Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed Still not delivered

[edwardsp]

Hi all,

On Tuesday 1st June, I sent a small parcel from Bristol (UK) to a BT67 (UK). The Post Office staff insisted that RM SPecial Delivery was the only option and the parcel would be delivered by 1600 the following day. It's not the 3rd and it's still not been delivered, and the Track and Trace is only showing the following;

In Transit
We expect to deliver your item today
Your item is due to leave Bristol MC to go to Northern Ireland MC. More information will be available as it travels through our network.

It also showed this yesterday.

Any ideas or suggestions? I'm very concerned as the item is worth £700.

[yellowbelly]

Special Delivery is 'Guaranteed' in as much as it can be, but if there are exceptional circumstances things can obviously be delayed.

As your item is crossing the water I imagine it would go by plane, perhaps there's been an issue there (dangerous goods - battery for example).

Also I wonder if there's an issue with the contents or value of the item and all the Brexit mainland/NI faff.

If you post the tracking code someone might be able to give you more of a clue.

[2yearpostie]

https://www.royalmail.com/retail-compen ... olicy-loss

[Pumpernickel]

Who are you sending the item from and to?

I'm not asking to recieve a specific answer, but the nature of the sender and recipient somewhat influences the process (especially with items over £135 in value). Some things require declarations from the sender, some require declarations from the recipient, some both previous declarations, and more things require nothing at all:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sending-par ... rn-ireland

I have no idea who determines what's what at customs, or what happens if anything is in doubt.

[nutcracker]

So many complaints, missorts etc around special deliveries and tracked 24 items at my mail centre, Royal Mail are wrecking their brand name for the foreseeable future....

[Snaggletooth]

...I sent a small parcel from Bristol (UK) to a BT67 (UK). The Post Office staff insisted that RM SPecial Delivery was the only option ... the item is worth £700.

Items of that value should not travel in the normal mail. From the services available at the Post Office, only Special Delivery (SD) or the various Parcelforce Guaranteed services are suitable. The PFW services are priced for items of several kilos or more, so for a 'small' item SD would generally be the right choice.

Certain contents are banned from all services except SD, e.g. cash and jewellery. Also, SD is the only service in the industry which has Consequential Loss insurance available (as an optional extra).

All services are subject to the Dangerous Goods Act. A £700 contents value often indicates that you were sending a smartphone, tablet or laptop computer, all of which regularly cause issues under the Dangerous Goods Act. If it is one of these, did you follow the instructions in the Batteries section here:

https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app ... il/a_id/96

[edwardsp]

Thank you all for the replies. The tracking number is VE616123216GB. Since my post yesterday, there has been an update to the tracking information;



The item was a drone, with x2 batteries, but packing followed the RM restrictions which states LiPo batteries** can be sent, with certain rules followed. The drone, batteries and accessories were in their original packaging.

The item was sold via ebay and was from person to person (not business). Thanks again all.

**Electronic devices sent with lithium batteries
(including mobile phones, digital cameras, etc) where the battery is not
connected to the device.
Packaging guidelines: The maximum number of lithium batteries allowed in
each parcel is the minimum number required to power the device plus two
spares. For lithium ion/polymer batteries the Watt-hour rating must not exceed
20Wh per cell or 100Wh per battery. For lithium metal/alloy batteries the lithium
content must not be more than 1g per cell or 2g per battery. The maximum net
quantity of cells or batteries is 5kg per parcel. Each cell and battery must be of a
type proven to meet the requirements of each test in the UN Manual of Tests and
Criteria, Part III, section 38.3. Cells or batteries that are defective or damaged
are forbidden. Cells and batteries must be packed in inner packagings that
completely enclose the cell or battery and protect them from short circuit. The
equipment sent with cells or batteries must be packed in strong rigid packaging
and must be secured against movement within the outer packaging and packed
to prevent accidental activation. Must be presented at the counter. Sender’s name
and address must be visible on the parcel.
Electronic devices connected to lithium batteries
(including mobile phones, digital cameras, etc) where the battery is
connected to the device.
Packaging guidelines: Each parcel must contain no more than four cells
or two batteries installed in a device. For lithium ion/polymer batteries the
Watt-hour rating must not exceed 20Wh per cell or 100Wh per battery. For
lithium metal/alloy batteries the lithium content must not be more than 1g
per cell or 2g per battery. The maximum net quantity of cells or batteries is
5kg per parcel. Each cell and battery must be of a type proven to meet the
requirements of each test in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Part III,
section 38.3. Cells or batteries that are defective or damaged are forbidden.
The equipment containing cells or batteries must be packed in strong rigid
packaging and must be secured against movement within the outer packaging
and packed to prevent accidental activation. Must be presented at the counter.
Sender’s name and address must be visible on the parcel.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Looks like it's due delivery today.

Also it looks like it got caught up in some delays that Royal Mail declared on 2 Jun viewtopic.php?f=6&t=100690

You should still be able to claim back the postage at least.

[edwardsp]

Thank you TrueBlueTerrior.