• OT: Delivery service too good!

    From Davey@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jun 9 09:53:56 2025
    I ordered a package, and when it was said to be due for delivery
    tomorrow, that was fine, I am home today but will need to leave the
    house for an hour and a half at an unknown time to collect my neighbour
    from Outpatients at the local hospital. Tomorrow for the delivery was
    perfect.
    I logged on to my e-mail this morning, to read that the package will be delivered today around about lunchtime, when I might well not be here.
    I went into the Delivery options, and was informed by the chatbot that I
    could not revert the delivery until its previous scheduled date of
    tomorrow, as it had already left the depot.
    How stupid! And the carrier is Royal Mail. No wonder they have
    financial problems.

    --
    Davey.

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  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to Davey on Mon Jun 9 10:46:28 2025
    On 09/06/2025 09:53, Davey wrote:
    I ordered a package, and when it was said to be due for delivery
    tomorrow, that was fine, I am home today but will need to leave the
    house for an hour and a half at an unknown time to collect my neighbour
    from Outpatients at the local hospital. Tomorrow for the delivery was perfect.
    I logged on to my e-mail this morning, to read that the package will be delivered today around about lunchtime, when I might well not be here.
    I went into the Delivery options, and was informed by the chatbot that I could not revert the delivery until its previous scheduled date of
    tomorrow, as it had already left the depot.
    How stupid! And the carrier is Royal Mail. No wonder they have
    financial problems.


    Don't believe a word they say! I often get an "automated" email from RM
    saying something will be delivered between 10am and 3pm. Sometimes a
    second email will be received saying that it will now be delivered by
    7pm. In most cases it is delivered 1 to 2 days later. In the past year
    I've probably had a dozen of these delivery emails which are basically
    an automated work of fiction.

    These emails are sent only when the sender has paid extra for tracking.

    I don't believe that my area has had a daily delivery for the past year
    or more. Non-tracked mail arrives in batches irrespective of being 1st
    or 2nd class and when they were posted. I live in a highly populated
    urban area.

    --
    mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

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  • From Andy Burns@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jun 9 10:59:20 2025
    alan_m wrote:

    Don't believe a word they say!  I often get an "automated" email from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and 3pm.
    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from local
    office" it's accurate (at least around here)

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  • From Davey@21:1/5 to Andy Burns on Mon Jun 9 13:59:54 2025
    On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 10:59:20 +0100
    Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

    alan_m wrote:

    Don't believe a word they say!  I often get an "automated" email
    from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and 3pm.
    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from local
    office" it's accurate (at least around here)



    Although the e-mail message came from Royal Mail, closer examination
    revealed that it is actually being delivered by Parcel Force.
    I hope.

    --
    Davey.

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  • From charles@21:1/5 to Davey on Mon Jun 9 15:30:02 2025
    In article <1026lsa$i19e$[email protected]>,
    Davey <[email protected]d> wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 10:59:20 +0100
    Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

    alan_m wrote:

    Don't believe a word they say! I often get an "automated" email
    from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and 3pm.
    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from local
    office" it's accurate (at least around here)



    Although the e-mail message came from Royal Mail, closer examination
    revealed that it is actually being delivered by Parcel Force.
    I hope.

    as far as I know, Parcel Force is a division of Royal Mail
    -

    --
    from KT24 in Surrey, England - sent from my RISC OS 4t�
    "I'd rather die of exhaustion than die of boredom" Thomas Carlyle

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  • From Davey@21:1/5 to charles on Mon Jun 9 17:10:43 2025
    On Mon, 09 Jun 25 15:30:02 UTC
    charles <[email protected]> wrote:

    In article <1026lsa$i19e$[email protected]>,
    Davey <[email protected]d> wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 10:59:20 +0100
    Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

    alan_m wrote:

    Don't believe a word they say! I often get an "automated" email
    from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and
    3pm.
    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from
    local office" it's accurate (at least around here)



    Although the e-mail message came from Royal Mail, closer examination revealed that it is actually being delivered by Parcel Force.
    I hope.

    as far as I know, Parcel Force is a division of Royal Mail
    -


    I never know what is what in the Royal Mail/Post Office/Parcel Force
    universe. One moment you are told off for using the name for one when
    it should have been something else, then you get this scenario where one
    seems to substitute for the other. I go back to the days when 'phones
    came, on rental, from the GPO. Much simpler. Quicker deliveries, too.

    --
    Davey.

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  • From Sam Plusnet@21:1/5 to Davey on Mon Jun 9 21:19:17 2025
    On 09/06/2025 17:10, Davey wrote:
    On Mon, 09 Jun 25 15:30:02 UTC
    charles <[email protected]> wrote:

    In article <1026lsa$i19e$[email protected]>,
    Davey <[email protected]d> wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 10:59:20 +0100
    Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

    alan_m wrote:

    Don't believe a word they say! I often get an "automated" email
    from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and
    3pm.
    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from
    local office" it's accurate (at least around here)



    Although the e-mail message came from Royal Mail, closer examination
    revealed that it is actually being delivered by Parcel Force.
    I hope.

    as far as I know, Parcel Force is a division of Royal Mail
    -


    I never know what is what in the Royal Mail/Post Office/Parcel Force universe. One moment you are told off for using the name for one when
    it should have been something else, then you get this scenario where one seems to substitute for the other. I go back to the days when 'phones
    came, on rental, from the GPO. Much simpler. Quicker deliveries, too.


    "Phones came, on rental, from the GPO"

    You forgot to mention 'After an 18 month waiting list' (If you were lucky).

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  • From NY@21:1/5 to Davey on Mon Jun 9 22:01:03 2025
    On 09/06/2025 17:10, Davey wrote:
    Much simpler. Quicker deliveries, too.

