Second class service of the postmen who say you were out whe

[Eric Cantona]

Second class service of the postmen who say you were out when you were in
By Sean Poulter

Royal Mail is delivering a second class service, say customers.

Royal Mail delivers a second-class service, according to customers angered by late or non-existent deliveries and baffling prices.

Many are infuriated at receiving ‘while you were out’ cards telling them to collect missed parcels from a post office even though they were in when the postman called.

More than half said their mail arrived later than it should and almost three in four – 72 per cent – have had post delivered to the wrong address.

The research was conducted by the consumer group Which?, whose editor Martyn Hocking said: ‘Royal Mail delivers a mixed bag of patchy service, unpredictable deliveries and a pricing system that few can fathom.

‘The Royal Mail is failing many of its customers – service is variable, deliveries erratic and the pricing system is confusing. It’s not cheap either.’

Since 2006, a first-class stamp has gone up by 44 per cent, from 32p to 46p.

Householders and firms used to get two deliveries a day, one before people left for work and the second before lunch.

But in the last ten years, thousands of postal workers have been axed and post offices closed.

Which? researchers questioned 2,500 Britons and collated the experiences of another 3,923 who kept diaries of their postal deliveries.

They found householders were particularly annoyed to receive a ‘while you were out’ card when they were in fact at home.

Which? said: ‘Fifty-one per cent experienced this in the past year.

‘This was echoed by our diarists. Sixteen per cent of those who got a “while you were out” card reported receiving one while they were at home.

An eagle-eyed 6 per cent actually saw the card arrive without receiving a knock on the door.’

Some customers suspected postmen of deliberately leaving packages at the post office because they could not cope with heavy loads and long rounds. Instead, they dished out the cards so customers had to collect the parcels.

The survey found 71 per cent had received their post late in the day, while just one in four had their single post of the day before 10am.

One in ten did not see the postman until between 1pm and 4pm.

Customers were also confused by Royal Mail’s pricing. In 2006, it started using both the size and weight of an item to determine the cost of sending it.

One Which? member who often posts pamphlets called the system ‘absurd, complicated and confusing’. He found it was cheaper to send two pamphlets separately at a total cost of 72p, rather than sending them together for 92p.

The pricing structure has led to an increase in the number of letters sent without the correct postage. The recipient must then go to the sorting office, pay the postage owed and a £1 admin fee. This confusion has netted the Post Office millions of pounds in fees.

Which? said: ‘The £1 charge seems unfairly balanced against those receiving letters. Royal Mail must rethink how its charges are structured and ensure they are fully and easily comprehensible.’

Royal Mail said the survey found only 12 per cent of participants were dissatisfied with its service and its prices were among the lowest in Europe.

A spokesman added: ‘Our standards for on-time performance are higher than most countries. The survey does not make clear what it means by “late”. Royal Mail’s aim is to deliver the mail before 3pm in urban areas.’


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ou-in.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[dvbuk55]

Pretty much what the daily mirror was saying today from a Which survey, taken by the public over a month.

The survey is truly an indictment of the way the business has been run and all with the unions backing. There should be an immediate response from the CWU to explain that it is NOT the fault of the staff but the poor choice of successive business plans over a number of years which has brought about what is truly a shoddy service in comparison to what the public expect.

Now is the time to start a campaign to get the public to see that privatisation is not the answer to providing an improved service. If they think the price hikes over recent years is high then wait until privateers get their hands on the business.

[Phantom]

The CWU is dead, once RM is sold off the CWU will not be recognised and it is its own fault, the workforce is becoming apathetic towards the CWU and thats because of the s**t deals they are agreeing to, working conditions and pensions are now worse than before, 2 strikes in 4 years could have got us a better deal and given the public the service it once had and deserves.

[PhilthyPhil]

Sounds like all the usual whinging crap from the great British public again We stopped using 'while you were out' cards a year ago and if so many people claim they were in when they got one then why didn't they answer the door You would have really thought the public would have got the hang of pricing in proportion by now. Its not exactly rocket science is it, C3 is a letter, C4 is a large letter anything bigger is a packet As for the Daily Mail, seriously how difficult is it for a newspaper to grasp the difference between the Post Office and Royal Mail. They use the two names interchangeably throughout the article as if they are the same thing.

[dvbuk55]

I wouldn't say it was whingeing crap, I would say it is a fair representation of the state of Royal Mail as it is. The Which survey was quite specific on most aspects of the service we provide today.............it doesn't say why we are failing, that is for the CWU to respond in an aggressive manner, pointing out who is responsible for this state of affairs.

PIP was a disaster. People do not understand it and the fact is, it was designed to make mail more machineable and that hasn't happened. The increase in product has been flats and packets which CSS machines cannot handle.

[Judgee]

I think to be fair alot of what was reported is true.

Would be nice if they did a survey of posties though and ask them how many times had they knocked on a door when the recipient was clearly in and failed to answer!

[POSTMAN]

A lot of it is RM's fault,other bits are down to wank colleagues.

[Syze]

Whenever I'm in the Caller's Office I always get a lot of complaints about P739's being left when they were in. I got one today in fact. I don't understand t - there is no way they could just leave them in the office, they must bring them out - isn't writing the card out a hassle? I'd rather get rid of the item. And what do they do if the customer comes to the door? Run?

I will also say we need representation so that the public no it isn't the fault of the postman, most of whom are hard working and honest...

[clashcityrocker]

A lot of it is RM's fault,other bits are down to wank colleagues.

I don't know anyone who would do this.
I do know that when a driver is unable to gain access to a building the 739 gets delivered the next day by a postie.

[mazza111]

Some are still very much in a rush it seems, I answered my door last week to no one there. Now my living room is right next to hall, where the front door is. And it's only a tiny living room. But he was back in his car (yes car) before I had even got to the door. Knowing that I had seen him, he got his arse back out of car and brought my special back in.

[glenfiddich]

had one today rung bell knocked on window several times couldnt get their attention over the hoover what can you do they'll complain saying they were in

[George door to dawes]

Leaving the card whilst people are in seems bull to me. Why would you carry a packet around with you all day if you didnt have to? And filling in a card takes longer then just knocking again! The amount of times ive had people chase after me in the street waving red cards at me is ridiculous and i promise you i dont hold back with knocking on peoples doors!

[MrPPatt]

Yeah - filling out the damn card is a right pain, especially if it is raining - second only to carrying the damn packet for the rest of the round. I sometimes get people opening their door just as I am posting the damn thing through their letterbox. Its probably 3 or 4 min between me first knocking and pushing the P739 though (cursing silently). And like George says, I knock loudly and in two bursts. "Thought you were the police" has been said a couple times. Heehee - they probably flushed their stash.

As for "only one in four had their single post of the day before 10am." At our SO we have been told that nothing should be posted before 10. Also, if it isn't there before you go to work, what difference does it make if it arrives at 1pm or 4pm?

Patt ;]

[Eric Cantona]

They have p739 card wrote out in advance at my office so its one knock and the card is in. Saying that knock quietly on someone’s door they complain to the callers office the postie must of knocked with a feather, on the other hand give a good bang on the door they come out in a rage "what’s your game mate, I thought it was the bailiffs or the police" my answer to that is are the bailiffs or police after you, they tend to say no so I tell them " you got nothing to worry about then. Today a woman signed for a recorded she had glasses like the bottom of a jam jar guess what she did? put the card up to the wall signed part of the card and part wall..

[steven100]

I'm pretty sure that if every postie didn't cut corners, or wait remember spanish practices the job would be fine . We'd deliver a first class service.