I’m getting old: just bought my first loud three point doorbell. No ring video cams for me (the police have surveillance cameras covering our street anyway) just old fashioned bell so I can hear when the postman comes. It was that or buy a dog!
Unfortunately changes at the Royal Mail make this necessary. As many people may not be aware here is a summary of what’s going on with UK parcels through the Royal Mail. Up till now the postman has brought them out and tried to deliver them: if you are not in they might leave them with a neighbour but the default is they put a red card through your door. Armed with some kind of ID you can then trek round to the sorting office and collect your parcel (convenient if like me you live by one but not for most people) or you can phone and ask for redelivery the next day.
As we have all been ninja’d – where a postman just fills out the card in advance rather than lug the parcel round, then sneaks up and slips the card through the door before running like hell — less common in this age of video doorbells — we have all probably collected a parcel from the sorting office.
So what’s changing? Last three weeks it has changed to “try to deliver your parcel each day two times then tell you to collect it or return to sender”. Which sounds great and might actually work except many people in the UK work 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, and others have cause to (gasp!) **leave their homes!!!***. And some like me are just getting too deaf to hear their door – the postman only knocks twice.
So Royal Mail are getting rid of a whole load of office staff, your delivery may get returned (or left on your doorstep as is getting common here – and stolen, ditto!) or cunningly put in a safe place like your dustbin – which of course may get emptied by the binmen before you get home. Don’t laugh it happened to neighbours of mine.
So what? You can still go to the sorting office collection point? Sort of. The whole point of this cost cutting exercise is to get rid of them — they are shifting to only opening two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon and for a short period on Saturday. You won’t be able to just go and collect your parcel tbough until after two attempted deliveries – even though it is sitting in the office, they are no longer allowed to hand it to you.
So even if you don’t care about postal workers losing their jobs, this is an issue to worry about as ultimately it will inconvenience you and if you are not at home most of the time make your life harder. The Royal Mail is privatised but still under contract to the government: Write to your MP
I am a profoundly dull, tedious and irritable individual. I have no friends apart from two equally ill mannered cats, and a lunatic kitten. I am a ghosthunter by profession, and professional cat herder. I write stuff and do TV things and play games. It's better than being real I find.
"And sometimes he's so nameless" 
Parcel delivery woes in UK changes
I’m getting old: just bought my first loud three point doorbell. No ring video cams for me (the police have surveillance cameras covering our street anyway) just old fashioned bell so I can hear when the postman comes. It was that or buy a dog!
Unfortunately changes at the Royal Mail make this necessary. As many people may not be aware here is a summary of what’s going on with UK parcels through the Royal Mail. Up till now the postman has brought them out and tried to deliver them: if you are not in they might leave them with a neighbour but the default is they put a red card through your door. Armed with some kind of ID you can then trek round to the sorting office and collect your parcel (convenient if like me you live by one but not for most people) or you can phone and ask for redelivery the next day.
As we have all been ninja’d – where a postman just fills out the card in advance rather than lug the parcel round, then sneaks up and slips the card through the door before running like hell — less common in this age of video doorbells — we have all probably collected a parcel from the sorting office.
So what’s changing? Last three weeks it has changed to “try to deliver your parcel each day two times then tell you to collect it or return to sender”. Which sounds great and might actually work except many people in the UK work 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, and others have cause to (gasp!) **leave their homes!!!***. And some like me are just getting too deaf to hear their door – the postman only knocks twice.
So Royal Mail are getting rid of a whole load of office staff, your delivery may get returned (or left on your doorstep as is getting common here – and stolen, ditto!) or cunningly put in a safe place like your dustbin – which of course may get emptied by the binmen before you get home. Don’t laugh it happened to neighbours of mine.
So what? You can still go to the sorting office collection point? Sort of. The whole point of this cost cutting exercise is to get rid of them — they are shifting to only opening two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon and for a short period on Saturday. You won’t be able to just go and collect your parcel tbough until after two attempted deliveries – even though it is sitting in the office, they are no longer allowed to hand it to you.
So even if you don’t care about postal workers losing their jobs, this is an issue to worry about as ultimately it will inconvenience you and if you are not at home most of the time make your life harder. The Royal Mail is privatised but still under contract to the government: Write to your MP
And this is why I am buying a doorbell!
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About Chris Jensen Romer
I am a profoundly dull, tedious and irritable individual. I have no friends apart from two equally ill mannered cats, and a lunatic kitten. I am a ghosthunter by profession, and professional cat herder. I write stuff and do TV things and play games. It's better than being real I find.