    Our postal service is very good, but my mother in law's in east Oxford
    is spectacularly bad. At best, she gets one delivery every week (often
    one every fortnight) and outgoing mail from a postbox in that area seems
    to be delayed by a similar amount. It means that we and she both need to
    post birthday cards a fortnight early to guarantee that they will arrive
    by the desired date. They may arrive the day after posting, but then
    again they may sit in the sorting office for nearly a fortnight before
    delivery to her or before "injection" into the general Royal Mail
    system. I'm not sure what the postmark date is for outgoing mail from
    her - whether it is the date it was put in an Oxford pillar box or the
    date it was forwarded to our sorting office for delivery to us.

    I'm surprised that Royal Mail hasn't been hauled over the coals for it,
    with MPs asking searching questions of the CEO, because something is
    very badly wrong with her sorting office. I'm not sure how widespread
    the problem is - whether it's the whole of Oxford or just her suburb.

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  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jun 9 22:35:13 2025
    On 09/06/2025 22:01, NY wrote:
    On 09/06/2025 17:10, Davey wrote:
    Much simpler. Quicker deliveries, too.

    Our postal service is very good, but my mother in law's in east Oxford
    is spectacularly bad. At best, she gets one delivery every week (often
    one every fortnight) and outgoing mail from a postbox in that area seems
    to be delayed by a similar amount. It means that we and she both need to
    post birthday cards a fortnight early to guarantee that they will arrive
    by the desired date. They may arrive the day after posting, but then
    again they may sit in the sorting office for nearly a fortnight before delivery to her or before "injection" into the general Royal Mail
    system. I'm not sure what the postmark date is for outgoing mail from
    her - whether it is the date it was put in an Oxford pillar box or the
    date it was forwarded to our sorting office for delivery to us.

    I'm surprised that Royal Mail hasn't been hauled over the coals for it,
    with MPs asking searching questions of the CEO, because something is
    very badly wrong with her sorting office. I'm not sure how widespread
    the problem is - whether it's the whole of Oxford or just her suburb.


    Where I live the RM service is bad, where friends live (200 miles away
    from my home) the RM service is bad.

    I'm aware that in both locations they are seriously short of staff and,
    more importantly, they cannot keep new staff. Where my friends live it
    appears that a significant number of older members of staff are due to
    retire soon.

    --
    mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

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  • From Theo@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Jun 9 22:26:38 2025
    NY <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 09/06/2025 17:10, Davey wrote:
    Much simpler. Quicker deliveries, too.

    Our postal service is very good, but my mother in law's in east Oxford
    is spectacularly bad. At best, she gets one delivery every week (often
    one every fortnight) and outgoing mail from a postbox in that area seems
    to be delayed by a similar amount. It means that we and she both need to
    post birthday cards a fortnight early to guarantee that they will arrive
    by the desired date. They may arrive the day after posting, but then
    again they may sit in the sorting office for nearly a fortnight before delivery to her or before "injection" into the general Royal Mail
    system. I'm not sure what the postmark date is for outgoing mail from
    her - whether it is the date it was put in an Oxford pillar box or the
    date it was forwarded to our sorting office for delivery to us.

    I'm surprised that Royal Mail hasn't been hauled over the coals for it,
    with MPs asking searching questions of the CEO, because something is
    very badly wrong with her sorting office. I'm not sure how widespread
    the problem is - whether it's the whole of Oxford or just her suburb.

    It's usually short-staffing, which means the sorting office doesn't have
    enough people to get the mail out compared with the mail volume. At that
    point they prioritise tracked mail and regular 1st/2nd class mail gets left behind. Eventually they manage to clear the backlog and deliver it, but there's no bound on how long it takes.

    Staff turnover at some delivery offices is very high (the working conditions aren't great), and if they don't have people they can't deliver mail. It's possible it affects some rounds more than others if some have a regular
    postie and others depend on short term cover.

    Since privatisation they will no doubt say they have to compete with Evri, Yodel et al but are lumbered with higher costs, so there's no money to
    improve staff retention.

    Theo

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  • From Bob Eager@21:1/5 to All on Mon Jun 9 21:45:27 2025
    On Mon, 09 Jun 2025 22:01:03 +0100, NY wrote:

    I'm surprised that Royal Mail hasn't been hauled over the coals for it,
    with MPs asking searching questions of the CEO, because something is
    very badly wrong with her sorting office. I'm not sure how widespread
    the problem is - whether it's the whole of Oxford or just her suburb.

    We have had an erratic service, although it's better now. The word from
    actual amployess is that it's down to short staffages.



    --
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    wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
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  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to Sam Plusnet on Mon Jun 9 23:12:42 2025
    On 09/06/2025 21:19, Sam Plusnet wrote:

    You forgot to mention 'After an 18 month waiting list' (If you were lucky).

    And possibly a shared (party) line.

    It was another monopoly industry that acted as though it was doing you a
    favour in supplying what you had paid for.


    --
    mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

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  • From Davey@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Jun 9 23:55:49 2025
    On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 23:12:42 +0100
    alan_m <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 09/06/2025 21:19, Sam Plusnet wrote:

    You forgot to mention 'After an 18 month waiting list' (If you were
    lucky).

    And possibly a shared (party) line.

    It was another monopoly industry that acted as though it was doing
    you a favour in supplying what you had paid for.



    I remember that my parents had a party line when we first had a 'phone.
    But when I bought my own flat in 1976, I don't remember any specific
    delay in getting a line connected.
    Your experience etc etc....

    When I first moved to the US and rented a flat there (an 'apartment'),
    I went along to the local AT&T office one lunchtime, ordered a
    connection, walked away with a handset and a huge directory, and when I
    got back to the flat after work that afternoon, I had a dial tone. This
    was in 1977.

