HWDC.....

[eddy6419]

I am expecting an item from china,it reached HWDC on the 11th at 10:53.....and has gone no further.
I got in touch with RM via the website 'contact us' email form and they kind of said it would appear to be 'lost'
I find that hard to swallow that an item that is probably between 60-70cm long x 20cm D x 20cm W (possible longer,wider & deeper) can get 'lost'....a small package yes.
I get the feeling it was easier for them to say that than answer my question,going by other threads on here it seems they cannot get any more info out of HWDC than joe public.....that I do find odd.
Is there not a contact phone number for HWDC?

Is there any reason why HWDC would take so long?.......another parcel posted 2 days after mine arrived at it's destination 8 days ago

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Is there any reason why HWDC would take so long?

Customs can slow it down a lot.

Also parcels get damaged, addresses get obscured, labels fall off, items get misrouted, scams are carried out, numbers are cloned the list of what COULD have happened is as wide as your imagination.

HWDC performs no customer facing role, and they don't have call handlers employed there directly, all those roles are handled by the Customer Service people on the usual contact number. Its the same for all the different Distribution Centres, Mail Centres, Walk Bundling Centres and Data Entry Centres. Now whether that's good Customer Service could be debated forever, however that's the situation we have to live with, and unfortunately its not something an unofficial website like RMC can change.

[eddy6419]

Yes I know it's something RMC has no control over,and I like many others are grateful to those who onced worked or do still work for RM for trying to answer questions put forward by the general public.
You would think that maybe an email address would be available for HWDC....then again I can see why there isn't just by the few threads about HWDC on here,if they are the only ones dealing with ALL incoming mail etc from overseas then I should think any email address for HWDC would go into meltdown

Is HWDC the same place as Langley?....or is it the first step of a parcels journy once of the plane before being sent to langley?

[SpacePhoenix]

Is HWDC the same place as Langley?....or is it the first step of a parcels journy once of the plane before being sent to langley?

Yep, they're the same. I would imagine that customs operate in the same building, and that customs check every item (they probably xray everything anyway). Until customs release an item to RM, they'll be nothing that RM can do

[eddy6419]

I have been informed by RM to contact the seller so they can make a claim before RM will investigate,so I guess that's the next step in order for RM to investigate,what a pita

[Minischoles]

I find that hard to swallow that an item that is probably between 60-70cm long x 20cm D x 20cm W (possible longer,wider & deeper) can get 'lost'....a small package yes.

As someone working in CS I always find this kind of funny, people saying the dimensions and colour of their parcel like it matters at all.

HWDC receive about 4 million items on average each day - while you might think of your parcel as unique, it's really not.

[eddy6419]

I find that hard to swallow that an item that is probably between 60-70cm long x 20cm D x 20cm W (possible longer,wider & deeper) can get 'lost'....a small package yes.

As someone working in CS I always find this kind of funny, people saying the dimensions and colour of their parcel like it matters at all.

HWDC receive about 4 million items on average each day - while you might think of your parcel as unique, it's really not.

Well I'm pleased your amused,I too find it funny how Royal Mail always quote the amount of mail they handle when things go wrong,never come across any other industry where the main excuse for cocking up is blamed upon the actual work they do
Also amazes me how a parcel can travel across the globe ( track no RC797904460CN china post) and the moment it's handed to Royal Mail it promptly 'vanishes' into thin air,maybe they should try a different industry as the one they're in dosen't seem to suit them.
The reason for the brief discription was incase it lost the address label,a more detailed discription was passed to CS via email and considering this site is nowt to do with royal mail I didn't see any reason to post a more accurate account on here.

[SpacePhoenix]

I find that hard to swallow that an item that is probably between 60-70cm long x 20cm D x 20cm W (possible longer,wider & deeper) can get 'lost'....a small package yes.

As someone working in CS I always find this kind of funny, people saying the dimensions and colour of their parcel like it matters at all.

