I’ve had parcels signed by the deliverer clumsily posted through my letterbox when nobody was at home.  You can imagine the problems that would cause if it was a shared accommodation. Another enduring mystery about DHL which I’ve never fully cleared up is that they disallow numismatic and bullion items being sent by post despite the fact that some of the parcels they send me are marked as numismatic items. Perhaps The Royal Mint has more clout sending numismatic items compared to private individuals.

[TonyS]

My postie signs for me and puts the package through the letterbox. I’ve had no reason to complain.