    --
    Davey.

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  • From SteveW@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jun 10 00:57:49 2025
    On 09/06/2025 23:12, alan_m wrote:
    On 09/06/2025 21:19, Sam Plusnet wrote:

    You forgot to mention 'After an 18 month waiting list' (If you were
    lucky).

    To this day, my uncle and aunt have a Stretford exchange number, despite
    being in Urmston, as back in the '70s they were offered that in 12
    months, rather than waiting 18 months for the correct exchange.

    And possibly a shared (party) line.

    Not a party line, but back in BT only days, I ended up with a DACS(?)
    unit in my hall, with a filter at the top of the pole, allowing my house
    and a neighbouring house, to share the same line, without either
    noticing (frequency change at my box and the exchange end for my line).
    It took me some years to get that removed and a new line, as when modems changed to 56K, I could not get above 22K through that system.

    It was another monopoly industry that acted as though it was doing you a favour in supplying what you had paid for.

    When I bought the house, gas, electric and water all accepted a phone
    call to change the billing, change the electricity meter to a standard
    one (removing the pre-pay meter) and fitting a new gas meter (old one
    had been removed and capped off). BT were the only utility that insisted
    that I took a day off work, came to their city-centre office and queued
    for a couple of hours, to show them paperwork proving change of ownership.

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  • From nib@21:1/5 to Sam Plusnet on Tue Jun 10 07:10:06 2025
    On 2025-06-09 21:19, Sam Plusnet wrote:
    On 09/06/2025 17:10, Davey wrote:
    On Mon, 09 Jun 25 15:30:02 UTC
    charles <[email protected]> wrote:

    In article <1026lsa$i19e$[email protected]>,
        Davey <[email protected]d> wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 10:59:20 +0100
    Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

    alan_m wrote:
    Don't believe a word they say!  I often get an "automated" email
    from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and
    3pm.
    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from
    local office" it's accurate (at least around here)


    Although the e-mail message came from Royal Mail, closer examination
    revealed that it is actually being delivered by Parcel Force.
    I hope.

    as far as I know, Parcel Force is a division of Royal Mail
    -


    I never know what is what in the Royal Mail/Post Office/Parcel Force
    universe. One moment you are told off for using the name for one when
    it should have been something else, then you get this scenario where one
    seems to substitute for the other. I go back to the days when 'phones
    came, on rental, from the GPO. Much simpler. Quicker deliveries, too.


    "Phones came, on rental, from the GPO"

    You forgot to mention 'After an 18 month waiting list' (If you were lucky).

    I think it was less than one month for me for a new line at my new-build
    flat; that was just before liberalisation (1981).

    nib

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  • From Davey@21:1/5 to charles on Tue Jun 10 10:57:17 2025
    On Mon, 09 Jun 25 15:30:02 UTC
    charles <[email protected]> wrote:

    In article <1026lsa$i19e$[email protected]>,
    Davey <[email protected]d> wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 10:59:20 +0100
    Andy Burns <[email protected]> wrote:

    alan_m wrote:

    Don't believe a word they say! I often get an "automated" email
    from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and
    3pm.
    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from
    local office" it's accurate (at least around here)



    Although the e-mail message came from Royal Mail, closer examination revealed that it is actually being delivered by Parcel Force.
    I hope.

    as far as I know, Parcel Force is a division of Royal Mail
    -


    It actually arrived at 2:10, well within the window given me in the
    morning. In a large white van, the first time I have known one of those
    used by Parcel Force. Our local postman has been using one since last
    year, he said the old red one failed its MOT, and RM/GPO/whatever had
    bought a job lot of white vans, which would eventually be painted red.
    He is still waiting.

    --
    Davey.

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  • From wasbit@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jun 10 11:13:07 2025
    On 09/06/2025 22:35, alan_m wrote:
    On 09/06/2025 22:01, NY wrote:
    On 09/06/2025 17:10, Davey wrote:
    Much simpler. Quicker deliveries, too.

    Our postal service is very good, but my mother in law's in east Oxford
    is spectacularly bad. At best, she gets one delivery every week (often
    one every fortnight) and outgoing mail from a postbox in that area
    seems to be delayed by a similar amount. It means that we and she both
    need to post birthday cards a fortnight early to guarantee that they
    will arrive by the desired date. They may arrive the day after
    posting, but then again they may sit in the sorting office for nearly
    a fortnight before delivery to her or before "injection" into the
    general Royal Mail system. I'm not sure what the postmark date is for
    outgoing mail from her - whether it is the date it was put in an
    Oxford pillar box or the date it was forwarded to our sorting office
    for delivery to us.

    I'm surprised that Royal Mail hasn't been hauled over the coals for
    it, with MPs asking searching questions of the CEO, because something
    is very badly wrong with her sorting office. I'm not sure how
    widespread the problem is - whether it's the whole of Oxford or just
    her suburb.


    Where I live the RM service is bad, where friends live (200 miles away
    from my home) the RM service is bad.

    I'm aware that in both locations they are seriously short of staff and,
    more importantly, they cannot keep new staff. Where my friends live it appears that a significant number of older members of staff are due to
    retire soon.


    My recollection is that they moved the sorting to Swindon because the
    unions were too militant in Oxford.


    --
    Regards
    wasbit

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  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to wasbit on Tue Jun 10 11:43:15 2025
    On 10/06/2025 11:13, wasbit wrote:

    My recollection is that they moved the sorting to Swindon because the
    unions were too militant in Oxford.


    That was not an isolated case but some of the relocation may have been
    due to centralising hubs. The local sorting office (a very large custom
    built warehouse type building with its own platform on a main line
    railway line) was moved 25 miles to a more central location in Essex.
    At the time this caused a lot of friction between the unions and
    management and increased the unreliability of RM delivery.

