MEDWAY MAIL CENTRE STROOD

[SM Black]

PLEASE HELP!
Can anyone shed any light on how a correctly addressed 1st Class Recorded A4 envelope can vanish into thin air within the new state-of-the-art Medway Mail Centre in Strood? We posted it on the 20th October and it hasn't reached its destination in Tunbridge Wells. The contents are of no value to anyone, but to replace them will cost us a fortune. We're desperate, please help.

[gorski]

Had a simailar thing happen to a recorded item, it was eventually RTS'ed back to me from RLB Belfast 20 days later, it had been killed off and gone thru' the system without being lasered once with a track and trace gun, so no trace of it showing on the internet.

[DGP1]

Recordeds don't get scanned in until we're at the door waiting on a signature, so if one is mis addressed then you wont get any trace.

[tetley smooth]

Recordeds don't get scanned in until we're at the door waiting on a signature, so if one is mis addressed then you wont get any trace.

Item should be scanned as RTS when it gets to RLB by whoever does the kill offs in the dely office. Also the bar code should have been put on a dely card endorsed as unknown or refused etc. This part of job was done correctly several years ago but like everything else shortcuts and poor training have taken their toll.

[DGP1]

Recordeds don't get scanned in until we're at the door waiting on a signature, so if one is mis addressed then you wont get any trace.

Item should be scanned as RTS when it gets to RLB by whoever does the kill offs in the dely office. Also the bar code should have been put on a dely card endorsed as unknown or refused etc. This part of job was done correctly several years ago but like everything else shortcuts and poor training have taken their toll.

Don't know about the person who does the 'kill offs' but if a recorded comes to me without the proper address then it just gets stickered and put into the dead box, never goes anywhere near my PDA so any letter wont get scanned by me (nor anyone else in my office), maybe we should just send all the badly addressed mail back to the mail centre and let them just deal with it..............oh wait, they're too busy on their hour long breaks to do much work............just let the DOs do all the work.

[SM Black]

Thanks for your replies. We definitely put the correct address and full post code on the letter. There is no record of it ever reaching Tunbridge Wells delivery office, and the recipient (a business) has checked their mail records for bar codes. They have even asked their regular postman to make enquiries at businesses nearby to see if it has been left there by mistake.
It seems there can only really be one answer and that it is languishing somewhere in the new multi-million pound Medway Mail Centre - but even with the limited enquiries I can make it seems there are no problems with a back-log. Just don't understand it. Could it possibly be roaming the country due to a mis-read post code I wonder?

[DGP1]

. Could it possibly be roaming the country due to a mis-read post code I wonder?

Not for that long, we're usually quite good at getting things where they're meant to go even if the postcode is wrong.

[SM Black]

Had a simailar thing happen to a recorded item, it was eventually RTS'ed back to me from RLB Belfast 20 days later, it had been killed off and gone thru' the system without being lasered once with a track and trace gun, so no trace of it showing on the internet.

Why did it go to Belfast? Was it correctly addressed and then got damaged or did no-one ever take delivery? Glad you got it back. I'm worried sick about mine!

[gorski]

Item was correctly addressed, but the addresse had moved and not bothered with a redirection. All recorded deliveries should be scanned on a PDA, by the delivery officer either with a customer signature or a reason why it couldn't be delivered.

[Glygan]

I work in that area at Medway, there are a few problems with some people put on the vague duty untrained on how to lookup addresses and just killing off work that can easily be looked up on the computer...
Anything that has the correct address on should not go to Belfast. we do not use PDA so as said before it should get scanned at the delivery office.

[SM Black]

I spoke to Tunbridge Wells DO and they are sure it could not have arrived there. The thing is, the address was really clear and accurate. I can't believe it's been lost en route from Medway Mail Centre in transit to T. Wells. Really, can that happen?
Is it possible it was sent to the wrong address, not signed for, and therefore sitting in a box waiting to be claimed by someone?

[Glygan]

I spoke to Tunbridge Wells DO and they are sure it could not have arrived there. The thing is, the address was really clear and accurate. I can't believe it's been lost en route from Medway Mail Centre in transit to T. Wells. Really, can that happen?
Is it possible it was sent to the wrong address, not signed for, and therefore sitting in a box waiting to be claimed by someone?

Do not know how Tunbridge can be so sure it did not arrived there with the amount of work they must receive every day, if it was clear and accurate then it would not have gone though the vague duty, as said before it is only scanned at the delivery office so no way to trace where it has gone.

Sorry I can not be of more help to you.

[blackbooks]

Having worked at T Wells DO.,I think that if they say it has not come in, it really has not come in. However, there are anecdotal problems with Medway and lots of mail getting held up there, but ususally only for a day or so. Word is that it cannot currently cope with the workload.

It might be worthwhile trying the Tonbridge DO, as that is still handling a fair bit of TN postcode mail. We are a 'TN' DO and most of our packets, specials and tracked items come from Tonbridge.

Best of luck.

[SM Black]

Thanks for that. Would anyone have a tel no. for Tonbridge DO? I'll try any route I can at the moment.
I'm out of my mind with worry as these are financial documents - worthless in themselves - but will cost an absolute fortune to get them re-issued.

[dodger162]

Any items of value should be sent by the Special Delivery service. Recorded is simply a signature on receipt.
The reasons for non delivery of an item are numerous and involve the sender, carrier and recipient. It is the sender that is usually responsible, poorly addressing, wrongly addressing and worst of all failing to put on a return address so that it can be returned. Also the recipients often simply lose items that they have received. It is always of course the carrier that gets blamed for non delivery.
If the item was posted on 20 October and a return address was applied then it is now unlikely to be delivered. If a return address was not applied, it could still be at the Returns centre in Belfast awaiting processing.