Royal Mail discussion

[gswindale]

You can opt out of receiving unaddressed mail

How do I opt out of receiving any leaflets or unaddressed promotional material?

Guidance on what to do to do if you want more control over the mail coming through your letter box.

personal.help.royalmail.com

It's the stuff addressed to the mythical "T.H.E. Occupier" that is more of a problem in my view, which there seems to be no way of getting them to stop filling up my recycling bin with.

I was certainly tempted to put the Talk Talk garbage pack in the post as it had a post code of TT43 VRY1 on it...

And if I want to Opt out, I have to download, print out and fill in and post back a form and it is only valid for 2 years. Again not exactly customer friendly is it? Why is there no online form to fill in? In this day & age, you'd expect to be able to do this sort of thing online, unless they're trying to stop you. I note also that it says it will take up to 6 weeks to process - presumably that is them sitting on it for 5 weeks and then eventually dealing with it. Again, not exactly good customer service. I would expect an online form and for it to be processed within a couple of weeks tops.

 

[GusB]

I was certainly tempted to put the Talk Talk garbage pack in the post as it had a post code of TT43 VRY1 on it...

It won't get very far - that's not a postcode!

Why not just put it in the recycling and stop creating a fuss over nothing?

 

[gswindale]

It won't get very far - that's not a postcode!

Why not just put it in the recycling and stop creating a fuss over nothing?

I know it's not a postcode

It's just slightly annoying when you go to pick up the post when you get in (or pass the front door when WFH) and realise that of all the "post" you've had that week that approximately 99.9% of it is not for anybody in the house!

As I think I mentioned earlier, if you extrapolate that across the country, then allowing say 30seconds for a postie to walk up and down the drives, put the post through the door across the country, could see vast swathes of time saved on their day.

 

[XAM2175]

As I think I mentioned earlier, if you extrapolate that across the country, then allowing say 30seconds for a postie to walk up and down the drives, put the post through the door across the country, could see vast swathes of time saved on their day.

They. Are. Getting. Paid. For. It.

 

[david1212]

They are indeed, but the latter is a crucial point of contact for the former. I should probably count myself lucky in that I'm able to access Royal Mail services from 8am until 8pm at my local Post Office for six days a week. The shop closes earlier on a Sunday, but those services are still available during the time that it's open.

Royal Mail is uniquely placed in that it has had a ready-made network of parcel agents in place for years, and a network that has had improved immensely by moving Post Office services to convenience stores where the Post Office service was available for much longer than the traditional Post Office network was.

Corrected that for you, at least for my area as stated in my recent posts.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

It's the stuff addressed to the mythical "T.H.E. Occupier" that is more of a problem in my view, which there seems to be no way of getting them to stop filling up my recycling bin with.

"T.H.E. Occupier" was one of several aliases used by the late eccentric Jake Mangelwurzel. I wonder if he used to get more junk-mail than most people...

I was certainly tempted to put the Talk Talk garbage pack in the post as it had a post code of TT43 VRY1 on it...

That's not a real postcode and never could be, but it also doesn't work as a pun or a stealth slogan. If I'd had that through my door I'd also want to return it to sender, but I'd use an envelope, no stamp, and put it through my shredder first!

 

[XAM2175]

That's not a real postcode and never could be, but it also doesn't work as a pun or a stealth slogan.

It's "TalkTalk for everyone" if you squint really really hard.

 

[Dai Corner]

NEWPORT

Multidrop Delivery Drivers (60+ drops per day)
Monday – Friday
0800-1700
£11.87 per hour
Must undergo enhanced vetting including an enhanced DBS.
No more than 6 points on licence
Over time available on weekends
Parcelforce are currently having quite a few strike days, candidates are expected to work and cross the picket line.
Ongoing placement

The above has appeared in local Facebook groups (my bold). I assume it's genuine.

 

[Trainbike46]

The above has appeared in local Facebook groups (my bold). I assume it's genuine.

Is that legal? I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be legal. And if it somehow is, it really shouldn't be.

Is this a job advert, btw?

 

[gswindale]

It's "TalkTalk for everyone" if you squint really really hard.

Indeed - took me a while to get it before I chucked it.

 

[Dai Corner]

Is that legal? I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be legal. And if it somehow is, it really shouldn't be.

Is this a job advert, btw?

looking into it further the poster says she works for a recruitment agency in her profile. I'd say it's probably genuine, though maybe unofficial as its not posted from the agency's account.

Is crossing picket lines legal? Yes.

Is employing agency workers to cover for strikers? Don't know. They might not be specifically employed for that though.

 

[Trainbike46]

looking into it further the poster says she works for a recruitment agency in her profile. I'd say it's probably genuine, though maybe unofficial as its not posted from the agency's account.

Is crossing picket lines legal? Yes.

Is employing agency workers to cover for strikers? Don't know. They might not be specifically employed for that though.

I know crossing picket lines is legal - what I meant is whether forcing (new) staff to cross picket lines is legal

 

[najaB]

I know crossing picket lines is legal - what I meant is whether forcing (new) staff to cross picket lines is legal

If they are agency then they aren't new Parcelforce staff.

 

[PeterY]

How so, exactly? Reckon Royal Mail are being paid to distribute advertising flyers along with the regular post.

At least I know the postmen has been when I see all the junk mail on the floor

It won't get very far - that's not a postcode!

Why not just put it in the recycling and stop creating a fuss over nothing?

