Problems with Royal Mail
I have an OBA and have a Mon-Fri collection. Unfortunately, I am having problems with collections not turning up, I haven't seen anyone in three days! I have been using rubbish bags for a while because I don't have any mailing bags, I ordered them online three times, asked my driver several times and even printed a sign, but nothing. Firstly, they gave me a 14:30 collection then they moved it to 16:30 on paper, but they kept coming at 14:30. Then they gave me a FIR number but they told me it was the wrong one, I was promised another one, but that hasn't happened. My sales manager has left RM and I don't have any contact, if I call them they always say someone will call me back but no one ever does.
Are they always so dysfunctional, or they don't care about small businesses or what?
11 replies
Seller_d8YGbIjNqwFxn
With the mailing bags the ordering service from Royal Mail is very hit and miss. Sometimes you will get them and sometimes you won't. Commonly now we only get rolls of 10 rather than rolls of 20.
We do run out of mailing bags but we just go down to our local delivery office and pick some up. I appreciate this is not viable for everyone especially if you don't drive.
With the collections, we get the very occasional missed one. We take our mail down the Mail Centre when this happens as they allow business customers to drop off in the evening. Again not great for everyone but an option if you can. You should also able to drop off at your local delivery office.
All you can do with the missed collections is keep on calling the business helpline and just ask them what is happening. They can talk to the local collection manager responsible for your area and they can also see on the system if a reason was given for the missed collection. Don't bother with sales managers as they just want to sell you tracked products and not interested in actual problems.
Our collection has also been moved without them telling us, it has only been moved 20 minutes earlier though but there was zero communication about it.
Seller_ZQyopdiwkUHOZ
You're doing better than us, ours come in 5s!
To both you and OP, I'd advise that you contact the Collection Office responsible for your route and make the complaints to the manager of that site. Royal Mail's customer service workers seem to be either unable or just unwilling to directly address problems.
We often get told by our account manager to resolve a problem by opening a case through the complaints form, then get told by the Customer Service agent that it's impossible for them to do what our account manager told us to ask them to do.
Seller_32MphwRt4pURK
You should definitely try calling your local sorting office. We had a few days where no one turned up, and it turned out a new staff member was completely missing our building!
Seller_uP9LqiYV3yKFy
Royal Mail offices and the depots seems to be disconnected, best to pop down there and ask to speak to either the depot manager or the postie that helps the most - usually different people
Dealing with the local posties will create a better outcome for you both
Seller_K8edOfPu9HEmN
You should have a collection point sign the driver scans each time he comes, that will have a phone number on it. That's the collections office number, ring that number and ask for the manager.
Seller_Fg2fqaWOnEtha
I don't have one. I was given one with a barcode, but it was apparently wrong, and the collection guy took it away, promising a new one the next day. That was about 3 months ago. I have asked several times and was given excuses and eventually told that it doesn't matter if I don't have one and not to worry. That's why I am not keen on calling my local office, they are very laid-back.
I got a collection on Friday and even some mailing bags. Today I received 5 mailing bags (I ordered 40), which don't even last two days.
Seller_pEXz19pDzWCEo
If there is one piece of advice I could give any small business, it is this:
DO NOT USE ROYAL MAIL AS YOUR SOLE COURIER.
They are disorganised, dysfunctional, militant, obstructive and try as hard as they can to make any compensation claims not paid out. Their collection staff have nothing good to say about them either.
When they lost/stole a Special Delivery bag which they then denied ever taking, we transferred all our express business to DHL e-commerce which has worked well. We only use RM for Non UK or low value U.K items.
When RM go on strike and you need another account, you won't regret taking on another courier.
Seller_0AG9i8qKfX9Eu
they are not the best, especially at the moment., they had system upgrades and they are seriously all over the place.
We moved address and it took them two months to change the address for collections. they were very very slow at getting back to our messages and like you they took away our account manager so now when we have an issue we go on their website but its so ridiculously set up that its almost impossible to speak with anyone.
if you know where the main hub that your mail gets taken to in your area i will call them and ask to speak to a collections department . the details should be on the barcode scanning thing they scan when they collect your post. the number is on there. have you called them ?
