leave post with neighbour trial

[POSTMAN]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-sout ... s-15916261" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Four areas of south west Wales are taking part in a UK trial by the Royal Mail which will see post needing a signature left with a neighbour.

The trial means people in Ammanford, Gorseinon, Pontardawe, Llandeilo and Neath will be able to receive items when they are not at home.

At the moment the Royal Mail is not allowed to leave post requiring a signature with neighbours.

Nearly 170 delivery rounds and 83,518 addresses will be covered by the trial.

Royal Mail said it wanted to make it easier for people who were not at home during the day to receive items that require a signature or were too large to go through the letter box.

The company said it was the only major delivery firm that was not allowed to deliver to a neighbour as part of its standard practice.

Nick Landon, Royal Mail's managing director of fulfilment and packet strategy, said: "Research shows that our customers welcome this initiative.

"It will make it much easier and more convenient for customers to receive letters and packets if they are not at home when we try to deliver."

The trial, which is planned to run until 25 February, is also taking place in Edinburgh, Wigan, Bolton, Hull, north Gatwick and Norwich.

[fishtank]

[clashcityrocker]

So some of us can leave it in the porch and some of us might be able to leave it in the porch.

I'm glad we've got that sorted now.
It will be fun for those that get sent to different offices to work out what the rules are.

[brothermagrew]

There is an LTB out on the CWU website covering neighbouring trials.

[johnsouthwales]

as long as a neighbour is willing to accept putting a sig down that is. what happens if the neighbour is not in, would a postie go round knocking all the doors in the hope of someone being in? time consuming.

then again, it would be awkward knocking on the door of someone they don't get on with to retrieve a packet lol... or an awkward twt who would turn round and say "i don't know what you are talking about"... or someone who is renting a place and decides to move at a moments notice taking along said possession. or maybe out of bad luck, someone who agreed to look after it suddenly decides to go away to spain for a fortnight and forgets to tell the person they've got their mail.... hmmm.

and how can a postie be in a position to recognise who is a trusty neighbour or not if they randomly knock on a door asking for safe keeping? and the neighbour maybe willing to accept it but that does not mean they will look after it especially if their kids are curious and open the soddin thing or a dog gets it's teeth into it.

don't really know what to say anymore about the system where it is acceptable by other couriers not to deliver to an adressee by default... god knows how it'll work in a block of flats. how would it be defined what an immediate neighbour is.. the next available door on either side would be a reasonable asssumption. all is well in a street, there would be a next door either side. same as a block of flats... god knows how that works in rural areas, their next door could be quarter of a mile away lol

[glenfiddich]

god knows how that works in rural areas, their next door could be quarter of a mile away lol

all the rurals i know work from a different rulebook so dont worry about them

[TeeferTiger]

as long as a neighbour is willing to accept putting a sig down that is. what happens if the neighbour is not in, would a postie go round knocking all the doors in the hope of someone being in? time consuming.

One guy I used to deliver parcels to (and who was NEVER fuggin in!!! ) had a note on his door saying "if not in, please leave with neighbour at...." and then listed about 5 different houses.

Depending on what mood I was in, and whether I had time, I'd try a couple of doors (it was my old round anyway so they knew me) but it used to really piddle me off.

[johnsouthwales]

yeah things are ok when everyone knows who's who... lol what happens if all five nominated are out as well?

[REDLETTER]

Nick Landon, Royal Mail's managing director of fulfilment and packet strategy

Do they just make up jobs for these people?

How many managing directors does RM have.

