Theft of SE1 Mail Continues?

I have an idiot postie who thinks my flat number is a house number (the building number is clearly visible, but no). I therefore keep getting someone else's post.

not quite theft but another issue for us has been the crap rediection service offered by se1 royal mail. paid a fortune last year to get mail redirected but mail keeps going to my old ares and then returned to sender. is there a post ombudsman or whatever? who is in charge of royal mail in SE1. anyone got a name to complain to?

This issue with redirection seems to be a pervasive problem. I used to live in a building where neighbours organized redirection when they left, but despite their doing so their mail kept turning up at their old address rather than being sent to their new one. I'm not convinced the redirection service works. Tedious though it is, you simply have to go through your address book advising people one by one that you have moved!

My item is missing.
I am currently not working and at home all day.
My hearing, and my doorbell, are fully functioning. Thought I would record here what happened in case anyone wants to use as example in their complaints. I'm still trying to get a response from Royal Mail........

Wed 04 April cica 11.00:
Discover a "Sorry you were out" card indicating an attempt was made to deliver a 'recorded, signed for delivery'. I do not believe an attempt was made.

Wed 04 April 11.05 - 11.10:
Attempted several times to ring Mandela Way office, engaged tone.

Wed 04 April, 14.39:
Rang Mandela Way, got through and asked for redirection to 239 BHS branch. Female staff member took details and advised likely arrival the following day but possible delay until Saturday 07 April due to Bank Holiday.

Thus 05 April, circa 14.00:
Item not at 239 BHS branch
Staff advise to try again, after Bank Holiday Monday on 09 April

Tue 10 April, circa 14.00:
Item not at 239 BHS branch
Staff helpful, suggest trying after 4.30pm to check if item has arrived

Tue 10 April, 16.45pm:
Item not at 239 BHS branch

Tue 11 April, 16.46 to 17.10:
Attempted to ring Mandela Way Branch, could not get through, used "Callback" function which reulted in telephone at Mandela Way ringing at 16.48 but telephone not answered (branch closes at 17.00)

Wed 12 April, 9.03:
Rang 239 BHS, item not arrived

Wed 12 April, 09.05:
Rang Mandela Way office, got through immediately. Male staff member said that item was not at Mandela Way, but that it had been sent out. He could not confirm either the post office it had been sent to, or on which date. When I asked why he could not say WHERE it had been sent and WHEN, he said the information was "in the book" but "I'm on my own" and he could not check. He advised me that the item may have been sent to the wrong post office and I should ring other post offices in the area other than 239 BHS branch which I specified.

Wed 12 April, circa 9.10:
Tried to track item online using "Track and Trace". Got message;
Recorded Signed For™ items are only tracked after the item has been delivered. Depending on whether the item was sent first or second class, this may be a few days after posting. Please try again later. Information on your item is not yet available online.

Wed 13 April, 9.15:
Rang Royal Mail customer services. Advised that only the sender of the item can report as a missing item. I pointed out that the staff at Mandela Way are saying that the item has been sent to 239 BHS, without any evidence that this is the case. I pointed out that there is a serious problem with the Mandela Way office and I am concerned that the could be notified that that item HAS been delivered and signed for in error. I cannot contact the sender to check as I do not know who the sender is. The customer services representative said she could not do anything about it, the onus is on the sender to investigate if the item is not signed for. I explained that this is circuitous - if the sender is mislead by a false report of the item being signed for, they cannot know delivery has not occured. She asked me if I wished to make a complaint, I said I did. she transferred me to the customer service options line.

Wed 13 April, circa 9.20:
Transferred to option line. Choose option 1 for complaints - line went dead.

I have been told - by a very reliable source - that they watched (from 20 feet away) the Bermondsey Street postie pull their post trolley up to the letter box outside of the Wooly and empty the contents of their trolley back into the letter box.

That would certainly shorten your work day...

As far as dealing with a change of address goes, I can recommend a service called www.iammoving.com

It lets you bulk email a variety of businesses, charities etc. that may be sending you post; you can inform them all in one go that you're moving.

I have no connection to this business.

boroughpaul wrote:

is there a post ombudsman or whatever? who is in charge of royal mail in SE1. anyone got a name to complain to?

There is a complaints proceedure on the Royal Mail web site if you are feeling really strong or www.postwatch.co.uk will take you to the independent body that trys to help in these cases.

I ended up writing to Simon Hughes in the end but the relief from postal horrors was only temporary.

KM wrote:

boroughpaul wrote:

is there a post ombudsman or whatever? who is in charge of royal mail in SE1. anyone got a name to complain to?

There is a complaints proceedure on the Royal Mail web site if you are feeling really strong or www.postwatch.co.uk will take you to the independent body that trys to help in these cases.

I ended up writing to Simon Hughes in the end but the relief from postal horrors was only temporary.

thank you! I feel so dumb that I didn't think of that before.
I have now written to someone in the house of lords as well as simon :->
well, you never know.......
(post watch have still not replied and nor have the chairman's office! and of course the post office haven't either.)

I have had no less than five items that disappeared within the last 6 weeks.

3 were packages posted to me from Sweden by people there so naive that they expected better than low grade third world country standards from the UK postal service. (i.e the stupid losers sent it by normal unrecorded mail).

The sorting office here is clearly a criminal gang operation.
You can even tell by the tone of their voice when you call them that they won't even make an effort to try to find it.
They are, whether actively involved in nicking mail or not, accepting the situation and playing along helping the criminals to continue running a safe and prosperous little
untouchable mafia thing inside their cosy fortress on Mandela Way.
(While I start making plans involving getting the WW2 tank nearby into full working condition)

The other 2 that went missing was things I mailed from here TO Sweden. And beeing a naive swede myself I did the same mistake and didn't send it by recorded mail.

I think Royal Mail should discontinue standard mail and only offer recorded/signed for, since clearly the standard service is only there to rip naive foreigners off.

You people who have been around here a while, or even are born and bred brittish, would naturally not be as stupis as to TRUST ROYAL MAIL! Right?

I got a replacement debit card sent to me from the bank. It arrived with the envelope blatently ripped down the side so the contents could have been read then replaced.

This is nothing like as ridiculous as other stories here but shows how blatant some people in the royal mail can be.