Special Delivery Lost/Vanished

[Discolegs]

Firstly, Happy Christmas everyone :) I’m looking for hope basically as a special delivery package that I sent on 28/11, worth a huge amount to me both sentimentally and finically has now been declared officially lost by Royal Mail. The tracking is stuck as “preparing item” and no further updates. My local Post office have confirmed that it was sent in the way it should have been, they’ve even checked their CcTV but there are no further scans. It is literally as if it has vanished into thin air?! Escalations at RM have investigated and asked to see manifest sheets etc. The lady I spoke to in RM was wonderful (I was very teary a number of times) and she reassured me I would get an update. I phoned this morning after a week of no news only to be told my RM customer services the notes say the case had been shut and I should claim there is a letter on its way to me. The lady I spoke to last week assured me should would not shut it just yet and I can’t speak to escalations at all. My hope is lying in the fact my parcel (along with apparently 5 others from the same sack) never made it to the priority locker and is stuck in a back log travelling as ordinary mail. We suspect it to be at Jubilee MC. Can anyone tell me if this is likely - at all? I have been told SO many times how rare it is for A SD to go missing... Appreciate any advice anyone can offer as I’m totally obsessing about this!! Recipient is trustworthy and says it hasn’t arrived as yet. Thank you

[SpacePhoenix]

What's the first 2 letters of the postcode where it was posted (we'll be able to tell if it was due to go to Jubilee from the Post Office)?

There should have been a "Accepted at Post Office" scan, which does make me wonder if it was even collected from the Post Office.

What's the tracking number?

[Discolegs]

Thank you for replying! Postcode is ME14 1NX. Tracking number is VE282891987GB. Post office swears it was collected as it should’ve been and went to Guildford first but as there are no scans, no-one know

Thanks again and Happy Christmas

[nutcracker]

I work at jubilee. The length of time between now and posting the special delivery to not show up/receive a scan is normally a bad sign and indicates the item is missing.

However, Jubilee and the Medway/Kent areas are being particularly badly hit at the moment by coronavirus. There is still a small chance for the item to have passed through jubilee without a scan and be piled up somewhere it shouldn’t.

Offices should be able to catch up over the next couple of weeks and your item may still show up when everything has been worked through.

Another avenue after that time period will be to see if perhaps the item has come out of its packaging/address has been damaged on package etc etc and the item has gone to our national returns centre in Belfast. When you are at the stage of claiming £500+ Insurance from the company it tends to concentrate the mind of someone from the company to have a good look there...

Sorry I can’t give you a more definitive answer and sorry for the distress you are going through! Your item is insured but that’s not much consolation for something sentimental! Really hoping it turns up!

Ps Your item will definitely receive a scan when being delivered to the recipient, even in coronavirus times

[Discolegs]

Nutcracker, you are literally an angel. Thank you VERY much for taking the time to write such a long response and it does reassure me that there is a glimmer of hope. I am trying to remember there are far worse, poor people suffering with other things at the moment but it is incredibly important to me that it’s found. Stupid girl for sending it I guess you could say!!

I will keep everything crossed that it does come out the other side as thing are cleared as you suggest. You guys have undertaken a huge task so thank you. Last question, should I claim now with the hope it will sharpen RM’s interest or wait a while longer? Escalations told me I have until February. Thank you again :)

[Celgar]

We noticed in our delivery office in the last few days before Xmas that due to Boris making changes to the Xmas arrangements that vast amounts of items were sent out by special delivery. Some special delivery items were not being kept separate at the MC and were arriving at our office mixed in with 'tracked' and ordinary parcels. We generally spot mistakes like this at our end though.
I would suggest not worrying too much at this point in time and wait another seven days to see if it arrives. This kind of thing should never happen with special delivery items but I guess these are exceptionally strange times.

[Discolegs]

Thanks, I’ll wait till perhaps the end of the first week of Jan to see if it filters through. Strange how the whole bag of SD’s
Sent on the same day are all missing so makes me hope they we’re all put in the mainstream post... fingers crossed!

[Discolegs]

Hi all, wondered if I could ask for your opinion again please on a another SD.

Yesterday I sent another special delivery and low and behold, same problem... tracking is stuck on sender preparing item 24hrs later.... My post office have confirmed all SD’s last night were collected so surely this means they’re not being scanned at either post office collection stage or at Jubilee. This can’t be right surely? Tracking number for new item is NY173158890GB.

Still no sign of parcel I originally posted about.... received an official letter from RM yesterday telling me to claim

Thank you as always!

[simmo11]

Looks like SD is still struggling...

I wonder what the bill will be in January for late and lost items :(

Is there an argument to say RM should suspend accepting these items for a while to allow the system to recover?

[limagamma]

Discolegs, were the items ever delivered?

[Discolegs]

Hi
No, it never materialised and the tracking never changed. Currently still dealing with the chairman’s office but likely looking that I’ll have to accept the compensation money (which doesn’t cover the loss). RM Security are apparently ‘investigating’ but I’ll never be told the outcome....

Somewhere, there is a very nice rolex watch, either on some thief’s wrist or languishing in the depths of a depot. The whole ordeal has been genuinely awful, I’ll never trust RM again

[scooby69]

Discolegs. I've just checked the tracking number: NY173158890GB.
It says it was Delivered from Dundee East DO & signed by MCCOMBIE on Monday 04 January 11:42am

4jan21.png

[Discolegs]

That’s kind of you to check however, My fault, I can’t have had my glasses on, I gave the wrong tracking number is my previous post. The correct tracking number for the missing item is VE282891987GB. Status hasn’t changed on my tracker :(

[3Pot]

Can someone check out the following tracking number: NY327146311GB

Have the same issue, a parcel I’m expecting was sent on 21/12 via SD but hasn’t arrived as yet. Information is showing ‘sender preparing item’.

[yellowbelly]

Can someone check out the following tracking number: NY327146311GB

Have the same issue, a parcel I’m expecting was sent on 21/12 via SD but hasn’t arrived as yet. Information is showing ‘sender preparing item’.

Sorry to be of little help, but not much more any of us can say about this really (as we're not an official site just
posties trying to give a bit of advice) and can't dig into any more detail regarding the tracking than you can.
It was posted at a Post Office then nothing.

I'd request the sender put in a claim to Royal Mail for compensation/refund.