[johnsouthwales]

uh? when did this start in ammanford? lol lol. ok, last friday i must have missed the postie by a few minutes cos i nipped up the town after 2:30pm and when i got back there was a recorded note.. bugger, i wasnt being arced to go back up and i knew what it was.. anyway, i guessed that it would get redelivered on saturday but as !2:45 appraoched, i thought it wasn't.. so i went up to the s.o, and i flamin left the card on the table, it wasn't to be found..so it was assumed the driver was on the way back and a good chance of it being back before 1pm lol.... no chance.

it could well have been the driver called round in the time i went to the s.o, and knowing my luck, some driver had it on their dashboard when i was passing them after leaving as they were coming back after 1pm..

i was looking at dashboards and i was saying to myself grrr that's my packet you got lol..

so, if the experiment was going on, ummm ..... why wasn't it next door? lol

card gets put through my letter box saying your mail is with a neighbour, postie waiting for neighbour and signs for it.

so the postie has to go to my house first, knocks, then goes next door.. if next door has some mail for next door in the first place and the postie isn't really losing any time except the waiting time and signing for.. then you'd get someone saying oh i'll fetch me glasses.. but if there is nobody in next door, there'd be two lots of non-answered..

and if there is somebpdy next door or wherever, the postie has to go back to the first address to fill in the card saying your mail is with aka whoever.. do that a few times and it'll take around 1.5 mins each time at least

i know those white van parcel deliveries don't hang about.. if nobody answers in 10 seconds they're off... i know this cos i caught the bugga at a delivery a while back.. b y the time i came to the door, he had already gone to next door and i had to call him back ffs

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/news/ro ... code-areas" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royal Mail trials new delivery process in Bolton, Edinburgh, Hull, North Gatwick, Norwich and Swansea post code areas

Published: 28 November 2011

Royal Mail is rolling out trials in selected areas today (Monday 28 November) to leave post with a neighbour if people aren’t home and the package is too big for their letterbox. The trial covers nearly 750,000 addresses and runs until 25 February 2012.

The postman or woman will choose a neighbour and ask if they will look after the package. The postman will then deliver a notification card (which has the address where the package has been left) to the intended recipient so the parcel can be collected. Royal Mail hopes consumers will find this more convenient than current arrangements.

As well as packages, the trial includes Royal Mail’s recorded delivery but excludes special delivery mail or international post that needs a signature.

Robert Hammond, Director of Postal Policy said, ‘Customers in these areas have been notified that the trial is taking place and many may see this new approach as convenient; people who don’t want to take part have been offered the chance to opt out. Consumer Focus welcomes the trial and especially the flexibility for consumers on whether to take part.’

ENDS

Notes to editors:

People sending packages from outside these post code areas to people in these areas may wish to check with the person they’re posting to that they are happy with the arrangements. List of postcode areas can be found at
http://www.royalmail.com/delivery-to-neighbour

Currently, undelivered post is taken back to the delivery office and a P739 card is put through the recipient’s door, detailing their three options: redelivery on another day; collection from the Delivery Office; collection from a Post Office (for a £1.50 fee). If the item is not collected/redelivered after a certain number of days the item is returned to the sender as undelivered.

Royal Mail proposals, affecting 1,406 delivery rounds, are:

The postman will attempt to deliver ‘undeliverable’ items as normal
If the addressee is not at home, the postman will go to the property of a neighbour, defined as someone who ‘lives within close proximity’. The postman chooses the neighbour
For non-signature items, if the neighbour is at home and accepts the item the postman will deliver a notification card to the addressee. This will detail the address of the neighbour
For items requiring a signature, the signature of the neighbour will be taken.
If the neighbour is not at home or does not accept the item, the postman will return the item to the Delivery Office as usual

Consumer Focus has called on Royal Mail to consider a range of other options to offer greater choice and security than the delivery to neighbour proposal. These could include:

Expansion of Safeplace to non-business customers. Currently, this allows businesses to offer customers the option to designate an alternative delivery location including a near neighbour
Roll-out of the successfully trialled paid-for evening delivery service
The possibility of making deliveries to ByBox lockerbanks at mainline railway stations or other convenient locations
Increased use of post offices as alternative delivery points so that the post office network becomes an optional delivery point rather than a costly redelivery option

[johnsouthwales]

i wish the bbc site had better info.. anyway, i've got the rm flyer. in my opinion, it will work for some but not for all.. what is concerning is the liability factor. if an item was damaged, there will be a blame game between parties. if the neighbour damaged an item intentionally or unintentionally, it is open to abuse and the neighbour will say it must have been damaged during rm transit..

i'm sceptical about this as a claim will have to be pursued through civil courts should there be a dispute.

