Tracked Item Taking the Long Way Around!

[ZammoZammit]

Hi

A Tracked 48 item I sent last week from Bedford to Dumfries has still not been delivered and seems to be getting sent all over the country!

Ref: TQ062398962GB

It’s been to South Midlands, Carlisle (a bit closer!) , Croydon and now London Central mail centres. Previously the status showed as “in transit” and now says “we’ve got it” - but at the wrong end of the UK!

Has anyone any idea what may be going on? It’s definitely addressed correctly and there has been no indication that Royal Mail have attempted to deliver it. The return address is in Manchester (my parents address) so it doesn’t seem to be on it’s way there either!

[nutcracker]

Hi

A Tracked 48 item I sent last week from Bedford to Dumfries has still not been delivered and seems to be getting sent all over the country!

Ref: TQ062398962GB

It’s been to South Midlands, Carlisle (a bit closer!) , Croydon and now London Central mail centres. Previously the status showed as “in transit” and now says “we’ve got it” - but at the wrong end of the UK!

Has anyone any idea what may be going on? It’s definitely addressed correctly and there has been no indication that Royal Mail have attempted to deliver it. The return address is in Manchester (my parents address) so it doesn’t seem to be on it’s way there either!

The journey should should be south mid, Carlisle, then Dumfries, then recipient.

As it was heading through the pipeline correctly initially, I can only assume the address label has become distorted somehow which does happen in a v small number of instances.

At the very least the item has its original barcode intact as it’s receiving further scans. It will just be waiting game to see if it now goes back from London to Carlisle.

At the very least you should be entitled to a postage cost refund. Apologies on behalf of the company these instances are rare, especially for a tracked item.

[ZammoZammit]

Thanks for your reply. The package has important documents inside which I could do without losing. From what you’ve said, it’s possible the return address may also be missing/corrupted. Can they get the destination/return address from the barcode info?

[nutcracker]

I’m assuming tracked 48 labels are created online by yourself the customer where you inputed the various addresses, so in that case the barcode will contain those address details.

Unfortunately when mistakes or accidents happen in the pipeline Royal Mail can be very slow to react which I find to be a massive mistake...customers (sender)and potential customers(recipient) really notice when things go wrong and will shop elsewhere unless rectified satisfactorily...

Fortunately as it stands your documents are not lost, but may take much longer than you planned to be delivered...

[ZammoZammit]

This item is now showing to be at South Midlands Mail Centre and has been for several days with no further update. Not sure why they aren’t forwarding it to Carlisle/Dumfries unless, as suggested above, the label is damaged and doesn’t show the address. That doesn’t explain why it is being sent between various mail centres though.

How long do I have to wait before I can make a claim for delayed mail? The online compensation form does not allow me to select the option “delayed” (I assume it’s still too soon?), and theoretically it’s not “lost” as it still appears to be in the Royal Mail network.

[SpacePhoenix]

If the address label has got damaged and the lower part of the address is missing staff in the various MCs might be googling the address that is visible to try and work out where it's meant to go. If you enter the destination address into Google but without the destination town name or post code, do the results kinda tie in with the tracking?

[ZammoZammit]

The letter was addressed to Barclays Bank Plc, 3 Castle Street, Dumfries... there doesn’t seem to be another Barclays on Castle Street in any town, although their head office is in Leicester which may explain why the letter has gone to South Midlands Mail Centre. Perhaps only the name of the bank is visible.

If that’s the case, I don’t understand why there appears to be no attempt to deliver it to the Leicester HQ. If the return address is also missing, how long before the mail is classed as “dead”?

[SpacePhoenix]

The letter was addressed to Barclays Bank Plc, 3 Castle Street, Dumfries... there doesn’t seem to be another Barclays on Castle Street in any town, although their head office is in Leicester which may explain why the letter has gone to South Midlands Mail Centre. Perhaps only the name of the bank is visible.

If that’s the case, I don’t understand why there appears to be no attempt to deliver it to the Leicester HQ. If the return address is also missing, how long before the mail is classed as “dead”?

Places like big HQs of big companies will receive so many items that need signing for that they may get their deliveries direct in bulk from the local MC. There's a possibility that it's been delivered to there and no scan has been uploaded

[ZammoZammit]

Thanks for your reply. I’ll check with Barclays to see if they have received anything.

[ZammoZammit]

After almost four weeks, this item is still travelling around the Royal Mail network! When it arrives in Carlisle, it is redirected again. It looked like it was being returned to sender today (M20), but was then marked as “received in error and rerouted”! I’m not in Manchester so can’t call into the local office, but it’s probably too late now if the item has been forwarded somewhere else!

I have spoken to Royal Mail who have said it can’t be classed as lost yet so I cannot claim. I’ve already sent duplicate copies of the documents to Barclays via Special Delivery, which shows as delivered, so all is well really except that my personal documents are being sent all over the country! How long will this go on for?!

[nutcracker]

sorry your still having problems, it’s pretty embarrassing...

This is not an official Royal Mail website so there’s only so much we can do....in an ideal world when Tom, dick or Harry scans your misplaced item a message should come up to put the item on hold for investigation, this seems beyond Royal Mail to place into its software but hey they’re investing in robots that look like they’ve been fashioned from Dyson hoovers...

Maybe someone can chime in with the chief executive’s email, it used to be floating around this website for extreme complaints?

Special delivery is the gold standard in the mail industry and i would always recommend using the service for important items.

By the way did you use a postcode beginning with BX by any chance?

[Lockardian]

Interesting that you mention BX codes, nutcracker. The Barclays BX code is BX3 2BB, but and most branches etc use use that postcode along with their actual branch address. I was under the impression all BX3 mail was delivered to Leicester (via South Midlands MC) but that doesn’t seem to be the case and most mail seems to just go to the branches via their local MC/DO. This seems to defeat the purpose of having a BX code!

It’s possible the OP’s item is being bounced between South Midlands MC (if the default delivery point for BX3 is indeed Leicester) and Carlisle MC (which deals with the Dumfries area where the branch is located). Someone appears to have noticed the item wasn’t going anywhere fast and sent it back to the sender - it’s reached his local DO - but if it wasn’t marked RTS they’ve assumed it’s a mis-sort. That said, surely the Manchester MC wouldn’t have sent it to the DO unless it was clearly marked RTS or similar!

As the OP says, how long can this go on? Surely not indefinitely. Will the barcode stop scanning after so long?

[ZammoZammit]

Thanks for your replies. No, I’m not expecting you to be able to do anything except perhaps give an possible explanation, which you’ve done your best to do.

It was a standard DG1 postcode, not a BX code.

[SpacePhoenix]

It's showing as at Manchester South DO since the 12th of May

[ZammoZammit]

It's showing as at Manchester South DO since the 12th of May

Thanks SP. Unfortunately I’m not in Manchester at the moment (M20 is my parents address and the return address on the packet). I’ve been in touch with Royal Mail Customer Services again who are trying to find out why the item hasn’t been delivered as addressed or returned to sender. I’ll call into the Delivery Office myself when I’m back up north if the situation hasn’t been resolved by then.

Fortunately, as stated above, I resent the documents by special delivery and they arrived safely in Dumfries. I’d just like to get my original packet back as it contains potentially sensitive information!