Royal Mail Parcels

[thelewisgang]

I remember probably a couple of years back Royal Mail said they were unable to leave parcels/packages with a neighbour unless this had previously been arranged by filling in some sort of form. Has this arrangement been relaxed? I'm only asking as twice in the past week my postman has asked if I would take in a small parcel for my neighbour. Just curious really

[Buenchico]

The system allows you to nominate a particular neighbour to receive your parcel. If you don't nominate someone, or your preferred neighbour is out, then the postie will try any neighbour.

Alternatively you can opt out of having parcels delivered to neighbours:
http://www.royalmail.com/personal/receiving-mail/delivery-to-neighbour

[agchristie]

> If you don't nominate someone, or your preferred neighbour is out, then the postie will try any neighbour.

My experience is more that a card will be left.

[Buenchico]

^^^ Perhaps I should have written 'may', rather than 'will' ;-)

(My regular postie knows that mail can be left in the meter cupboard by my front door. Even stuff that's meant to be signed for simply goes straight into there, with a card through my letter box).

[thelewisgang]

thanks for your replies. As I said, I was just curious. I have a lovely postie & my neighbours are at work most weekdays. I am happy to help so they don't have to trudge down to the sorting office on their day off x

[bodeker]

Our postman will usually try the neighbours either side if I am not in. But parcels deliveries are something else altogether, I've taken in parcels for people 4 doors away but they will put card though door. Once I came home and found a note that my parcel was in my wheely bin which sat by my front gate and had rubbish in it ! I was not amused as we do have trouble with people raking though ours bins.

[Postdog]

Not in the job now, but still in touch in many ways. As I understand it, it is now policy to try neighbours first before taking a packet back, dependent on local knowledge...namely, if the postman knows they get on, are likely to be in etc etc.

Re the leaving of stuff, RM gets the blame for everything. Only today on one of the RM Facebook pages, a callers office postman commented how a man had come in demanding his postman was sacked for leaving a packet on a step for anyone to see and steal. That was until it was pointed out it wasn't royal mail that left it. Not saying postmen are perfect, and there are bad ones, but not everything delivered is via them.

[agchristie]

Postdog, valid point.

I would say that standards have dropped over the years from my experience.

Items lost, mishandled, arriving late, not asking for signatures, posties walking across gardens.

I had a recent bad experience collecting two items from the mail depot. Two cards had been left, I collected two items only to later find out that one item didn't relate to one of the cards and was returned to sender. On the day I collected them another item had arrived at the depot and the staff member failed to reconcile to the card.

All that said, we probably still enjoy the finest service in Europe.

[KARL]

When the "nominated neighbour" thing came in a few years back I wanted to nominate one. It was eventually stated that this is an informal procedure and I should tell my postie my preference. I did but he said the idea would work only if he was on on the day, especially since there is a policy of rotating posties in our area. As it happens, I think the nominated neighbour (I nominated two to minimise the risk of ending up with a card notice to collect) only got something left on a single occasion - since then we have just had cards. That is not convenient because collection must take place within two weeks (unless I am not remembering correctly) and we are often away for many weeks at a time. In other words, in my experience the system doesn't work or doesn't exist - we are not in a remote area.

[KARL]

agchristie, if it is Europe's finest postal service by design then I suggest that in practice it does not operate according to design. For one thing, it does not meet the UK's international agreed/avowed obligations (UPU) to ensure delivery (P.O. box addresses abroad, failure) and by removing items from the postal system and handing them to a private courier who by design cannot deliver all mail.