as things stand legally now, the contract as we all know is between the sender and the courier. if an item was damaged or whatever during or prior to the addressee receiving it, the seller is in no postion to pursue a damage claim. the implications of this is more than can be imagined.

and legally, a sender/company can turn around say tough to the addresee suffering financial loss because all this is doing is shifting the compensation onus away from rm and also inadvertingly away from the sender or seller, however careful the neighbour is with safekeeping. as soon as it has been intercepted by a third party, all responsibilities are exonerated. it could well be personal documentation, ultra sensitive electronic equipment, just about anything, and it will compromise confidence, if anything in my view, it totally eradicates it.

and NO, i will not be happy in contacting rm so that they will send me a sticker. no sticker is going to clutter my door and make a general appearance of untidyness... where will the line be drawn when there would be no cold callers stickers, rm stickers and god knows what else stickers lol.

bad idea this is. it may save save time and money for rm but it will make it extremely difficult and expensive for the consumer when things go wrong if there is a dispute

[johnsouthwales]

if anything, what rm should have done a 'yes leave it at a neighbour' sticker instead of a no... if there was a yes, ok, addressee's own risk....

if there is no sticker, that automatically means no do not leave it with a neighbour.

and if anything i have been told this morning by a horses mouth that the neighbour can be nominated.. i do not see this on the leaflet.

and if anything, it only says that special delivery is returned..

i do not like the word might.... 'we might need you to sign for an item too - if the sender has paid for that service - but not for Special Delivery (tm) or specific international mail (remember, we'll return those to the delivery office)

this wording might implies it may or may not require a signature. in simple terms, it has GOT to say either it does or it doesn't.. it will be bad if a recorded delivery simply gets shunted through a neighbours box with no signature.

so, the routine is the postie goes to the adresseewith a recorded delivery, nobody home.. goes next door, hands it over without a sig, goes back to the adressee and puts in a 'something for you card'... that is bullshit anyway because they haven't got something for you because it's been passed to third frickin party so it doesn't exist anymore lol

[johnsouthwales]

anyway, what i was on about my own recorded package, the trial didn't start until monday 28th..

what is baffling me now is, where the hell has it gone? i been to the sorting office and they cannot find it. they said ring back tomorrow cos the postie who had it has the day off... they don't know where the postie has put it. it's not at the front desk, the clerk keeps on saying he has seen it.. then again he said that on saturday so when he said that again today arouses a bit of suspicion..

if it was attempted to be redelivered on saturday, surely another calling card would have been placed.. so my theory of it being on some's dashboard goes through the window as if it was returned to the s.o. on sauturday afternoon, it would have been put in the recorded delivery slot..because he said on saturday he will hold it for me to pick up myself.. probably the packet is only an A5 padded envelope or a plain even.

two places it could possibly be. either in the rack, in the uncollected box. i cannot see it being in a vehicle as it would have to been returned to the s.o whether on friday or saturday.. i can't see it being taken back into the s.o and back out again into a vehicle on saturday afternoon for 'safekeeping as there was no need to attempt to redeliver again after saturday.'

what is bugging me is, that if it had NOT gone back out to be redelivered on saturday, and especially when the clerk said on saturday it has been seen, whether it was seen on friday afternoon after the attempted delivery or just simply in the rack on saturday as it would have been left there after friday anyway.
what he would not tell me is if it was seen again after i left on saturday or not. he may have been referring to it has been seen again on monday or yesterday etc. he's already said it has been seen at least when making the enquiry on saturday, so it existed. he knows this because he almost said my address but i had to correct him very slightly out on one digit on the address, so he knows there is a recorded delivery, he's seen the frickin thing but he doesn't know where it is. and where he has seen it apparently looks like it was in the rack or nearby the small rack ffs

[subbie]

So whats happened to the Postal Services Act, and the mails integrity criteria contained within?

I thought all persons who wished to "handle" the Royal Mail particularly those items covered by the USO, had to be licensed as a Mails Operator under the Act.

They'll be getting neighbours to deliver the mail next!!

Subbie