If a sorting office receives a parcel missing a door number what is the procedure?Is the name looked for in a database or telephone directory?
Is the parcel just sent back same day?
thanks
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Wrongly addressed mail
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gibpostie
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Wrongly addressed mail
Hi all a simple question.
If a sorting office receives a parcel missing a door number what is the procedure?Is the name looked for in a database or telephone directory?
Is the parcel just sent back same day?
thanks
If a sorting office receives a parcel missing a door number what is the procedure?Is the name looked for in a database or telephone directory?
Is the parcel just sent back same day?
thanks
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Snaggletooth
- EX POST OFFICE
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Wrongly addressed mail
Hello,
I'm ex-Post Office, so not in a great position to help. But, crucially, you have put this in the Post Office forum, where Royal Mail staff are not so likely to read it. Probably best to put this in the 'customer' forum.
I'm ex-Post Office, so not in a great position to help. But, crucially, you have put this in the Post Office forum, where Royal Mail staff are not so likely to read it. Probably best to put this in the 'customer' forum.
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TrueBlueTerrier
- FORUM ADMINISTRATOR
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Wrongly addressed mail
The Mail centre ignore the address when sorting and just go by the postcode. They will pass it on to the local Delivery Office for that Post Code.
On arrival at the DO, the parcel sorters will read the street name and pass it on to the "Duty" that covers that street. Or if it's covered by 2 or more they will check the postcode and pass it to the most likely duty.
By this time, it's down to local knowledge so if your regular postie recognises the name it will be delivered as normal. If they don't recognise the name they will hold on to it for a few days to try and match it to a letter with the same details.
But, the official line is that incomplete addresses should be returned to sender on arrival at the Delivery office.
On arrival at the DO, the parcel sorters will read the street name and pass it on to the "Duty" that covers that street. Or if it's covered by 2 or more they will check the postcode and pass it to the most likely duty.
By this time, it's down to local knowledge so if your regular postie recognises the name it will be delivered as normal. If they don't recognise the name they will hold on to it for a few days to try and match it to a letter with the same details.
But, the official line is that incomplete addresses should be returned to sender on arrival at the Delivery office.
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meercat
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Wrongly addressed mail
Database? no we don't have a database of customers names I doubt that would even be legal what with the DPA.
Telephone directory? Didn't know they still existed. And oh what fun it would be looking through all the Smiths in SW London!!!
This happens fairly often (usually it's the wrong number rather than no number) and so most Posties will find the area of the street by quickly checking the postcodes of mail in the frame then they will check the 20 or so houses with that postcode looking for a surname match. The problem is often postcodes are incorrect on the mail so you have no chance of finding a name match or the correct house has no mail that day (so no name match) or the parcel is addressed to a friend (no name match to the house). How long a Postie will spend trying to find a match will depend on how busy they are that day and how important the item of mail looks. So on a busy day you might spend a few seconds max before giving up to try it the next day and repeat that for a few days or send it straight back to the return address the first day you fail to find a match.
Ofcourse if the Postie is on an area where his/her customers are generally friendly and tip at Christmas he/she will go the extra mile to match the parcel even so far as knocking on doors to ask neighbors etc. That's why you should always tip your postman, he could do you a big favour one day.
Telephone directory? Didn't know they still existed. And oh what fun it would be looking through all the Smiths in SW London!!!
This happens fairly often (usually it's the wrong number rather than no number) and so most Posties will find the area of the street by quickly checking the postcodes of mail in the frame then they will check the 20 or so houses with that postcode looking for a surname match. The problem is often postcodes are incorrect on the mail so you have no chance of finding a name match or the correct house has no mail that day (so no name match) or the parcel is addressed to a friend (no name match to the house). How long a Postie will spend trying to find a match will depend on how busy they are that day and how important the item of mail looks. So on a busy day you might spend a few seconds max before giving up to try it the next day and repeat that for a few days or send it straight back to the return address the first day you fail to find a match.
Ofcourse if the Postie is on an area where his/her customers are generally friendly and tip at Christmas he/she will go the extra mile to match the parcel even so far as knocking on doors to ask neighbors etc. That's why you should always tip your postman, he could do you a big favour one day.