Is a parcel being lost within Royal Mail and being delivered 18 months later a record? ....err no :)

[robinson_flyer]

Had one of life's *bleep*? moments today courtesy of Royal Mail so I thought I'd share it as a bit of light relief. 

This is actually something I bought rather than sold.  The purchase was 23rd January 2024, and sent Tracked 24 - but seemed to get stuck at the first stage of tracking for several days so I contacted the seller who couldn't understand why either and quickly sent me a replacement.   Imagine my surprise today some 18 months later when the original missing item turned up.  Box mucky, gritty and stained in a Royal Mail plastic bag apologising for the state of it - though not for the delay 🤣

I was just saying to one of my buyers the other day whose package was a couple of days overdue (it turned up later that same morning) that its pretty rare in my experience that RM actually loose a parcel without trace, and I suppose you could say this proves my point.  

I've let the seller know and await his response. 

Anyway, out of curiosity, I looked up to see if there is in fact a record, and I'm not even close.  The Guiness Book of World Records has the following entry:

"The longest time elapsed between a letter being posted and its delivery is 89 years. In 2008, Janet Barrett, a guest-house owner in Weymouth, Dorset, UK, received the letter – an RSVP to a Boxing Day party invitation, which had been posted on 29 November 1919. The message inside read: “Dear Percy, Many thanks for the invitation, be delighted. See you on the 26th December. Regards Buffy,” and was delivered in a plastic bag with a note from the Royal Mail (the UK postal service) apologizing for any damage – but offering no explanation for the inordinately long delay."

[fantailsforme]

Not quite so long but in May 2022 I received a return of a packet of stamps which I thought was odd because I hadn't sold any at that time.  I did some checking and found that I had sold it the previous May in 2021.

It never had 'return to sender' or anything like that.  Just my printed address on the reverse.

[*guinevere*]

"The longest time elapsed between a letter being posted and its delivery is 89 years. In 2008, Janet Barrett, a guest-house owner in Weymouth, Dorset, UK, received the letter – an RSVP to a Boxing Day party invitation, which had been posted on 29 November 1919. The message inside read: “Dear Percy, Many thanks for the invitation, be delighted. See you on the 26th December. Regards Buffy,” and was delivered in a plastic bag with a note from the Royal Mail (the UK postal service) apologizing for any damage – but offering no explanation for the inordinately long delay."

Blimey, surely Percy and Buffy would be long gone so I wonder what the present homeowner, Janet,  thought? 😮

[robinson_flyer]

@*guinevere*  I was thinking the same 😀

[stormatic2015]

I had a letter through the door regarding an endowment payout (already happened) but the letter was dated almost 12 years before it was delivered.

Letter lwas in good condition for being in the mail system for nearly 12 years, or stuck under/behind something.

[gjalp]

I had one I sent out (letter) take 16 months to arrive. Buyer contacted me to check my address was still the same as they wanted to return it as I had already refunded them and they no longer collected that particular item.  

[all4fate]

I think Royal Mail is notorious for not getting around to the damaged parcels - if the system is still the same, damaged parcels get sent to a warehouse where they seem to enter a void and disappear for some time!

I've had two of these in the 20+ years on here - one was a bundle of clothing I sold which was returned to me a few months later without any of its original packaging (only the invoice luckily for my address) in a clear plastic sack.

The other, which took around I year if I recall correctly, was a small box with a toy in it, that had tyre marks on it and was squashed flat - toy totally smashed. Had clearly been run over!

How amazing about the 89 year old letter! Quite interesting and fun for the guest house owner - little glimpse of the past and who may have lived there before, and it made the record books! 

[robinson_flyer]

Wow, 12 years is a pretty amazing. Also a good job you were still at that address to receive it given the contents. 

[robinson_flyer]

The tyre marks one made me smile. 

In fairness, my item wasn't actually damaged. All properly/clearly addressed.  It just looked like it had been lying in some filthy corner of a mail processing centre. 

[kyanyama]

Wonder what happens to those items that fall behind sorting equipment, miss the bag in the post box, etc.  Must be only when they do repairs they find things or check in the bottom of the post box.

My sister moved to Aus - needed some things sent over.  Had to make up 2 parcels - urgent item (an M&S bra) was sent airmail and the small parcel sent seamail.  The non urgent surface parcel took 8 days and the large letter (bra) eventually arrived after 13 weeks - despite being posted on same day!

[the-nutwood-collection]

I purchased a small item, 2nd Class post, in September 2024.  It arrived in March 2025.

[goodibags]

It's always worth sticking a return address on the back of the envelope. I had a vinyl single returned in the post 6 months after posting, long after having refunded the buyer and successfully reclaiming the value from the RM.

The single was U2's 'I still haven't found what I'm looking for'.

Maybe some items are fated never to arrive?

[5216elisabeth]

The title of the single really is quite apt!

[goodibags]

Yes, it made me laugh when I opened the envelope. There must be other song titles too.

Has anyone sold Elvis Presley's 'Return to sender'? Is this record disappointingly never as described?

[5216elisabeth]

Road to Nowhere would have been another good one...