Royal Mail Is Getting Worse

[klondike]

Tracking of my eBay return. It was to a C/O address which I think was phoney and it wasn't accepted. Three weeks on it is still showing as in Birmingham. I've had the return refunded today. I'm hoping they'll end up sending it back to me. I had a freebie that way before with a dodgy seller.

Your item has reached Birmingham MC and will now be sent to your local delivery office.
Tracking number:ZY056256205GB
Service used:Royal Mail Tracked Returns 48™

Tracking history

Wednesday 05 July 2023
00:11
Item Received
Birmingham MC
Monday 03 July 2023
22:34
Item Received
South Midlands MC
10:25
Accepted at Post Office
Delapre Post Office [NN4 8LQ]

[Diasi]

As per my OP, all I have is  Tracking history

Thursday 20 July 2023
09:24
Accepted at Post Office
Queensway Post Office

So although & paid for a service that said there was tracking, there isn't as tucked away in the small print it says I only get a notification when it's delivered so I have no idea where it is in the system.

[klondike]

Signed for is just an (expensive) add on to the standard mail which isn't tracked . I think it does only record the delivery which for many purposes is enough and they doubtless called tracked.

[Raven]

I haven't had to sign for a recorded delivery since the start of Covid. But often it says that my Ebay things are coming to me with that delivery option. As you say, a once good service is now an add on money maker for the mail.

[Ashy]

I sent a parcel by UPS next day delivery, it was a bit before Christmas and it was important to deliver it before the recipient left the country. Need I say more?

Actually the person left the country 8 days after I deposited the parcel having paid for next day delivery. The parcel wasn't collected from the shop for two days, then it got stuck in the system. The recipient then left the country, but they lived in a building with concierge. I contacted UPS and told them to return the parcel to me because the concierge would accept it. They said they had cancelled the delivery.

They delivered it the next day and the concierge accepted it.

Anyone tried DHL? I received a parcel yesterday via DHL literally an overnight delivery.

[Scrumpy]

UPS  gave me THREE delivery times yesterday.. starting at 8:15 ending at at 5:30..
   
I have experienced no problems with Amazon.. I should have stuck with them..

 The funny thing is.. I don't even like the shoes and they are to be returned..

[Diasi]

Actually the person left the country 8 days after I deposited the parcel having paid for next day delivery. The parcel wasn't collected from the shop for two days, then it got stuck in the system. The recipient then left the country, but they lived in a building with concierge. I contacted UPS and told them to return the parcel to me because the concierge would accept it. They said they had cancelled the delivery.

They delivered it the next day and the concierge accepted it.

Anyone tried DHL? I received a parcel yesterday via DHL literally an overnight delivery.

DHL, DPD & Hermes are all good from my personal experience, with accurate fairly small delivery time slots.

Signed for is just an (expensive) add on to the standard mail which isn't tracked . I think it does only record the delivery which for many purposes is enough and they doubtless called tracked.

That seems to be the case so a big warning 'This is not a tracked service' should be displayed prominently. 

[klondike]

I've used it for stuff sold on eBay in the past. You need to have some sort of proof of delivery and that used to be the cheapest option. 

Postal prices along with eBay fees make personal selling hardly worth the effort these days. If I'd still got a working fireplace I'd rather burn the stuff in winter to save on fuel charges.

[JBR]

UPS  gave me THREE delivery times yesterday.. starting at 8:15 ending at at 5:30..
 
I have experienced no problems with Amazon.. I should have stuck with them..

 The funny thing is.. I don't even like the shoes and they are to be returned..

Yes, I use Amazon a lot and have always found them to be reliable.
The only items which take longer to deliver are those sourced from abroad, but even so they provide an 'expected by' date, which I have usually found to be honoured.

Royal Mail is having problems, I believe, due to their strikes.  Other courier companies have tended to be reliable, with the usual exceptions, such as Hermes (or whatever they call themselves now).

[klondike]

Hermes rebranded as Evri

They do seem to be getting better. Even Yodel are. At one time neither could be relied on at all. I've even had a couple of things delivered by UPS withing the last couple of months or so that arrived at the expected time.

Amazon here use third party carriers sometimes. I have something coming from them by Royal Mail tomorrow (maybe) and they have also used Evri and DPD occasionally.

[Ashy]

The last Evri delivery I had (or rather didn't)  - last week - proof of delivery was a photograph of someone else's front door, no idea whose. Unfortunately the sender identified the parcel as the one he had sent.

[klondike]

I've had a confirmed Royal Mail delivery that wasn't. eBay take a Royal Mail declaration as proof of delivery. I was lucky in that it did arrive some days later. Maybe whoever got it put it back in the post. I do that with misdelivered letters.

[Diasi]

Still not delivered!!!!!!!!

The Royal Mail system knows they've got it so I would have expected their system to be programmed to flag up a problem when the system hasn't had a delivery input after the 3 days that are allowed for a next day delivery

You couldn't make it up.