Special Delivery delay

[tony123456]

Hi, I'm new here as I've just found this site with my umpteenth google search and am hoping someone might be able to help me out with some information/advice on a tricky and potentially expensive problem! I sent 6 items last Friday (2/11) by standard (not Saturday) Special Delivery, each one a very lightweight DL sized envelope, but while 3 of them have been delivered as expected the other 3 are all showing online as '(your item) posted at (post office) on 02/11/12 and is being progressed through our network for delivery'. I've been contacted by all 3 of the recipients to say they haven't received anything and advised them to check with their local delivery office in case delivery was attempted etc. They have and been told that there's simply no sign of it!

I use SD quite a lot and in more than 5 years have never had one go astray so it's doubly (triply!) weird that suddenly 3 should 'disappear' at the same time - even more so when I consider that the 3 that were delivered had a different return address as they were being sent on behalf of someone else, while the 3 missing have my return address! I know from experience that sometimes 1st class recorded items will stay as 'being progressed through our network' even after having been delivered, but is this possible with SD?

The only advice CS have given is to speak to the people at the post office, but their response, which I expected, is that they don't have anything there and in all honesty I can't see how they still would. So yeah, any advice or insight gratefully received and how does the system work? It's scanned in front of me at the PO and then when is it next scanned? Also read somewhere else that RM have a tracking system that shows more than the one available to the public, is this true? Cheers in advance.

[SpacePhoenix]

http://www.royalmail.com/trackdetails" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's available to the public. What's the last entry for each of the ones that have gone missing?

[TeeferTiger]

All special delivery (SD) items travel separately to the rest of the mail and are handled in a separate secure area having been scanned everytime they are handled. They would be scanned at the post office, possibly scanned at the Delivery Office (DO) doing the collecting from the PO (unlikely though as they should be in a PO pouch at that size), scanned when received and sorted at the Mail Centre (MC), scanned again when leaving the MC, (scanned again if they go to another MC elsewhere in the country), then scanned in at the DO that will be delivering the items and scanned/allocated to a postie. If it's delivered, it's scanned as such and it not-same applies.

The tracking info on the link in the post above should say at which point it got to before falling off the radar. Either way, a claim for delayed item can certainly be made and the costs of the postage recouped.

[tony123456]

Thanks for that, I think that should be the one the public are directed to on the RM website as it does show a lot more detail. The last entry for all 3 of mine that have gone missing is 'ACCEPTED AT POL' - which is the same as how the other 3 successful ones start but their next entry is 'COLLECTED' at just after 8pm at the depot (not sure if it's helpful at this stage to use the actual places concerned or not?!). So somehow 3 of the 6 have been scanned on collection and 3 haven't! I can see now why I was directed toward the post office but they just said they have nothing there, which is what I expected them to say, and is this anymore unlikely than them having actually been collected, taken to the sorting depot and somehow lost there without being scanned? All 3 of them?!

[fishtank]

Wherever they are....they are all together and it must be somewhere in the initial stages before they would be segregated for onward delivery.
It sounds obvious but what it does mean is that foul play is less likely and the chances of recovering all three is more likely.

[tony123456]

Wherever they are....they are all together and it must be somewhere in the initial stages before they would be segregated for onward delivery.
It sounds obvious but what it does mean is that foul play is less likely and the chances of recovering all three is more likely.

That's music to my ears but why would the other 3 (posted at the same time) have been delivered and these 3 vanished from the system? In your opinion could one or all 3 suddenly appear again on the tracker at a new location?

[tony123456]

Also is there any point in my going to the sorting depot where they would/should have been taken and asking there? Is there any chance they would be able to help?

[fishtank]

In your opinion could one or all 3 suddenly appear again on the tracker at a new location?

If they are found that's what will happen but a week is a long time for something to be off the system in Special Delivery terms.
That would be my main worry,mistakes do happen occasionally but it's very unusual for that mistake not to be rectified in a week.
It may not make you very popular but i would consider revisiting the PO,you have to try to imagine where 3 SD items could sit for a week without being noticed.

