Royal Mail Trials

[krisla_5854]

Sellers should be aware that Royal Mail are trialling a new delivery system in several UK locations. Priority is being given to Tracked 24 and Tracked 48. 1st class should be delivered as normal (but isn't), second class every other day and not at all on Saturdays. This is causing severe backlogs of both 1st and 2nd class mail (10 days late in my case).

Royal Mail hasn't released a definitive list of the trial areas, but here's what I found:

Scotland:
* Newton Mearns Mail Centre
* Cumbernauld Mail Centre
* Ayr Mail Centre
* Girvan Mail Centre
* Northern Ireland:
* Antrim Mail Centre
* Ballymena Mail Centre
* Craigavon

* England:
* Mount Pleasant delivery office (central London)
* Stoke Newington delivery office (east London)
* Malmo Road delivery office (Hull, East Yorkshire)
* Cardiff
* Darlington
* Sheffield
* Lytham St Anne's
* Preston
* Nottingham
* Coventry

* Southend-on-Sea

[hugothecockapoo]

I am sure eBay will adjust Estimated Delivery Dates on listings to reflect this.

[krisla_5854]

Well they haven't as yet and it started around a month ago. 

[hugothecockapoo]

Ebay has been advertising false delivery dates to buyers on listings for years...check out Wednesday's chat with sellers... It's embarrassing that the number of requests sellers receive is due to false estimates by eBay.

[johnwash1]

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@hugothecockapoo wrote:

I am sure eBay will adjust Estimated Delivery Dates on listings to reflect this.

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I'm as sure as you are.  And I think you intended the relevance of the last 3 letters of your moniker.

[hugothecockapoo]

Yup. lol.

[bzmotman]

Can I suggest that RM having done a deal with Ebay for 24/48 Tracked to enable Simple Delivery to be launched forgot/overlooked to resource it.

If you think about it what could possibly go wrong when Ebay & RM get together 😂😂😂

[4_bathrooms]

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@bzmotman wrote:

Can I suggest that RM having done a deal with Ebay for 24/48 Tracked to enable Simple Delivery to be launched forgot/overlooked to resource it.

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I believe the timing is coincidental; I doubt SD is causing any significant increase in the number of packages being carried by Royal Mail.

I do know that Royal Mail Group have been running some sort of trial/pilot where RM Tracked 48 items are transported in bulk by Parcelforce along with Express 48 items for processing. From what I can tell this was to take advantage of unused capacity on PF's larger vehicles therefore saving money across the group. It seems this may have been extended to Tracked 24/Express 24. 

[gjalp]

Its been happening in Sheffield for a while, maybe Easter (ish). We only get mail 3 days a week at best and often they just collect and not deliver. Monday is often a ‘no delivery’ day at my address. Tuesday nearly always has a huge stack of mail delivered. We are also experiencing delays in hospital letters too (not opted to go paperless for all members of the family as I have to facilitate appointments on behalf).

outgoing mail isn’t much better. Recently had a tracked 48 stuck for a week in our main office. Had the buyer asking if I could give RM a poke and tell them to hurry it along 🤣 like I can really do that! 

[carrotdrusus2]

Second class mail definitely taking around a week plus. 

[ile136yz]

I've found some Buyers in the areas you mentioned are contacting me the day after RM's estimated delivery dates (for 2nd delivery Large Letter) to say the item/s have not arrived, but all the items are being delivered one day later with delivery confirmation.

I've extended dispatch time to see if this helps. I do offer other types of postage for the Buyer to choose from.

[caddyscane]

There's about 10 things wrong with this sentence lol

[caddyscane]

I've set all my listings to 5 days to dispatch to keep under the time. Ridiculous i have to do that but the stock im shifting is breaking even with 2nd class so i aint paying for 1st. Just want rid of it all.

[carrotdrusus2]

Item posted from Rochester Kent on 8th June 2nd class arrived today in Barnstaple Devon.

16 days !!!!!

[bzmotman]

Today I've had the first delivery of post for 10 days - just the 18 items excluding the junk. Obviously it all arrived at the Delivery Office yesterday -of course it did🤣

[moldosgifts]

Royal are a disgrace, they are now offering a second class service to their second class service.

[ile136yz]

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@carrotdrusus2 wrote:

Item posted from Rochester Kent on 8th June 2nd class arrived today in Barnstaple Devon.

16 days !!!!!

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That is more like RM 4th Class.

Hope eBay did not give you any defects.