talkmagic.co.uk

Yes - another royal mail thread...

I was thinking...it costs a certain amount to sent something. But they say the only way to guarentee it arrives is to spend about £3-4 more on "special delivery"

Basically "Spend the normal price and we might not do the job...pay us more and you have a better chance!"

The girlfriend is working in Russia this summer, and she just sent of a postal order, and her passport, to get a visa, and sent it special delivery

Yet still the package turns up empty!

The fact that she can claim it back is not the point. What happened to this "in special delivery it is locked securely in a safe at all times"? She probably doesnt have enough time to get a new passport and reapply for the visa now

Why on earth do you have to pay 4 times as much for a service that should be given initially, and even then they still steal your stuff?

This isn't the first time either!

With special delivery, you're mostly paying for the next-day guarantee, plus the security of being able to track it and prove it was delivered. There's also basic insurance thrown in. The price is highish, but compares well with next-day delivery from third-party couriers.

Most of my work comes in, and all of it goes out, via special delivery. (E-mail jobs excepted.) Years ago I used first class, but ended that gamble when an urgent job got lost.

Sorry to hear of your girlfriend's troubles. If the parcel was delivered but turned up empty, it sounds like it encountered some light-fingered postal worker along the way. You can lodge an official complaint about theft, but from experience I can tell you nothing will come of that.

It's far worse sending things internationally, since contents have to be listed on the Customs form with their values. You might as well just write "steal this" on the package. My parents sent us a Christmas package once, including some jewellery. Most of it arrived, but the jewellery was gone. Col went to the Mount Pleasant sorting office, complained, filled in a form about the theft, and saw the form being thrown away before he was out the door.

Robbie wrote:With special delivery, you're mostly paying for the next-day guarantee, plus the security of being able to track it and prove it was delivered. There's also basic insurance thrown in. The price is highish, but compares well with next-day delivery from third-party couriers.

It would compare well if their guarantee was trustworthy. I have had parcels skipping days several times.

If you make the posting deadline and don't get it delivered next day, you can claim the postage back. (Whether that's worth the hassle is another matter.)

I must be lucky with my jobs, then, 'cos I think it's only ever happened to me once in about ten years.

My biggest complaint is that occasionally somebody slips up and orders the "before 9 am" delivery. Which not only costs them a lot more, but means I get woken at ungodly hours by postmen pounding on the door.