    Ive had "24" tracked packages stuck in this centralised hub for 10 days
    or more. Phoning the RM only (national) number to find out what's happen reveals that the first line customer support only has the same
    information as I could find myself on-line - complete waste of time
    phoning.


    --
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  • From Andy Burns@21:1/5 to Davey on Tue Jun 10 11:41:31 2025
    Davey wrote:

    RM/GPO/whatever had
    bought a job lot of white vans

    The city council here used to have yellow vans, now they have white vans because they fetch a higher price when it comes to disposing of them.

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  • From S Viemeister@21:1/5 to Davey on Tue Jun 10 12:18:29 2025
    On 6/10/2025 10:57 AM, Davey wrote:

    It actually arrived at 2:10, well within the window given me in the
    morning. In a large white van, the first time I have known one of those
    used by Parcel Force. Our local postman has been using one since last
    year, he said the old red one failed its MOT, and RM/GPO/whatever had
    bought a job lot of white vans, which would eventually be painted red.
    He is still waiting.

    Our postie now drives a white van, with no Royal Mail identification on it.

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  • From Theo@21:1/5 to Pamela on Tue Jun 10 12:27:51 2025
    Pamela <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 10:59 9 Jun 2025, Andy Burns said:
    alan_m wrote:

    Don't believe a word they say!  I often get an "automated" email
    from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and 3pm.

    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from local
    office" it's accurate (at least around here)

    I was very pleased to get a Royal Mail "Tracked 24" package on a
    Sunday.

    This good service was slightly spoilt by my local postie delivering
    this rather expensive package (a £200 book) without getting a
    signature.

    Tracked 24 doesn't need a signature. If you want that you need to pay for Tracked 24 With Signature (another £1.50 or so). Also the insurance on Tracked is only £150 so above that is Special Delivery territory.

    Theo

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  • From Bob Eager@21:1/5 to Pamela on Tue Jun 10 11:29:53 2025
    On Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:22:36 +0100, Pamela wrote:

    On 10:59 9 Jun 2025, Andy Burns said:
    alan_m wrote:

    Don't believe a word they say!  I often get an "automated" email from
    RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and 3pm.

    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from local
    office" it's accurate (at least around here)

    I was very pleased to get a Royal Mail "Tracked 24" package on a Sunday.

    This good service was slightly spoilt by my local postie delivering this rather expensive package (a £200 book) without getting a signature.

    "Tracked" is not "Signed for", but they should take a photo

    --
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  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to Pamela on Tue Jun 10 13:39:05 2025
    On 10/06/2025 12:22, Pamela wrote:
    On 10:59 9 Jun 2025, Andy Burns said:
    alan_m wrote:

    Don't believe a word they say!  I often get an "automated" email
    from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and 3pm.

    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from local
    office" it's accurate (at least around here)

    I was very pleased to get a Royal Mail "Tracked 24" package on a
    Sunday.

    This good service was slightly spoilt by my local postie delivering
    this rather expensive package (a Ł200 book) without getting a
    signature.

    The label usually states if it needs to be signed for.

    --
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  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to Pamela on Tue Jun 10 13:43:35 2025
    On 10/06/2025 12:58, Pamela wrote:

    I don't know about any photo being taken as I wasn't given a tracking
    number by the seller. In the case of a book, would a photo show much
    more than a letterbox?


    In my experience the photo taken by RM doesn't show a photo of the
    recipient or in a location. They seem to take a photo of the package
    held in the postman's hand.
    A RM tracked package often results in an email minutes later stating the package has been delivered.


    --
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  • From Davey@21:1/5 to S Viemeister on Tue Jun 10 13:58:54 2025
    On Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:18:29 +0100
    S Viemeister <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 6/10/2025 10:57 AM, Davey wrote:

    It actually arrived at 2:10, well within the window given me in the morning. In a large white van, the first time I have known one of
    those used by Parcel Force. Our local postman has been using one
    since last year, he said the old red one failed its MOT, and RM/GPO/whatever had bought a job lot of white vans, which would
    eventually be painted red. He is still waiting.

    Our postie now drives a white van, with no Royal Mail identification
    on it.

    Indeed. When I asked ours about it, he said the treatment he received
    from other drivers was markedly worse than when he drove a proper RM
    van. He put it down to drivers being anti-White Van Man.

    --
    Davey.

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  • From Davey@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Tue Jun 10 14:09:46 2025
    On Tue, 10 Jun 2025 11:43:15 +0100
    alan_m <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 10/06/2025 11:13, wasbit wrote:

    My recollection is that they moved the sorting to Swindon because
    the unions were too militant in Oxford.


    That was not an isolated case but some of the relocation may have
    been due to centralising hubs. The local sorting office (a very large
    custom built warehouse type building with its own platform on a main
    line railway line) was moved 25 miles to a more central location in
    Essex. At the time this caused a lot of friction between the unions
    and management and increased the unreliability of RM delivery.

    Ive had "24" tracked packages stuck in this centralised hub for 10
    days or more. Phoning the RM only (national) number to find out
    what's happen reveals that the first line customer support only has
    the same information as I could find myself on-line - complete waste
    of time phoning.



    A couple of years ago, I had to send a Tax Form to the IRS in Texas.
    The main couriers, DHL, FedEx, UPS etc all require the name of the
    intended recipient, which of course is impossible to supply, the IRS
    won't even bother to answer such a request. So I opted to send the
    envelope 'Tracked and Signed for'. A combination of being stuck in
    Manchester for a week or more, then once in the US, sitting in Chicago
    admiring the view of Lake Michigan, meant that it eventually arrived 53
    DAYS after I posted it.
    But I did get a message to tell me that it had been delivered. I have
    no idea who signed for it, just an IRS employee.

