Tracked Deliveries

Hi

Due to the number of parcels Royal Mail are "losing" at the moment, I am thinking of advising customers that if they do not opt for a Tracked Postage Option, they do so at their own risk and if the parcel does not arrive, it's not my fault!!   Does anyone know if this is legal?

Many thanks.

Thanks for your reply.   I thought that may be the case.   I am now thinking of only offering tracked/signed for options as I cannot afford the losses.   Royal Mail have a standard reply when I complain about losses and they are totally inflexible.

Is anyone else having problems with Royal Mail International Signed For Service at the moment, I ask as I have just received a second report within a week of a package sent by this service from the beginning of July that has not yet been delivered. Both packages say they have reached the mailing centre here in the UK but have no further update.
When I asked re the first package I was informed it had in fact gone by surface mail (paying for airmail), I am starting to suspect that they are going by surface to save royal mail money? as a 3rd package took over a month to be delivered. Just wondering if anyone else has had more problems than usual on this service recently
Red

I've just had a slow "international signed for". Customer irate as said she had parcels from other shops which only took 1 week. This took weeks to get there. I really don't know what to do as we have low value products so customers won't pay £8.99 for delivery for example from couriers when they only buy one item which is value say £2.50. Also found couriers won't deliver everywhere or all the items we sell either. Had one refuse to deliver as the house was down a track in a forest. The woman clearly left her house in her car so the track wasn't so bad you couldn't drive down it. I had to phone the lady and ask for a place that her parcel could be left in the village and she could collect from there. So back to RM as for all their faults they deliver to all points of the UK.

Due to the losses we are sustaining, I've had another two phone this morning to say no parcel, I'm sure I'm losing money hand over fist. I'm also losing customers as they go shop elsewhere after poor, slow delivery. At this rate RM won't have anyone to deliver to anyway as we'll all be out of business, although I've always said I'm sure RM are out to destroy small business.

Back to international signed for, do you put the blue airmail stickers on? I do that to make sure its clear its airmail, although wouldn't surprise me if they are sending surface mail and saving some pennies.

I've given up complaining as I get nowhere. I just get a pen pusher who says "oh we will make sure it doesn't happen again", and where are we the next day, the day after that and the day after that..... in exactly the same position. Of course, its NEVER Rotten Mail's fault ever.

Don't know either about you guys, but I find the customer always blames us when the parcel doesn't turn up, its never RM. I even had one tell me that her postal service was perfect and I just hadn't sent the goods. In the end with one customer that was accusing me of all sorts (my business is built on being totally honest with my customers)I just told her that I'd had enough of justifying myself to her and would she just go shop elsewhere.

So sick of it all not sure its worth it at times, but need the money.

Don't know what you can do about the international signed for though.


Edited by raineshoe - 31 July 2013 at 1:18pm

I've just had to give another customer a refund as her order has not arrived.   I'm pretty sure customers think I'm not sending their order, so I now email every customer a copy of my Proof of Posting when I despatch their order.    

One positive is that I haven't had any problems with the courier, My Hermes, I now use, but not all customers choose the courier option. but It's £4.20. up to 0.99 kgs

I am now keeping monthly records of all orders not received or delivered late which I am going to send to the CEO of Royal Mail, Moya Greene and Edward Davey, the MP responsible for the Royal Mail and the Post Office.   Just feel I should be doing something!