[tony123456]

I did ask again at the PO today and they told me that when a collection is made it goes with a list of what should be included - so that when my 6(?) SDs arrived at the sorting office (and I know at least 3 of them got there) there would have been a checklist to refer to of what should have been included. Is that accurate? I'd naively thought it would just be a big sack of letters and the person scanning each one (individually?) would have just gone through them one by one as if it were a lucky dip (albeit an unexciting one!)

[newsubbie]

I did ask again at the PO today and they told me that when a collection is made it goes with a list of what should be included - so that when my 6(?) SDs arrived at the sorting office (and I know at least 3 of them got there) there would have been a checklist to refer to of what should have been included. Is that accurate? I'd naively thought it would just be a big sack of letters and the person scanning each one (individually?) would have just gone through them one by one as if it were a lucky dip (albeit an unexciting one!)

Yes, we include paperwork with all the barcodes on it for all special delivery, airsure and International signed for items. The PO will have a copy of this paperwork which will have been signed (or should have been) by the collecting officer.

[TeeferTiger]

I did ask again at the PO today and they told me that when a collection is made it goes with a list of what should be included - so that when my 6(?) SDs arrived at the sorting office (and I know at least 3 of them got there) there would have been a checklist to refer to of what should have been included. Is that accurate? I'd naively thought it would just be a big sack of letters and the person scanning each one (individually?) would have just gone through them one by one as if it were a lucky dip (albeit an unexciting one!)

Yes, we include paperwork with all the barcodes on it for all special delivery, airsure and International signed for items. The PO will have a copy of this paperwork which will have been signed (or should have been) by the collecting officer.

If it was placed into a blue pouch, they are not opened by the Delivery Office doing the collecting. They are put into a sack, counted as 1 SD and sent off in the sealed blue pouch. Same goes for any sacks collected sealed from the PO. Judging by the size of the SDs sent, they'd more likely be in a blue pouch, and the contents of that pouch should be checked when the pouch is opened at the Mail Centre.

[tony123456]

Thanks for everyones help. Still no sign of them so a claim it is. If they were all scanned at the PO (which the system and, also, my memory say they were) and then put into a blue pouch which is then scanned at the sorting office wouldn't they would then all show as being received at the sorting office? Also has anyone ever heard of this before - half arriving and half disappearing? To be frank I am a little wary of using that PO now, how likely is it someone could have trousered 3 of them?!

[TeeferTiger]

Thanks for everyones help. Still no sign of them so a claim it is. If they were all scanned at the PO (which the system and, also, my memory say they were) and then put into a blue pouch which is then scanned at the sorting office wouldn't they would then all show as being received at the sorting office? Also has anyone ever heard of this before - half arriving and half disappearing? To be frank I am a little wary of using that PO now, how likely is it someone could have trousered 3 of them?!

When I worked at the DO, we didn't open the blue pouches, it was counted as 1 SD on the counting sheet and sent to the MC. The MC then open the pouches to obviously sort them to where they need to go next and they are scanned as received at the MC.

[tony123456]

This isn't directly connected to the above but it is related so thought it best just to continue the thread. I was supposed to receive a special delivery letter today but wasn't in so came home expecting to find a card. No card and have just checked the tracking number online and apparently it's been delivered! Signed for and all, by a 'MR' - that's it (at 10 past 1 incidentally but when the service is this broken what's ten minutes between service provider and customer)! I live in a flat and as far as I am aware SDs have to be signed for by the recipient or at least someone at that address so who exactly could this 'MR' be?! Seriously if customers can't even trust SD the RM is properly sunk.

[gertdog]

I work in customer services and sadly there are occasions when we have no idea what has happened to our premier service items! I did find a very expensive item yesterday after the customer was accusing us of theft and he was going to go the papers, mp, police etc. Its was at the NRC with a different barcode as the original one came of. Sometimes companies give out the wrong reference numbers to customers which is entertaining other times someone has put a similar but wrong address on the item and yes even sometimes they are delivered to the wrong address by accident. The best thing to do is to call us on 08457 740740 where we can get the info from you, look at the tracking and do a bit of phoning around, you never know, we might just be able to sort it out btw we have had a bit of a problem at the Romford MC so if items have gone through there you might have a bit of a wait as we're still investigating that little black hole!