    Nowadays, I just send the form via normal Overseas Mail Delivery, with a
    Proof of Posting.

    --
    Davey.

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  • From Theo@21:1/5 to Pamela on Tue Jun 10 13:16:46 2025
    Pamela <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 12:27 10 Jun 2025, Theo said:
    Pamela <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 10:59 9 Jun 2025, Andy Burns said:
    alan_m wrote:


    Don't believe a word they say!  I often get an "automated" email
    from RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and 3pm.

    With RM, once it gets to the stage of "out for delivery from local
    office" it's accurate (at least around here)

    I was very pleased to get a Royal Mail "Tracked 24" package on a
    Sunday.

    This good service was slightly spoilt by my local postie delivering
    this rather expensive package (a £200 book) without getting a
    signature.

    Tracked 24 doesn't need a signature. If you want that you need to
    pay for Tracked 24 With Signature (another £1.50 or so). Also the insurance on Tracked is only £150 so above that is Special Delivery territory.

    Theo

    Interesting. I hadn't realised some Tracked 24 is without a signature. Online, I see there's also a signature version. Same goes for Tracked
    48.

    I don't know about any photo being taken as I wasn't given a tracking
    number by the seller. In the case of a book, would a photo show much
    more than a letterbox?

    There should be a barcode with a number like ABnnnnnnnGB on it, which you
    can look up the tracking for and there may be a photo shown. Usually they
    want to take a photo of the open door (but not the face of the person receiving) - if it was shoved through the letterbox then I suppose they'll
    have a photo of the closed door instead.

    (I've occasionally had something misdelivered and managed to work out where
    it went from the door picture and Streetview...)

    Theo

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  • From Peter Johnson@21:1/5 to Bob Eager on Tue Jun 10 14:23:52 2025
    On 9 Jun 2025 21:45:27 GMT, Bob Eager <[email protected]> wrote:

    On Mon, 09 Jun 2025 22:01:03 +0100, NY wrote:

    I'm surprised that Royal Mail hasn't been hauled over the coals for it,
    with MPs asking searching questions of the CEO, because something is
    very badly wrong with her sorting office. I'm not sure how widespread
    the problem is - whether it's the whole of Oxford or just her suburb.

    We have had an erratic service, although it's better now. The word from >actual amployess is that it's down to short staffages.

    When I asked a postman, a couple of years ago, why the service had
    become eratic he said it was because it was cheaper for the company to
    pay the penalties for missing Ofcom targets that it was to fil
    vacancies.

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  • From Vir Campestris@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jun 13 21:27:01 2025
    On 09/06/2025 10:46, alan_m wrote:

    I don't believe that my area has had a daily delivery for the past year
    or more. Non-tracked mail arrives in batches irrespective of being 1st
    or 2nd class and when they were posted.   I live in a highly populated urban area.

    That sounds exactly the position we are in. We get a bunch of letters
    all at once, some of which we think have taken 10 days to arrive.

    Except we are in a village of perhaps 100 houses, not an urban area.

    Andy
    --
    Do not listen to rumour, but, if you do, do not believe it.
    Ghandi.

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  • From Andrew@21:1/5 to Andy Burns on Sun Jun 15 16:21:53 2025
    On 10/06/2025 11:41, Andy Burns wrote:
    Davey wrote:

    RM/GPO/whatever had
    bought a job lot of white vans

    The city council here used to have yellow vans, now they have white vans because they fetch a higher price when it comes to disposing of them.

    Stobart used to plastic-wrap their HGV tractors in the famous red and
    green livery, so they could just 'unwrap' them for resale.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Andrew@21:1/5 to S Viemeister on Sun Jun 15 16:22:39 2025
    On 10/06/2025 12:18, S Viemeister wrote:
    On 6/10/2025 10:57 AM, Davey wrote:

    It actually arrived at 2:10, well within the window given me in the
    morning. In a large white van, the first time I have known one of those
    used by Parcel Force. Our local postman has been using one since last
    year, he said the old red one failed its MOT, and RM/GPO/whatever had
    bought a job lot of white vans, which would eventually be painted red.
    He is still waiting.

    Our postie now drives a white van, with no Royal Mail identification on it.

    Ours is white but says Enterprise Car Rentals or similar.

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  • From Andrew@21:1/5 to wasbit on Sun Jun 15 16:18:33 2025
    On 10/06/2025 11:13, wasbit wrote:
    On 09/06/2025 22:35, alan_m wrote:
    On 09/06/2025 22:01, NY wrote:
    On 09/06/2025 17:10, Davey wrote:
    Much simpler. Quicker deliveries, too.

    Our postal service is very good, but my mother in law's in east
    Oxford is spectacularly bad. At best, she gets one delivery every
    week (often one every fortnight) and outgoing mail from a postbox in
    that area seems to be delayed by a similar amount. It means that we
    and she both need to post birthday cards a fortnight early to
    guarantee that they will arrive by the desired date. They may arrive
    the day after posting, but then again they may sit in the sorting
    office for nearly a fortnight before delivery to her or before
    "injection" into the general Royal Mail system. I'm not sure what the
    postmark date is for outgoing mail from her - whether it is the date
    it was put in an Oxford pillar box or the date it was forwarded to
    our sorting office for delivery to us.

    I'm surprised that Royal Mail hasn't been hauled over the coals for
    it, with MPs asking searching questions of the CEO, because something
    is very badly wrong with her sorting office. I'm not sure how
    widespread the problem is - whether it's the whole of Oxford or just
    her suburb.


    Where I live the RM service is bad, where friends live (200 miles away
    from my home) the RM service is bad.

    I'm aware that in both locations they are seriously short of staff
    and, more importantly, they cannot keep new staff. Where my friends
    live it appears that a significant number of older members of staff
    are due to retire soon.


