Pillarbox being emptied sooner than it should be

dsldude · Post by **dsldude** » 11 Dec 2018, 00:49

Noticed a few times I am posting things in the box at say 4:15 when it says collection 5:00pm, as these are small packets its easy to hear the box
sounds very empty when they drop, noticed this in at least two boxes in the area which should be pretty busy on main roads.

Are people just not posting stuff anymore or is there a chance these boxes are being emptied earlier than they should be?

Janet Brum · Post by **Janet Brum** » 11 Dec 2018, 09:54

All the boxes should be emptied around lunch time as a relief collection, then again later in the day.
Maybe that`s why it sounds empty.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 11 Dec 2018, 11:51

Also at Christmas, they get emptied more often as a matter of course. The posted time on the box is the last collection, not the only collection.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 11 Dec 2018, 14:55

To be honest most of the times on these boxes are no longer relevant, since the move to collection on delivery there are very few timed collections left mostly from main post offices. A single daily collection is all that is guaranteed now so if you need something collected that day it's best to take it to your local post office or delivery office. Those are usually the last to get emptied.

swindonandy · Post by **swindonandy** » 11 Dec 2018, 15:46

Woody Guthrie wrote:To be honest most of the times on these boxes are no longer relevant, since the move to collection on delivery there are very few timed collections left mostly from main post offices. A single daily collection is all that is guaranteed now so if you need something collected that day it's best to take it to your local post office or delivery office. Those are usually the last to get emptied.

Wrong. The time on the box is the last collection time for that box. If you think you've got boxes with the wrong times tell someone. A single collection may be all that happens but it is at or after the time on the box, even if the box says 9am.

Anyone who thinks pox boxes are no longer relevant needs to go to their local MC and see just how much there is.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 11 Dec 2018, 18:23

A single collection may be all that happens but it is at or after the time on the box, even if the box says 9am

And since all of the boxes in our area that are serviced by COD (which is the vast majority of them) state 9am despite the fact they are emptied anytime between 9am and 3pm from a customer's point of view after 9am the times are pretty much irrelevant.

arnold cheshire · Post by **arnold cheshire** » 11 Dec 2018, 20:19

We scan a barcode inside the box and if we do it early we will be going down the conduct code so there is no chance a box is emptied early

joewyan · Post by **joewyan** » 11 Dec 2018, 21:55

dsldude wrote:Noticed a few times I am posting things in the box at say 4:15 when it says collection 5:00pm, as these are small packets its easy to hear the box
sounds very empty when they drop, noticed this in at least two boxes in the area which should be pretty busy on main roads.

Are people just not posting stuff anymore or is there a chance these boxes are being enough earlier than they should be?

Boxes can be emptied throughout the day, the time displayed on the box is the final collection for the day and it cannot be collected before this time as a barcode needs to be scanned and cannot be done early without ramifications. Rest assured that box will be emptied sometime after 5pm.

dsldude · Post by **dsldude** » 12 Dec 2018, 13:45

Thanks Everyone.

Celgar · Post by **Celgar** » 12 Dec 2018, 22:19

Postboxes tend to get emptied multiple times throughout the day in the two weeks leading up to Xmas day. Even through the rest of the year on afternoon collections posties will routinely empty busy or the larger standard sized postboxes before time then do the official timed collection and change the day tab after the times stated on the postbox. If a large postbox is full to the top the mail is very heavy and it is quite difficult to get the letters out.
Be assured that RM is almost regulated to death and this goes down the chain of command. If we empty postboxes early our heads are nearly on the chopping block. In addition RM posts letters with microchips in them to confirm randomly and sometimes on a regular basis that postboxes are emptied on time/daily. No need to worry about any chance of letters you post not being collected.