Well, a friend of mine posted some RC parts out from Edinburgh to me in Northampton on Monday 24th February, early morning at the Post Office. Tracking updated several hours later the same day indicating Royal Mail had collected the parcel.
I was expecting... well, hoping... that it would be delivered on Tuesday, since they do aim for Next Day delivery, but mostly expected it on Wednesday at the latest.
Needless to say, I was stupendously wrong. Not only did I not get my delivery after 24 hours/next day, but the tracking hasn't updated since Monday 24th. Amazing.
The seller says he called Royal Mail, who said that it has left Edinburgh and has reached Northampton. If they really did say that, I smell a big fat lie right there. Even if the parcel missed getting scanned, surely it would have eventually been delivered in the past week? Or scanned eventually?
The only possibility for the problem was the inclusion of a LiPo battery. I'm unsure how it was packaged, but it would seem he has adhered to the postage rules. And he's sent out many batteries in the past the same way with Royal Mail and had no issues.
I've contacted RM via Twitter messaging, and haven't been very helpful. Just giving me the same info I can see on the tracking, and telling me they are "confident" it'll arrive soon. Hm-hm....
So... basically... a little over a week has passed since they collected it from the Post Office, is my parcel lost by any chance? Or is the battery the likely suspect? Wouldn't the tracking change to say something like "parcel rejected" or "return to sender" if something like that were to happen?
Thanks for reading my little essay!
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Tracked 24 - No Updates for Over a Week
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PureChaosX
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 05 Mar 2025, 13:41
- Gender: Male
Tracked 24 - No Updates for Over a Week
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Snaggletooth
- EX POST OFFICE
- Posts: 2220
- Joined: 13 Sep 2011, 20:17
- Gender: Male
Re: Tracked 24 - No Updates for Over a Week
If the battery is the problem then no, you would not see the messages you describe, the tracking would just stop. And they certainly wouldn’t RTS because RM would be obliged to destroy the parcel.
Part of the problem is that you are chasing this as a recipient: RM can only deal with their customer (the sender) due to data protection etc. And you as sender can’t properly answer the questions that RM need to ask about packaging etc.
Part of the problem is that you are chasing this as a recipient: RM can only deal with their customer (the sender) due to data protection etc. And you as sender can’t properly answer the questions that RM need to ask about packaging etc.
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PureChaosX
- Posts: 2
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- Gender: Male
Re: Tracked 24 - No Updates for Over a Week
Granted, I'm chasing this as the recipient of the parcel, but the sender was also trying to contact Royal Mail when they could, and they were "confident" it'll arrive, so they clearly had no idea what the delay was.
It does seem as though the battery could have been the issue, but no idea why... it was shipped within the device it powers (an RC car) which as far as I'm aware, is acceptable, as long as the battery isn't loose on it's own, and he's shipped several batteries in the past in the exact same way, including one to me. So now all of a sudden this is an issue?
I'm also pretty sure (though, I could actually be very wrong here) I've seen videos from people complaining about Royal mail removing certain items from parcels, resealing them and attaching a label to inform the recipient. But that could be relating to other couriers now I think about.
Would at least be fair to update the tracking to reflect the fate of our parcels instead of leaving us in the dark for the entire time. Maybe a separate system to scan soon-to-be destroyed parcels or something. Oh well, nothing we can do anyway. They destroyed an entire RC car because of a battery that was included with it... seems shameful to me.
It does seem as though the battery could have been the issue, but no idea why... it was shipped within the device it powers (an RC car) which as far as I'm aware, is acceptable, as long as the battery isn't loose on it's own, and he's shipped several batteries in the past in the exact same way, including one to me. So now all of a sudden this is an issue?
I'm also pretty sure (though, I could actually be very wrong here) I've seen videos from people complaining about Royal mail removing certain items from parcels, resealing them and attaching a label to inform the recipient. But that could be relating to other couriers now I think about.
Would at least be fair to update the tracking to reflect the fate of our parcels instead of leaving us in the dark for the entire time. Maybe a separate system to scan soon-to-be destroyed parcels or something. Oh well, nothing we can do anyway. They destroyed an entire RC car because of a battery that was included with it... seems shameful to me.
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SpacePhoenix
- MAIL CENTRES/PROCESSING
- Posts: 11895
- Joined: 12 Nov 2008, 17:03
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Re: Tracked 24 - No Updates for Over a Week
What part of the country is it meant to be going to?
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Snaggletooth
- EX POST OFFICE
- Posts: 2220
- Joined: 13 Sep 2011, 20:17
- Gender: Male
Re: Tracked 24 - No Updates for Over a Week
There are a lot more rules than that, for instance it has to carry the correct hazard label, there has to be a return address on the parcel, etc. The sender only has to have one small lapse on this and they have committed a criminal offence.PureChaosX wrote: ↑08 Mar 2025, 20:44It does seem as though the battery could have been the issue, but no idea why... it was shipped within the device it powers (an RC car) which as far as I'm aware, is acceptable, as long as the battery isn't loose on it's own, and he's shipped several batteries in the past in the exact same way, including one to me. So now all of a sudden this is an issue?