    My recollection is that they moved the sorting to Swindon because the
    unions were too militant in Oxford.


    Still a problem if you live in the BN (Brighton) postcode area I believe

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  • From Andrew@21:1/5 to Davey on Sun Jun 15 16:17:22 2025
    On 09/06/2025 23:55, Davey wrote:
    On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 23:12:42 +0100
    alan_m <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 09/06/2025 21:19, Sam Plusnet wrote:

    You forgot to mention 'After an 18 month waiting list' (If you were
    lucky).

    And possibly a shared (party) line.

    It was another monopoly industry that acted as though it was doing
    you a favour in supplying what you had paid for.



    I remember that my parents had a party line when we first had a 'phone.
    But when I bought my own flat in 1976, I don't remember any specific
    delay in getting a line connected.

    The most common response from the GPO when anyone wanted a new
    phone connection in the 70's was "There are no spare pairs. If
    you wait long enough you might get a party line".

    Then the GPO 'invented' a new way of supplying party lines where
    the two? subscribers were hidden from each other by frequency
    allocation.

    Great. So when a cousin was given one of these lines and had
    to work at home (employed by WS Atkins as a technical draughtsman)
    using a dialup modem, it didn't work because of the constricted
    bandwidth on the line.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Another John@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Mon Jun 16 14:24:10 2025
    On 13 Jun 2025 at 21:27:01 BST, "Vir Campestris" <[email protected]d> wrote:

    On 09/06/2025 10:46, alan_m wrote:

    I don't believe that my area has had a daily delivery for the past year
    or more. Non-tracked mail arrives in batches irrespective of being 1st
    or 2nd class and when they were posted. I live in a highly populated
    urban area.

    That sounds exactly the position we are in. We get a bunch of letters
    all at once, some of which we think have taken 10 days to arrive.

    Except we are in a village of perhaps 100 houses, not an urban area.

    Andy

    Similar here, Andy (small village): just in the last few weeks we've begun to notice that post comes as Alan_M describes it. "We've never seen anything on the news" about this fundmental change.

    I never understood (on moral grounds) why, when they flogged off The Royal Mail, they sold the name with it. I don't think I'd be so disgruntled about
    the service going down the toilet, if it wasn't still called Royal Mail. Along with several other things, a mainstay of my (British) life when I was younger.

    J.

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  • From The Natural Philosopher@21:1/5 to Another John on Mon Jun 16 18:34:38 2025
    On 16/06/2025 15:24, Another John wrote:
    On 13 Jun 2025 at 21:27:01 BST, "Vir Campestris" <[email protected]d> wrote:

    On 09/06/2025 10:46, alan_m wrote:

    I don't believe that my area has had a daily delivery for the past year
    or more. Non-tracked mail arrives in batches irrespective of being 1st
    or 2nd class and when they were posted. I live in a highly populated
    urban area.

    That sounds exactly the position we are in. We get a bunch of letters
    all at once, some of which we think have taken 10 days to arrive.

    Except we are in a village of perhaps 100 houses, not an urban area.

    Andy

    Similar here, Andy (small village): just in the last few weeks we've begun to notice that post comes as Alan_M describes it. "We've never seen anything on the news" about this fundmental change.

    I get mail delivered in batches...the important letters marked 'NHS'
    come with a bunch of other peoples marketing crap, I don't think
    Postperson Pat has any compunction about letting circulars pile up.


    --
    There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale
    returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.

    Mark Twain

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Clive Page@21:1/5 to The Natural Philosopher on Mon Jun 16 23:26:38 2025
    On 16/06/2025 18:34, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
    On 16/06/2025 15:24, Another John wrote:
    On 13 Jun 2025 at 21:27:01 BST, "Vir Campestris"
    <[email protected]d> wrote:

    On 09/06/2025 10:46, alan_m wrote:

    I don't believe that my area has had a daily delivery for the past year >>>> or more. Non-tracked mail arrives in batches irrespective of being 1st >>>> or 2nd class and when they were posted.   I live in a highly populated >>>> urban area.

    That sounds exactly the position we are in. We get a bunch of letters
    all at once, some of which we think have taken 10 days to arrive.

    Except we are in a village of perhaps 100 houses, not an urban area.

    Andy

    Similar here, Andy (small village): just in the last few weeks we've
    begun to
    notice that post comes as Alan_M describes it. "We've never seen
    anything on
    the news" about this fundmental change.

    I get mail delivered in batches...the important letters marked 'NHS'
    come with a bunch of other peoples marketing crap, I don't think
    Postperson Pat has any compunction about letting circulars pile up.


    Perhaps we've been lucky here - in an urban area about a mile from the sorting/delivery office. For most of the past year we've had deliveries several times a week, and often every day. But about a month ago that
    stopped and we got nothing for about 2 weeks. I eventually discovered a telephone number for complaints 0345 774 0740 and tried it. It took
    over 20 minutes to connect to a human but it was useful. The assistant
    said there were indeed local staff shortages and promised a delivery of
    all outstanding items as soon as they could manage it. Two days later
    we got 23 letters, some clearly had been waiting for about the whole
    fortnight. Since then - one or two deliveries per week. The promised
    response to my complaint by email (I gave my email address when on the
    phone) has not arrived.

    Local online media suggest that there is indeed a staff shortage
    compounded by management choice: if a postal deliverer leaves or goes on holiday nobody replaces them.

    So please all of you complain: it might provide a temporary solution.