HWDC receive about 4 million items on average each day - while you might think of your parcel as unique, it's really not.

Well I'm pleased your amused,I too find it funny how Royal Mail always quote the amount of mail they handle when things go wrong,never come across any other industry where the main excuse for cocking up is blamed upon the actual work they do
Also amazes me how a parcel can travel across the globe ( track no RC797904460CN china post) and the moment it's handed to Royal Mail it promptly 'vanishes' into thin air,maybe they should try a different industry as the one they're in dosen't seem to suit them.
The reason for the brief discription was incase it lost the address label,a more detailed discription was passed to CS via email and considering this site is nowt to do with royal mail I didn't see any reason to post a more accurate account on here.

China Post and RM don't have a reciprocal agreement to track each other's items so they get treated as normal 1st class recorded. Chances are it's stuck with customs, its not unheard of for things to get stuck at customs for over a month. What was the contents?

[eddy6419]

I find that hard to swallow that an item that is probably between 60-70cm long x 20cm D x 20cm W (possible longer,wider & deeper) can get 'lost'....a small package yes.

As someone working in CS I always find this kind of funny, people saying the dimensions and colour of their parcel like it matters at all.

HWDC receive about 4 million items on average each day - while you might think of your parcel as unique, it's really not.

Well I'm pleased your amused,I too find it funny how Royal Mail always quote the amount of mail they handle when things go wrong,never come across any other industry where the main excuse for cocking up is blamed upon the actual work they do
Also amazes me how a parcel can travel across the globe ( track no RC797904460CN china post) and the moment it's handed to Royal Mail it promptly 'vanishes' into thin air,maybe they should try a different industry as the one they're in dosen't seem to suit them.
The reason for the brief discription was incase it lost the address label,a more detailed discription was passed to CS via email and considering this site is nowt to do with royal mail I didn't see any reason to post a more accurate account on here.

China Post and RM don't have a reciprocal agreement to track each other's items so they get treated as normal 1st class recorded. Chances are it's stuck with customs, its not unheard of for things to get stuck at customs for over a month. What was the contents?

Contents were a 20-60 x 80 ed spotting scope (eyeskey) won via auction on that infamous site.

[SpacePhoenix]

Any idea if the seller marked it up as "do not fly" when they sent it and sent it surface mail? Just reading the description on the manufacturers website, this could be a problem if HWDC try to send it by the internal airmail network:

Nitrogen filled and sealed body for waterproof and fog proof

What postcode area is the item going to (just the first 2 letters)?

[eddy6419]

Any idea if the seller marked it up as "do not fly" when they sent it and sent it surface mail? Just reading the description on the manufacturers website, this could be a problem if HWDC try to send it by the internal airmail network:

Nitrogen filled and sealed body for waterproof and fog proof

What postcode area is the item going to (just the first 2 letters)?

As far as I know it arrived in the uk on the 11th of august at 10:53 uk customs,post code area is SO.
All I get from royal mail CS is it should have been delivered by now so therefore must be lost,which is no help at all and tbh seems to be the standard response from RM CS.

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

Any idea if the seller marked it up as "do not fly" when they sent it and sent it surface mail? Just reading the description on the manufacturers website, this could be a problem if HWDC try to send it by the internal airmail network:

Nitrogen filled and sealed body for waterproof and fog proof

What postcode area is the item going to (just the first 2 letters)?

