Royal Mail delivery

[Scottfield]

With regards your 2nd point, I had a parcel sent to me all the way from Kent in September. It arrived 1 month later to the day in October at the sender's house with a sticker saying unable to deliver. As with your experience, our house was occupied the whole time (both of us working from home, neighbours also always in plus the parcel would actually fit through the letterbox). I hve written to Helen Hayes and the Royal Mail. I may also write to Echo and the Bunneymen.

Sad times.

[Lynne]

I know of one parcel sent to Germany which has been returned to the sender. They filled in all the forms at the PO who said this they were correct, so they can't understand what's gone wrong.

By the sound of these previous accounts someone is just sticking "Can't deliver" signs on parcels without even trying to deliver.

I'm sure Echo and the Bunnymen would be as much use as anyone at Royal Mail. I thought of Father Christmas since he's good at delivering parcels

[Sue]

"Can't deliver" may actually be accurate if they haven't got the staff to deliver.

It doesn't say "Tried to deliver but there was nobody around to take it in".

Absolutely appalling.

FFS undo the privatisation. It's the same with transport - a terrible mess, and the customers suffer.

[Glemham]

The current CEO of Royal Mail is Simon Johnson in post since last January. He is paid ?525,000 a year plus bonuses and is promised a 13.6% pension.

Customer Services for ?your? Royal Mail are here: wwww.complaintsdepartment.co.uk/royal-mail

[JohnL]

Anyway no mail until the 4th now.

https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12556/~/service-update

[malumbu]

Johnson gets the going rate for the job. If we don't like it we need to return to the days of super tax and/or renationalising. We seem to be returning to the 70s in many other ways.

[Bic Basher]

sandyman Wrote:

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

> Also I notice there's a sorting office in Forest

> Hill - so what's the furthest south the Peckham

> office covers?

Peckham covers the SE15 and SE22 postcodes. Forest Hill covers SE23 and SE26 after the Sydenham sorting office in Silverdale was also sold.

SE21 still has their own sorting office at Alleyn Road.

[KidKruger]

? SE21 still has their own sorting office at Alleyn Road.?

Of course they do !

[dresswaves]

Our normal postman is very good but haven?t seen him for a few weeks. On Thursday the replacement postman asked me for directions to a local road!

[Lynne]

Apparently Highshore Rd is on emergency status and has been since mid December. Doesn't seem to have helped.

[gabys1st]

Have heard that Highshore Rd is on emergancy status due to staff shortages.

[Penguin68]

Royal Mail is forced to publish lists of those areas with demonstrably poor service - their lists refer out to old postal DO districts - recently East Dulwich (SE22), Herne Hill, Croydon and Sydenham are 4 out of the 13 worst! Across the county. Two at least are of course 'former' areas where their DO has actually been closed and forced into another. Once again, as in Transport, SE London is a comparative loser.

[tomskip]

Thanks Penguin68, that's really interesting information. Where can I find it, have you got a link?

[Penguin68]

It was on a news feed a few days ago - can't access it as of now - sorry

[RichH]

A link is available on Royal Mail's website, as @ianr mentioned here on 17th. December:

https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/12556

From that page there's usually another link to "Deliveries Today" which will show a list of the areas where deliveries are adversely affected. That link is not currently shown as there are no deliveries today, tomorrow or Monday (New Year's Day, Sunday and a Holiday on Monday.) Look again on Tuesday. "East Dulwich" will likely still be shown but the list was at least getting shorter last time I checked.

[kiera]

tomskip Wrote:

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

> Thanks Penguin68, that's really interesting information. Where can I find it, have you got a link?

A rare acknowledgement of our problems appeared in the Daily Express on December 30th:-

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/1542672/royal-mail-delays-postcodes-areas-affected-today-december-30

Relevant extract -

The areas affected in the country today are listed below.

...........

Chelmsford DO (CM1 to CM3)

East Dulwich (SE22)

Finsbury Park DO (N4 and N15)

Gerrards Cross DO (SL9)

Havant DO (PO9-10)

Herne Hill DO (SE24)...............

