Royal Mail.......lost items!!!!!

[dancestationdirect]

Hi, has anyone noticed an increase in UK Royal Mail packages going "missing" recently. In the last 2 days I have had 3 different buyers claiming item has not arrived. One looks genuine as it is Recorded Delivery which has not arrived. The other 2 are fairly low value First Class items and of course I have no way of knowing if  this is genuine or not.

Prior to this (I have "lost" a few international parcels) but only 1 UK parcel last year went astray and never turned up.

Anyone else having problems with this?

[kris5161]

why

[firkinspares]

okay, thats what I thought. But not a single code works... what am I doing wrong.. 

[maisuk-2016]

If you are posting through post office? ..... I serriously doubt they even know what all the numbers on your reciept are for. If you happen to strike lucky and have a proof of posting that tallies with an "item not recieved" claiming is a whole other issue

[firkinspares]

Yes. Using Royal Mail, going through my local post office. 

I asked the staff and they haven't got a clue what I'm talking about. 

I've tried searching the Royal Mail/Post office website.. nothing... aside from being asked if I'm a business customer. I am not but cannot find where I can apply or become what they are asking for. 

http://www.royalmail.com/confirmation

This confusing page doesnt allow you to progress if you don't have an account number, Would be good to have a 'here's how to get an account number'...

I'm still none the wiser how these QR codes work. Or the reference numbers work.... 

[maisuk-2016]

I've had 3 issues with my personal post, made an official complaint on each asking the post office to explain if its happening to me, explain why it is not happening to my customers. Please don't blame Post Office counter staff I promise they are equally victims.

[firkinspares]

i count the post office staff as good colleagues. I have become friends with them, I bring them gifts back from my travels and get them chocs and wine at christmas.. 

[maisuk-2016]

Same 🙂 been awhile since i had time and money for travels though

[vblstitchcrafts]

Not sure except make sure you put it in correctly as some letter 'd's look like 0's and letter 'B's look like 8's etc on the printout. Its a mistake I have made when logging in the info as there is a real mix of letters and numbers.

 If you can track me down you are welcome to send me a scan / pic of your reciept.

[vblstitchcrafts]

My lates grip is the service at P/Office counters. At a mail post office why have a closing time of 5:30 and have a last post time of  5:20 when the bags are just behind the closed door. A This is the main post office and the collection box is 6:30 but wont even put stamps on so I could post it there. Said they have to be printed, thats fine so it could still be put in the box and just not issue a proof of posting.     GRRRRRR   how  customer frindly are they......   Absolutely NIL   The whole system needs a good shake up.. And why ask whats in the package. If its a prohibited item chances are they would be told it was something that was not prohibited, Its a invasion of privicy (rant over)

[maisuk-2016]

eBay now consider Saturdays as a normal postage day,  last Royal mail collections are generally around 12pm from most post offices, even when many are open till 5pm

My current postage DSR's are OK but i shudder when a customer orders 1st class post after 10.30 am on Saturdays. A well meaning eBay rep advised I changed my shipping times globally to counter...... No doubt that would result in lost sales Monday-Friday Durr!

Still lol'ing @ rant over due to heading of a likely scammer I'm surprisingly calm. This thread cheers me up its good to know others suffer same issues and i'm maybe not completely neurotic 🙂

[patriciabclothes]

I used to get fuming mad over INR and all the hassle of claiming back from the Post Office. Eventually I decided it wasn't worth the grief and I just don't bother claiming anymore. I don't sell high value items, and frankly I wouldn't sell them on eBay even if I had access to them wholesale - precisely because of these issues. I can just imagine the sleepless nights I would have wondering if my item was ever going to reach the buyer (Then there are chargebacks to consider and outright scams) and if not i would lose the item and the sale value.

[oakleaffy]

Well...quelle surprise..

Re a lost item...I'd ordered on May 3rd..

Seller refunded [no case opened] and today [June 1st] while outside my house, a woman I'd never seen before said ''I have a parcel for you''

It was my item!!

She never let me know, [could have put note through]

I was not ''carded'' by postoffice...and the lady is not a neighbour in the true sense of next door.

So will re imburse seller.. I wonder if this happens...post man gives parcel to random addresses in the road who ''forget'' about it??