As far as I know it arrived in the uk on the 11th of august at 10:53 uk customs,post code area is SO.
All I get from royal mail CS is it should have been delivered by now so therefore must be lost,which is no help at all and tbh seems to be the standard response from RM CS.

the reason you get that response from CS is because of the sheer volume of items received by RM daily it is prohibitively expensive to attempt try and locate your item, hence why the use of timescales to decide when to make a claim for being lost, if its not received by x date then declare it lost and then pay compensation if the sending mail company makes a claim to RM, it would cost hundreds possibly thousands of pounds to search for your item, and thats only if it was still at heathrow, it may have moved onto any other delivery office in the country but not been scanned for any reason such as labels falling off or even wrong address physically written on the parcel by mistake

just to add, you said it reached the uk on 11 August, it probably is still in customs, items are taking between 4-6 weeks to clear customs, and it may have actually cleared customs but have a customs surcharge to pay on the item, from what you have described the item as its probably worth more than £18 so a surcharge and VAT would definitely be payable in that case, it may actually be in your local delivery office, they may have sent out a grey surcharge slip(its a bit similar in size and shape to the red ones we send out when we miss you when you are not it) that could have gone astray and it may simply sitting in your local delivery office waiting for you to pay the surcharge, so its worth giving you local delivery office a call and not CS and they can tell you there and then if its in the office

[bigcol]

Well I'm pleased your amused,I too find it funny how Royal Mail always quote the amount of mail they handle when things go wrong,never come across any other industry where the main excuse for cocking up is blamed upon the actual work they do
Also amazes me how a parcel can travel across the globe ( track no RC797904460CN china post) and the moment it's handed to Royal Mail it promptly 'vanishes' into thin air,maybe they should try a different industry as the one they're in dosen't seem to suit them.
The reason for the brief discription was incase it lost the address label,a more detailed discription was passed to CS via email and considering this site is nowt to do with royal mail I didn't see any reason to post a more accurate account on here.

Needle and haystack.

[eddy6419]

Any idea if the seller marked it up as "do not fly" when they sent it and sent it surface mail? Just reading the description on the manufacturers website, this could be a problem if HWDC try to send it by the internal airmail network:

Nitrogen filled and sealed body for waterproof and fog proof

What postcode area is the item going to (just the first 2 letters)?

As far as I know it arrived in the uk on the 11th of august at 10:53 uk customs,post code area is SO.
All I get from royal mail CS is it should have been delivered by now so therefore must be lost,which is no help at all and tbh seems to be the standard response from RM CS.

the reason you get that response from CS is because of the sheer volume of items received by RM daily it is prohibitively expensive to attempt try and locate your item, hence why the use of timescales to decide when to make a claim for being lost, if its not received by x date then declare it lost and then pay compensation if the sending mail company makes a claim to RM, it would cost hundreds possibly thousands of pounds to search for your item, and thats only if it was still at heathrow, it may have moved onto any other delivery office in the country but not been scanned for any reason such as labels falling off or even wrong address physically written on the parcel by mistake

just to add, you said it reached the uk on 11 August, it probably is still in customs, items are taking between 4-6 weeks to clear customs, and it may have actually cleared customs but have a customs surcharge to pay on the item, from what you have described the item as its probably worth more than £18 so a surcharge and VAT would definitely be payable in that case, it may actually be in your local delivery office, they may have sent out a grey surcharge slip(its a bit similar in size and shape to the red ones we send out when we miss you when you are not it) that could have gone astray and it may simply sitting in your local delivery office waiting for you to pay the surcharge, so its worth giving you local delivery office a call and not CS and they can tell you there and then if its in the office

Thanks for the advice,I will enquire at my local po sorting office,it would defo carry a charge as it's over £18.

[eddy6419]

Well I'm pleased your amused,I too find it funny how Royal Mail always quote the amount of mail they handle when things go wrong,never come across any other industry where the main excuse for cocking up is blamed upon the actual work they do
Also amazes me how a parcel can travel across the globe ( track no RC797904460CN china post) and the moment it's handed to Royal Mail it promptly 'vanishes' into thin air,maybe they should try a different industry as the one they're in dosen't seem to suit them.
The reason for the brief discription was incase it lost the address label,a more detailed discription was passed to CS via email and considering this site is nowt to do with royal mail I didn't see any reason to post a more accurate account on here.

Needle and haystack.

s**t before shovel ....your turn