[ken78]

so if you pay for a service i.e first class post and you don't get what you pay for WHAT HAPPENS ???? can you get a refund ??/

[malumbu]

Being regulated you can complain, here is the starting point:

https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/contact

Of course nothing ever went wrong with it was in the hands of the State. All letters were delivered to time, none were ever lost. Or maybe not. Interesting reading: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239307/bis-13-756-royal-mail-myth-busters-revised-sep12-2013.pdf

Please be my guest and lobby your MP about increases in costs, the changes to overseas postage rates were very sneaky - the 20 g rate to Europe no longer exists (and you could use the same rate for a 10g outside of Europe, just about's doable for a small greeting card. I expect that the cost of posting a small letter to Europe has doubled in real terms in recent years.

[sandyman]

That's interesting. Given that Highshore Road didn't seem to be able to cope even pre-Covid I wonder if there is any way SE21's sorting office could take on some of the nearby SE22 streets to lighten Highshore's load?

Probably unlikely, but i wonder if it's ever been suggested.

KidKruger Wrote:

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

> ? SE21 still has their own sorting office at

> Alleyn Road.?

>

> Of course they do !

[gkb]

Has anyone had any deliveries of letters yet? We are in SE22 its nearly a month since the last delivery!

[Asset]

Nope, I have a long list of things I'm waiting for going back to November

[Rockets]

Nope - I did see a postman last week and my hopes were lifted but they never arrived on our street.

Perhaps one of the councillors can tell us what is being done to resolve this issue - I know Helen Hayes was intervening last year but it is getting beyond a joke now - how long before we can expect all the missed pre-Christmas deliveries or has Royal Mail given up ever having to deliver them?

[Xanadustar]

Adding my voice to this thread. Sick and tired of ordering things that just don't arrive - I've got close to ?100 worth of items which have failed to materialise. Three Xmas cards arrived yesterday!

I've written to Helen Hayes and copied it to the CEO of Royal Mail (it is not Stuart Simpson as mentioned above but Simone Thompson - [email protected]). I actually got a reply from a minion this morning so we'll see what happens!

[Penguin68]

We share specific problems with a (thankfully relatively small) group of DOs. They are understaffed (in terms of permanent staff employed - too reliant on casuals) and have been badly hit (particularly in London) by the latest Covid Variant. But the move to Highshore road, which much predated Covid-19, was always a planning disaster - but probably at the regional rather than national level. Our old DO was no longer fit for purpose, offering a very poor working environment for staff - which is why the union supported the closure. And staff moving their HQ to Peckham moved from outer to inner London weighting, which was personally advantageous.

However, neither the logistics (of combining two DOs under one roof), nor Highshore Road itself was fit for purpose. And this has been broadly known by everyone. Even the ploy of much reducing the quality of service before the move (by running down the operation in Sylvester Road early) couldn't hide the immediate and continuing failure of the move.

If they had employed sufficient staff then it is possible that this could have worked - but they never recruited sufficiently and managing everything not as walks from the DO (as was the case) but as van trips out to Dulwich from Peckham much reduced their staffing flexibility, making it more difficult for staff to cover sickness, leave and rest days.

Helen Hayes (and others) argued for a new, fit-for-purpose DO locally in Dulwich/ East Dulwich, but the costs and effort of creating a new DO was unpalatable - I suspect that local management probably argued against it as well, claiming they could provide an effective service in the way they have now established they couldn't. Probably encouraged by views of meeting or excelling their local targets (which could have happened in a non-privatised environment as well, depending on remuneration policies).

Finding the space for, and building a new, DO is non-trivial - and I doubt very much whether Royal Mail will ever go down that route now.

[Jenijenjen]

Of course, ED sorting office could have moved into Peckham purely as a temporary measure while a new fit for purpose sorting office was built on the Sylvester Road site. But the privatised RM preferred to acquire money by selling the site rather than spending money which would have benefitted both staff and customers.