    --
    Clive Page

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to The Natural Philosopher on Tue Jun 17 13:46:45 2025
    On 16/06/2025 18:34, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
    On 16/06/2025 15:24, Another John wrote:
    On 13 Jun 2025 at 21:27:01 BST, "Vir Campestris"
    <[email protected]d> wrote:

    On 09/06/2025 10:46, alan_m wrote:

    I don't believe that my area has had a daily delivery for the past year >>>> or more. Non-tracked mail arrives in batches irrespective of being 1st >>>> or 2nd class and when they were posted.   I live in a highly populated >>>> urban area.

    That sounds exactly the position we are in. We get a bunch of letters
    all at once, some of which we think have taken 10 days to arrive.

    Except we are in a village of perhaps 100 houses, not an urban area.

    Andy

    Similar here, Andy (small village): just in the last few weeks we've
    begun to
    notice that post comes as Alan_M describes it. "We've never seen
    anything on
    the news" about this fundmental change.

    I get mail delivered in batches...the important letters marked 'NHS'
    come with a bunch of other peoples marketing crap, I don't think
    Postperson Pat has any compunction about letting circulars pile up.



    Postman pat cannot put circulars through you letter box on the days he
    doesn't visit your street or district :)

    --
    mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to Clive Page on Tue Jun 17 14:04:20 2025
    On 16/06/2025 23:26, Clive Page wrote:
    On 16/06/2025 18:34, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
    On 16/06/2025 15:24, Another John wrote:
    On 13 Jun 2025 at 21:27:01 BST, "Vir Campestris"
    <[email protected]d> wrote:

    On 09/06/2025 10:46, alan_m wrote:

    I don't believe that my area has had a daily delivery for the past
    year
    or more. Non-tracked mail arrives in batches irrespective of being 1st >>>>> or 2nd class and when they were posted.   I live in a highly populated >>>>> urban area.

    That sounds exactly the position we are in. We get a bunch of letters
    all at once, some of which we think have taken 10 days to arrive.

    Except we are in a village of perhaps 100 houses, not an urban area.

    Andy

    Similar here, Andy (small village): just in the last few weeks we've
    begun to
    notice that post comes as Alan_M describes it. "We've never seen
    anything on
    the news" about this fundmental change.

    I get mail delivered in batches...the important letters marked 'NHS'
    come with a bunch of other peoples marketing crap, I don't think
    Postperson Pat has any compunction about letting circulars pile up.


    Perhaps we've been lucky here - in an urban area about a mile from the sorting/delivery office.  For most of the past year we've had deliveries several times a week, and often every day.   But about a month ago that stopped and we got nothing for about 2 weeks.  I eventually discovered a telephone number for complaints 0345 774 0740 and tried it.  It took
    over 20 minutes to connect to a human but it was useful.  The assistant
    said there were indeed local staff shortages and promised a delivery of
    all outstanding items as soon as they could manage it.  Two days later
    we got 23 letters, some clearly had been waiting for about the whole fortnight.  Since then - one or two deliveries per week.  The promised response to my complaint by email (I gave my email address when on the
    phone) has not arrived.

    Local online media suggest that there is indeed a staff shortage
    compounded by management choice: if a postal deliverer leaves or goes on holiday nobody replaces them.


    There is also a problem in very rural areas where friends of mine live
    in that the the rounds are often 50 miles miles of travelling. It takes
    quite a while to learn the round and that farm X is down a 2 miles
    single lane mud track etc. When someone new has to cover these types of
    round they have to be accompanied for a few days. Old hands may know
    half a dozen rounds of this type but often when short staffed new hands
    are thrown in to the deep end and staff retention becomes a problem.
    Many of the old hands in the said depot are close to retirement and new
    posties don't remain in the job very long.
    Around my way in a large town I never see the same postman. Its a few
    years now since my street had a regular postman.


    --
    mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

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  • From Bob Eager@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jun 17 13:43:38 2025
    On Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:46:45 +0100, alan_m wrote:


    Postman pat cannot put circulars through you letter box on the days he doesn't visit your street or district

    He can't do it at all here. I've opted out.



    --
    My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
    wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
    Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
    *lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From SteveW@21:1/5 to Bob Eager on Tue Jun 17 17:46:23 2025
    On 17/06/2025 14:43, Bob Eager wrote:
    On Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:46:45 +0100, alan_m wrote:


    Postman pat cannot put circulars through you letter box on the days he
    doesn't visit your street or district

    He can't do it at all here. I've opted out.

    The only trouble with opting out is that you also miss letters sent
    through the post to the whole street advising of work due to be done on
    the road, utilities and suchlike.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From Bob Eager@21:1/5 to SteveW on Tue Jun 17 17:13:19 2025
    On Tue, 17 Jun 2025 17:46:23 +0100, SteveW wrote:

    On 17/06/2025 14:43, Bob Eager wrote:
    On Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:46:45 +0100, alan_m wrote:


    Postman pat cannot put circulars through you letter box on the days he
    doesn't visit your street or district

    He can't do it at all here. I've opted out.

    The only trouble with opting out is that you also miss letters sent
    through the post to the whole street advising of work due to be done on
    the road, utilities and suchlike.

    Not my experience!



    --
    My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
    wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
    Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
    *lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to SteveW on Tue Jun 17 19:06:48 2025
    On 17/06/2025 17:46, SteveW wrote:
    On 17/06/2025 14:43, Bob Eager wrote:
    On Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:46:45 +0100, alan_m wrote:


    Postman pat cannot put circulars through you letter box on the days he
    doesn't visit your street or district

    He can't do it at all here. I've opted out.

    The only trouble with opting out is that you also miss letters sent
    through the post to the whole street advising of work due to be done on
    the road, utilities and suchlike.