My junk goes straight into the recycle bin but IMO it's such a waste of paper.

 

[Ianigsy]

Back when I worked in insurance, we were told that a good response rate from a cold mail shot was about 1%. 3% was exceptional. I very much doubt that figure has improved in the last 20 years.

 

[Darandio]

As I think I mentioned earlier, if you extrapolate that across the country, then allowing say 30seconds for a postie to walk up and down the drives, put the post through the door across the country, could see vast swathes of time saved on their day.

Or put some posties out of work. It's their job.

Back when I worked in insurance, we were told that a good response rate from a cold mail shot was about 1%. 3% was exceptional. I very much doubt that figure has improved in the last 20 years.

I'm surprised it was that high!

 

[Grumbler]

At least I know the postmen has been when I see all the junk mail on the floor

My junk goes straight into the recycle bin but IMO it's such a waste of paper.

Could come in handy as fuel this winter!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Nineteen more Royal Mail strike days announced this evening...

Details of the strike dates are now available.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on its members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take further national strike action on the following dates: Friday 30 September 2022 and Saturday 1 October 2022 Thursday 13th October 2022 Thursday 20th October 2022 Tuesday 25th October 2022 Monday 28th November 2022 Further dates have also been announced by the CWU for functional strike action which impacts parts of our operation on the following: Processing, Distribution, International, Collections, Admin: 3rd, 9th, 15th, 24th November and 1st December 2022 Delivery: 4th, 10th, 16th, 25th November and 2nd December 2022 Network: 2nd, 8th, 14th, 23rd, 30th November 2022

 

[Andyh82]

I don’t know why they are making a bit fuss about clashing with Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the union’s press release.

I would say if you buy anything over those periods, it would be delivered in the weeks after and secondly I’d guess fairly little online shopping is delivered by Royal Mail, it’s mostly couriers like Evri or Amazon Logistics

 

[najaB]

I would say if you buy anything over those periods, it would be delivered in the weeks after and secondly I’d guess fairly little online shopping is delivered by Royal Mail...

You'd be wrong there. Royal Mail delivers a significant percentage of online orders - I can't find recent figures but it was something like 45% overall in 2019

 

[skyhigh]

I would say if you buy anything over those periods, it would be delivered in the weeks after

A lot of online items are delivered with Royal Mail 24/48 and will be collected the day or day after purchase depending on timing.

and secondly I’d guess fairly little online shopping is delivered by Royal Mail, it’s mostly couriers like Evri or Amazon Logistics

Where I live, almost all orders from Amazon come via Royal Mail. This strike will have a big impact on their contract.

 

[Trainbike46]

I don’t know why they are making a bit fuss about clashing with Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the union’s press release.

I would say if you buy anything over those periods, it would be delivered in the weeks after and secondly I’d guess fairly little online shopping is delivered by Royal Mail, it’s mostly couriers like Evri or Amazon Logistics

Non-royal mail carriers either don't deliver to certain parts of the country (e.g. amazon logistics) or charge absurd fees (e.g. DPD), so even webshops that usually deliver with one of those couriers, tend to use royal mail for at least a subset of adresses. And there's quite a lot of companies that just use royal mail / parcelforce outright

 

[Cdd89]

Postal workers must get a raw deal when they strike. Unlike other industries, the volume of letters/parcels doesn’t significantly decrease because of strike days, so there is just more of a backlog on non-strike days.

 

[najaB]

Postal workers must get a raw deal when they strike. Unlike other industries, the volume of letters/parcels doesn’t significantly decrease because of strike days, so there is just more of a backlog on non-strike days.

Which is part of the reason that they don't take the decision to strike lightly.

 

[Dai Corner]

Postal workers must get a raw deal when they strike. Unlike other industries, the volume of letters/parcels doesn’t significantly decrease because of strike days, so there is just more of a backlog on non-strike days.

Scope for overtime to ensure there's no backlog at the beginning of the strike and to catch up afterwards?

 

[Cdd89]

Scope for overtime to ensure there's no backlog at the beginning of the strike and to catch up afterwards?

Given how long some of my mail has been taken to arrive, that most deliveries do not have a delivery timeframe guarantee, and that for a lot of the deliveries they do people don’t really have an alternative, I have a feeling that Royal Mail would just allow the backlog to build up.

 

[PeterY]

Nineteen more Royal Mail strike days announced this evening...

I'd better get my Christmas cards done and posted.

 

[tigerroar]

Hopefully this will make an impact on the public. If it fubars the company then great, the management is doing by stealth already.

 

[Dai Corner]

Hopefully this will make an impact on the public. If it fubars the company then great, the management is doing by stealth already.

I suppose my fortnightly copy of Private Eye might be late, but then it often is anyway. That's all I get that's at all time-critical.

 

[Phil56]

Given how long some of my mail has been taken to arrive, that most deliveries do not have a delivery timeframe guarantee, and that for a lot of the deliveries they do people don’t really have an alternative, I have a feeling that Royal Mail would just allow the backlog to build up.

They prioritise the items posted more recently to meet the usual targets. The items that have already been delayed are usually left to be delayed further until they can be fitted into the processing/delivery availability as they've already breached the target dates, so further delays don't make their "costs", i.e. compensation, published target achievements, etc any worse.

A bit like trains and aircraft really, where all efforts are to keeping current trains on time, and cancelling or further delaying trains/aircraft that are already late.