Recorded delivery mail

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yello

Guest
I received a record delivery letter a few days back. I hadn't signed for it - but somebody had. The 'signed for' sticker had been removed. So I decided to have a look at Royal Mail's website to see if I could find out who had signed for it. That just says information is "not yet available".

Do you reckon the postie couldn't be arsed with extra work? Arguably doing us a favour by signing for it himself rather than having to return it to the sorting office?
 

Keith Oates

Janner
Location
Penarth, Wales
he wouldn't...............would he!!!!!!!!!!!
 

barq

Senior Member
Location
Birmingham, UK
It can take a while for the signature to become available online (even if the item is showing as 'delivered') so I'd check back in a few more days.
 
OP
OP
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yello

Guest
How long is "a while"? The letter was delivered last Thursday!

I'm just interested really. I can imagine, with the amount of stuff that is sent recorded, that there's a lot of work involved in the process. Especially when someone's not in to sign.
 
This has also happened to me when I lived in Birmingham - postie not being arsed to try to deliver a parcel and just shoving a card through the door even though we were in when the mail arrived. Luckily we have a good postal service in rural leicestershire although our postie is certifiably bonkers (he's an ex time trialler, there you go...)
 

barq

Senior Member
Location
Birmingham, UK
yello said:
How long is "a while"? The letter was delivered last Thursday!

I've had it take ten days before. That said, occasionally things don't get scanned and put online at all, in which case you could start asking to see the signature and then things will get interesting!
 

goo_mason

Champion barbed-wire hurdler
Location
Leith, Edinburgh
I was curious to find that I'd signed for a parcel when I wasn't in once. The sig appeared online within an hour of the delivery time, and it certainly wasn't mine. It wasn't even my neighbour's writing.

The postie had signed it for me ! I wasn't that fussed though as he's a pretty decent guy and will sometimes hide my parcels rather than have me get home and then have to make a trip out to the depot.

Wish he'd done that with my Airzound though so I didn't have to go out again tonight when I get home !
 

radger

Veteran
Location
Bristol
I went away for a week at the end of May. On returning home, i found a parcel wedged between the bars and the door. Stuck to it was a note saying it was at the sorting office.

We get post delivered about three times a week, usually for someone else in a different road and building. I think the postal staff in my area are all functionally illiterate, which is unfortunate in a job requiring reading abilities.
 

TimO

Guru
Location
London
radger said:
...I think the postal staff in my area are all functionally illiterate, which is unfortunate in a job requiring reading abilities.
I wondered about this with the last parcel I got from SYSCycles, it was addressed perfectly well with my full name on it. I'm in a house converted into flats, so there's an anwerphone on the door. When I answered it, apparently the postie had a parcel for a "Mr Timothy" (and I'm not Mr Timothy Timothy), and even managed to mispronounce Timothy. :tongue:

Basic language skills, and an ability to understand how names work on address labels would seem to be relatively useful skills for working in the PO. I guess I should be happy that this one managed to find the address, I've had previous deliveries go all over the place (is it that hard to tell the difference between Reddings Park and Reddings Road?)
 
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OP
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yello

Guest
In instances, it might be useful. You might, for arguments sake, want to avoid a recorded delivery letter. The postie's action gives you a 'benefit of the doubt' excuse. But then I guess you might use a false signature if that was your intention. Postie wouldn't know, nor care. Clearly, I'm not advocating such action.
 

fuzzy29

New Member
Location
Somerset
My postie form a few years ago used to always sign for my recorded letters, but then we had been good friends for about 20 years! In the last place I lived, the ladies in the shop below my flat would always sign for letter and take in any parcels. Now though, I have to go to the sorting office in my own time. :tongue:
 
9 years with Her Majesty's Royal Mail, so I'm saying nothing... :tongue:

But FWIW the blokes in my office were occasionally a bit, procedurally dodgy but 100% honest. Anyone who got caught doing really naughty stuff (nicking, hiding and not delivering) never got spoken to ever again, in addition to being sacked immediately.
 
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