    With the current state of RM those kind of notifications would turn up a
    couple of weeks after the work has been completed. :)



    --
    mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From The Natural Philosopher@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jun 17 19:28:03 2025
    On 17/06/2025 19:06, alan_m wrote:
    On 17/06/2025 17:46, SteveW wrote:
    On 17/06/2025 14:43, Bob Eager wrote:
    On Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:46:45 +0100, alan_m wrote:


    Postman pat cannot put circulars through you letter box on the days he >>>> doesn't visit your street or district

    He can't do it at all here. I've opted out.

    The only trouble with opting out is that you also miss letters sent
    through the post to the whole street advising of work due to be done
    on the road, utilities and suchlike.

    With the current state of RM those kind of notifications would turn up a couple of weeks after the work has been completed. :)



    I think the leccy company hand delievered a load along our road


    --
    "It is an established fact to 97% confidence limits that left wing
    conspirators see right wing conspiracies everywhere"

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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  • From alan_m@21:1/5 to The Natural Philosopher on Tue Jun 17 20:24:10 2025
    On 17/06/2025 19:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
    On 17/06/2025 19:06, alan_m wrote:
    On 17/06/2025 17:46, SteveW wrote:
    On 17/06/2025 14:43, Bob Eager wrote:
    On Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:46:45 +0100, alan_m wrote:


    Postman pat cannot put circulars through you letter box on the days he >>>>> doesn't visit your street or district

    He can't do it at all here. I've opted out.

    The only trouble with opting out is that you also miss letters sent
    through the post to the whole street advising of work due to be done
    on the road, utilities and suchlike.

    With the current state of RM those kind of notifications would turn up
    a couple of weeks after the work has been completed. :)



    I think the leccy company hand delievered a load along our road



    +1
    Electricity and gas are hand delivered and/or a door to door verbal
    notified. Possibly a legal requirement to identify the vulnerable who
    need electricity or heating if the mains supply is turned off.

    --
    mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Bob Eager@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jun 17 19:47:00 2025
    On Tue, 17 Jun 2025 20:24:10 +0100, alan_m wrote:

    On 17/06/2025 19:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
    On 17/06/2025 19:06, alan_m wrote:
    On 17/06/2025 17:46, SteveW wrote:
    On 17/06/2025 14:43, Bob Eager wrote:
    On Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:46:45 +0100, alan_m wrote:


    Postman pat cannot put circulars through you letter box on the days >>>>>> he doesn't visit your street or district

    He can't do it at all here. I've opted out.

    The only trouble with opting out is that you also miss letters sent
    through the post to the whole street advising of work due to be done
    on the road, utilities and suchlike.

    With the current state of RM those kind of notifications would turn up
    a couple of weeks after the work has been completed. :)



    I think the leccy company hand delievered a load along our road



    +1 Electricity and gas are hand delivered and/or a door to door verbal notified. Possibly a legal requirement to identify the vulnerable who
    need electricity or heating if the mains supply is turned off.

    We get the railway ones like that too (we live near the track)



    --
    My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
    wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
    Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
    *lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Andy Burns@21:1/5 to All on Wed Jun 18 07:42:31 2025
    The only trouble with opting out is that you also miss letters sent
    through the post to the whole street advising of work due to be done
    on the road, utilities and suchlike.
    With the current state of RM those kind of notifications would turn up
    a couple of weeks after the work has been completed. 🙂

    Opposite problem here ...

    transco sent a letter giving a week they were going to replace pipes in
    street, 5 years later they sent another, two months later they sent
    another, two weeks later they turned up.

    severn trent sent a letter giving a date they would (proactively) fit a
    smart meter, on that date they fitted the neighbour's but not mine, a
    fortnight later another letter, on that date they did fit mine and the
    other neighbours, I expect they'll keep turning up a few yards down the
    road on an irregular basis all year long ...

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  • From Davey@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Sat Jul 12 18:09:52 2025
    On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 10:46:28 +0100
    alan_m <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 09/06/2025 09:53, Davey wrote:
    I ordered a package, and when it was said to be due for delivery
    tomorrow, that was fine, I am home today but will need to leave the
    house for an hour and a half at an unknown time to collect my
    neighbour from Outpatients at the local hospital. Tomorrow for the
    delivery was perfect.
    I logged on to my e-mail this morning, to read that the package
    will be delivered today around about lunchtime, when I might well
    not be here. I went into the Delivery options, and was informed by
    the chatbot that I could not revert the delivery until its previous scheduled date of tomorrow, as it had already left the depot.
    How stupid! And the carrier is Royal Mail. No wonder they have
    financial problems.


    Don't believe a word they say! I often get an "automated" email from
    RM saying something will be delivered between 10am and 3pm. Sometimes
    a second email will be received saying that it will now be delivered
    by 7pm. In most cases it is delivered 1 to 2 days later. In the past
    year I've probably had a dozen of these delivery emails which are
    basically an automated work of fiction.

    These emails are sent only when the sender has paid extra for
    tracking.

    I don't believe that my area has had a daily delivery for the past
    year or more. Non-tracked mail arrives in batches irrespective of
    being 1st or 2nd class and when they were posted. I live in a
    highly populated urban area.


    An interesting Amazon delivery today. 'Expected between 2pm and 4pm'.
    Then '2:30 pm to 4:30 pm'. Then '2:45 to 4:45'
    I happened to be in a room adjacent to the hallway when te package
    appeared in my side of the letter box. There had been no knock on the
    door, I was 6 feet from it, and the package was pushed into the letter
    box until it stopped. I went to retrieve it, it would not go backwards,
    and I feared for its safety after pulling it through the letter box. I
    managed it, I think it's ok. Amazon Tracking reports it as "Handed to Customer", which it certainly was not. I don't even know if the driver
    was male, female, or any other sex, and I have no idea of his
    skin colour. I do know that his van was unmarked, no 'Amazon Prime'
    markings on it.
    But at least its here. Now I need to try it, it is electronic stuff, so
    I need a test run.

    --
    Davey.

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