Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Boycotting Suppliers who use the Royal Mail Parcel Delivery Service
These days most parcel deliveries by courier take place without issue. Parcels are left with a neighbour, or a safe place if you're not in. The one exception is Royal Mail. They seem very reluctant to attempt an alternative or offer collection from a local point. Since the rationalisation of their logistics operation, it's also a real pain to go and collect an undelivered item. So in one way and another they seem to be by far the most difficult courier for us to get a delivery from.
A case in point today for me today. The Royal Mail attempted to deliver an item this morning when I wasn't in. Instead of trying an immediate neighbour, many of who were in, they left a card. My choices are a redelivery next week, a trek to Tufnell Park or delivery to a Post Office next week (for a 70p charge). A redelivery might just end up with the same problem. So I tried a post office delivery. I'm on Hewitt and there's a post office at the bottom of Warham, but the online redelivery system wouldn't allow me to collect it from there. I assumed this was a computer glitch so called up to see if could arrange delivery to Harringay Post Office. I learned that this was no glitch. It was just another example of a system designed to suit a company rather than a user. Because I'm in N8, I can only collect from an N8 post office, no matter than the parcels for N8 and N4 both come from Tufnell Park. It's bonkers.
With companies like DPD and Hermes presenting a real challenge to the Royal Mail, I don't understand how they can survive performing like this - and unless they change, they don't deserve to.
Last year the FT wrote:
The 500-year-old postal operator still controls more than one-third of the £9bn parcels sector and is modernising its systems and technology. But the high growth rates of its smaller rivals suggest they are gaining ground. Revenues at DPD, which is part of the French state-owned La Poste group and competes directly with Royal Mail’s Parcelforce service, rose from £417m in 2010 to £945m last year, said Mr McDonald. He expects turnover to top £1bn in 2016.
As users of parcel delivery firms we're in a strange situation. We're not actually the customer; the vendor is. Rock and a hard place?
This isn't the first time I've had an issue with Royal Mail deliveries. A couple of years ago Martin Lewis, consumer champion and the force behind MoneySavingExpert.com, criticised retailers for failing to monitor the performance of the delivery firms they use. I agree. So I've decided that now I will avoid suppliers who use the Royal Mail unless there's a compelling reason to do otherwise. I've written to the supplier I bought from this week explaining the reason that I won't be using them again.
Tags for Forum Posts: mail deliveries, parcel deliveries, royal mail
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Philip on
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sad but true. Even small packets with regular mail are not left with neighbour etc. Its pointless emailing the address on the card for redelivery as you never know if they will comply. the private couriers just have to deliver again for no payment so they have an incentive!
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You can nominate a preferred neighbour for it to be delivered. You have to fill in a form:
http://www.royalmail.com/delivery-to-neighbour
They also offer safe place nomination, it is up to the retailer to integrate this into their checkout system:
http://www.royalmail.com/corporate/sending-receiving/uk/safeplace
I often use the redelivery option through the Royal Mail website, once you create a login profile it's very quick and works well on mobile devices. Not had a problem.
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Permalink Reply by JulieB on
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Royal Mail is one of the good ones for me. We tend to have the same post person for a good while and they have all been great. Sometimes see me coming home and go back to their van to get the thing that wouldn't fit through the door. I have to go to Broad Lane to collect which is a real pain to get to, so I tend to do a re-delivery for 2 or 3 days after the first attempt and in over 10 years I've only had a problem a couple of times.
My worst courier seems to be Yodel they have often left things by my door in full sight of the street. Amazingly nothing has been stolen, but it's really not a good idea.
Having said all that I've got to know most of the couriers quite well, because I'm at home a lot and am always taking in parcels for neighbours, and they are all friendly and professional.
I do think you having to go to Tufnell Park is ridiculous, I'm sure the GL post office is an option on my list when I book a redelivery.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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Broad Lane swore they didn't have my parcel once, so I called Royal Mail and they told me it must be at Tufnell Park. Went to Tufnell Park, they said "who sent you here?" And ordered to rant about the staff at Broad Lane. Sure enough it was at Broad Lane - but they had a guy working there at the time whip would spend the first hour of his shift outside with a coffee and a cigarette, instead of opening the parcel bags like he was supposed to.
There has been a change in personnel now and I count myself lucky compared to friends living a couple of blocks away who have to go all the way to Bruce Grove. And they normally deliver to my upstairs neighbours anyway. Good of its the elderly couple who are always home, bad if it's the Polish shift workers who never are!
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Our postman regularly delivers parcels to our neighbours, and we get deliveries for them too. Perhaps it depends on the individual postie. At least Royal Mail staff are employed properly, and not working in the gig economy. Better for the consumer but not necessarily better for the worker...
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Never had that problem. I often take RM deliveries for neighbours and they do the same for me. Maybe it's dependent on the round you're in (I'm N4)
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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My neighbours are great with other delivery services that leave parcels with neighbours. To activate this service for Royal Mail you have to travel in person to Tufnell Park and fill in a form.
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I'm sure I had a letter from Royal Mail saying they would deliver to a neighbour unless I opted out. They deliver to my neighbours and it works well.
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Sadly, you have to go to Tufnell Park to activate the service - see the RM website here.
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But I didn't have to they deliver to neighbours without a problem. Their letter said if I didn't want them to deliver to a neighbour I had to tell them. I think there was a slip I could send back but I didn't want to.
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