Lady said she had gone on holiday.

This would also show why people have their ''signed for'' stuff signed for....but no item.

WISH post office wouldn't do this. Makes me cross that people can stash our items for weeks 😕 at their leisure.

[mybaybuys1]

Hi yes it's a cancer where items are going frequently missing ie growing legs and taking a walk via royal mail and the simple solution to stop the rott is for sellers to add £2.40p 2nd class tracked or 1st class ie in all there items postage listings to uk local buyers as it prooves that royal mail has your parcel and have to deliver it but just 2nd 1at class does not hope this helps Paul

[veloduocycles]

There is no need to pay for Signed For for low value items under £20 cost to you. If you use the QR coded service at the post office you can get delivery confirmation at https://www.royalmail.com/track-your-item. Royal Mail very rarely lose an item that is professionally addressed and packaged and has a return address on it. If they do get "lost" it is invariably after delivery. RM do go to a lot of trouble to get undelivered stuff back to you. We received a freshly re-packaged parcel back from Germany today (the buyer had supplied an incorrect/incomplete address). DHL in Germany had thoughtfully placed the "Zuruck" sticker over the return address, so it went to RM Belfast where the parcel was opened to ascertain our address, then repackaged and sent back to us - no charge. I think that is a pretty good service.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/7137075@N04/shares/E4VQ30

We have sent over 10,000 parcels and I can only recall a few that did not get delivered eventually and in those I suspect fraud or the item was delivered later and the buyer did not admit it. Claiming compensation is easy. You can do it on line for UK items and it is a simple form for interantional. They do need evidence of value though, otherwise they will only refund the postage.

[vblstitchcrafts]

That is fine for higher value items or larger orders but a disaster for low value items. You can even absorb it on the item price if its a higher value item.  My lower item cost is £1.50 to £2.00 and my customers are aready paying almost double the cost of the item on shipping (small Packet although weight about 120grms) and to add another cost to 'track' it would simply mean no sales. If you make it a customer chosen option we all know they will take the cheapest option & because we as sellers are resposible for the arrival of goods by law so why would they pay more. Its cheaper just to replace the 'lost' items and not claim (just what Royal Mail intended with their long winded, unfair claim process). As ebay now activly promote 'FREE' shipping it's another nail in the coffin for the sale of the smaller item. 

As I have previously mentioned, I purchased a load of stickers that have a barcode on and 'not signed for' message and add it to every packet - since I started this I have not had one claim as it looks like its tracked. Be warned though: Royal Mail won't allow a tracked sticker unless its their own before you start print labels..... 

[veloduocycles]

If you are sending them as a small packet then you do get the free delivery confirmation, but not on large letters.

How are you posting? At the post office or OBA?

[vblstitchcrafts]

Compensation may be easy but it's long winded. Doing the form, finding invoices etc just to get the value of goods back. It's OK if you resell to make a profit but if you manufacture then you lose out big time. I buy thousands of products from various suppliers so would need to find, scan, send the stuff off with the duly completed form. What I get back is a note stating ''lost mail is very rare'' refund of original postage and the amount I paid for the various items I have had to buy. On an order value (my sales) at say £10 goods purchased  by the thousnd  get a good bulk buy price so I can be competitive will be about £4.00. The rest is my production time and packaging plus a small profit from that.  So as you can see to spend hours searching, scanning, filling our forms to get the odd few pounds back would in effect be an expensive process so why bother. As I said it's exactly what Royal Mail want us all to do. The whole sysem from post office counters though to delivery all needs a really good shake up or some serious competition to buck up thier ideas.

[vblstitchcrafts]

Yes I know about the new delivery confirmation, I have been mentioning it in my recent posts on here. 

[robinet_uk]

Don't want to offend anyone - but I can't understand why people selling on eBay - or anywhere else online - more than 1 item a day - don't print labels online or use stamps at home ?!?!?
Sometimes at my local PostOffice I need to wait few minutes because someone have 10 or 20 items - with HAND WRITTEN address and needs PoP for each item ?!?!? Why they can't buy labels online - quicker and exactly the same price - or at least buy stamps, stick them to the packages - at home - and use Bulk Proof of Posting form if they really need PoP.