Postage Strikes really kicking in now!

[Colywobbles]

So the few days of strikes over the past weeks are really starting to make an impact if you use RM as your goto service. I have sent items on the 24th - 26th Nov and 3 of which I'm told that have still not arrived, one of which is 24hr tracked and still sitting a few mi away from me in the main local hub Tynemouth for what ever reason!
Unfortunately I don't think we can sing "things can only get better" anytime soon with more planed strikes ahead and Xmas kicking in.

 

[Dex-Jay]

Yep, I've been waiting on car parts for a week. Speakers from Amazon were quick enough though. Meh, what can you do?

 

[David retro]

Defiantly agree ive cut any royal mail service lower than tracked 24 to reduce any time delays but still looks like the effects are growing in issues but all other providers seam to be double the price and still cause issues

 

[Calimori]

Trying to avoid the political side or any signs of an allegiance with either side. But it does feel like RM reputation has been severly damaged, customers are finding alternatives, which will harm RM's market share and thus reduce the income to the business.

 

[steve brum]

ebay are allowing non receipt claims WAY before royal mail can deliver. eBay force you to give a refund , you then make a lost claim through royal mail who then augue it has been delivered ... after 4 weeks !!

switching to other couriers now as that just stinkl

 

[Gonzo]

Trying to avoid the political side or any signs of an allegiance with either side. But it does feel like RM reputation has been severly damaged, customers are finding alternatives, which will harm RM's market share and thus reduce the income to the business.

That's precisely it.

Teachers, nurses etc can strike because they're needed and there are no alternatives unless you have a truckload of money.

The Royal Mail have similarly priced competition and are not in the same position of strength due to the alternatives for consumers.

The RM strikers may well find they've overplayed a weak hand.

 

[Wizcat]

It's not just Royal Mail. I work in fulfillment and most carriers are seeing delays at the moment.

This is DPD's list of delays from this morning. Similar lists for other carriers. Some of it may be a knock on effect due to increased demand for alternatives during the strikes. Main issues (across carriers) are the 'final mile' deliveries

Area	Days delay	Postcodes
Avon	1​	BS10, BS36, BS41
Avon	2​	BS11, BS20, BS21, BS34
Ayrshire	1​	KA1, KA10, KA11, KA12, KA13, KA14, KA15, KA16, KA17, KA18, KA19, KA2, KA20, KA21, KA22, KA23, KA24, KA25, KA26, KA29, KA3, KA30, KA4, KA5, KA6, KA7, KA8, KA9
Berwickshire	1​	TD2
Cheshire	1​	WA8, WA88
Cleveland	1​	TS21, TS22, TS24, TS25, TS26, TS27
County Durham	1​	DH1, DH2, DH3, DH6, DH7, DH8, DH9, DH97, DH98, DH99, DL16, DL17, SR7, SR8, TS28, TS29
Dunbartonshire	1​	G81, G82, G83, G84
East Lothian	1​	EH31, EH32, EH33, EH34, EH35, EH36, EH39, EH40, EH41, EH42
Fife	1​	KY1, KY11, KY12, KY2, KY3, KY4, KY5, KY6, KY7, KY99
Gwent	1​	NP10, NP11, NP12, NP13, NP15, NP18, NP20, NP22, NP24, NP44
Gwent	2​	NP16, NP19, NP23, NP25, NP26, NP4, NP7
Lanarkshire	1​	G1, G11, G12, G13, G14, G15, G2, G20, G21, G22, G23, G3, G31, G33, G34, G4, G5, G51, G60, G61, G62, G63, G64, G65, G66, G69, G70, G71, G72, G74, G75, G76, G79, ML1, ML10, ML11, ML12, ML2, ML3, ML4, ML5, ML6, ML7, ML8, ML9
Lanarkshire	2​	G46, G53, G77, G78
Lancashire	1​	L39, L40, PR26, WN1, WN2, WN3, WN4, WN5, WN6, WN7, WN8
Lincolnshire	1​	PE11, PE22
Merseyside	1​	CH25, CH26, CH27, CH28, CH29, CH30, CH31, CH32, CH33, CH41, CH42, CH43, CH44, CH45, CH46, CH47, CH48, CH49, CH60, CH61, CH62, CH63, CH64, L1, L10, L11, L12, L13, L14, L15, L16, L17, L18, L19, L2, L20, L21, L22, L23, L24, L25, L26, L27, L28, L29, L3, L30, L31, L32, L33, L34, L35, L36, L37, L38 0, L38 1, L38 3, L38 4, L38 5, L38 6, L38 7, L38 8, L38 9, L4, L5, L6, L67, L68 0, L69, L7, L70 1, L70 2, L70 8, L70 9, L71, L72, L73, L74, L75, L8, L80, L9, PR8, PR9, WA10, WA11, WA12, WA9
Mid Glamorgan	1​	CF45, CF46, CF81, CF82, CF83
Midlothian	1​	EH1, EH10, EH11, EH12, EH13, EH14, EH15, EH16, EH17, EH18, EH19, EH2, EH20, EH21, EH22, EH23, EH24, EH25, EH26, EH27, EH28, EH3 1, EH3 5, EH3 6, EH3 7, EH3 8, EH3 9, EH37, EH38, EH4, EH5, EH6, EH7, EH77, EH8, EH9, EH91, EH95, EH99
Northumberland	1​	NE22, NE23, NE24, NE41, NE42
North Yorkshire	1​	DL6, DL7, DL8, HG1, HG2, HG3, HG4, HG5, LS24, YO1, YO10, YO11, YO12, YO13, YO17, YO18, YO19, YO21, YO22, YO23, YO24, YO26, YO30, YO31, YO32, YO51, YO60, YO61, YO62, YO7, YO8, YO90, YO91
Peeblesshire	1​	EH43, EH44, EH45, EH46
Powys	1​	NP8
Renfrewshire	2​	PA1
South Glamorgan	1​	CF10, CF11, CF15, CF23, CF3, CF30, CF5, CF63, CF64, CF91, CF95, CF99
South Glamorgan	2​	CF14, CF24
South Yorkshire	1​	S70, S71, S72, S75
Tyne And Wear	1​	DH4, DH5, NE1, NE10, NE12, NE13, NE2, NE20, NE25, NE26, NE27, NE28, NE29, NE3, NE30, NE31, NE32, NE33, NE34, NE35, NE36, NE37, NE38, NE39, NE4, NE40, NE5, NE6, NE7, NE8, NE82, NE83, NE85, NE88, NE92, NE98, NE99, SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, SR43 2, SR43 3, SR43 4, SR5, SR6, SR9
West Lothian	1​	EH29, EH30, EH47, EH48, EH49, EH51, EH52, EH53, EH54, EH55
West Yorkshire	1​	HD1, HD2, HD3, HD4, HD5, HD6, HD7 4, HD7 5, HD7 6, HD7 9, HD8, HD9, HX1, HX2, HX3, HX4, HX5, HX6, HX7, LS1, LS10, LS11, LS12, LS13, LS14, LS15, LS16, LS17, LS18, LS19, LS2, LS20, LS21, LS22, LS23, LS25, LS26, LS27, LS28, LS29, LS3, LS4, LS5, LS6, LS7, LS8, LS88 1, LS88 8, LS9, LS98, LS99, WF1, WF10, WF11, WF12, WF13, WF14, WF16, WF17, WF2, WF3, WF4, WF5, WF6, WF7, WF8, WF9, WF90

 

[Ant-H]

My wife has a little Etsy business on the side and the strikes have really started to cause problems. She is now looking at using an alternative company.

She sent a couple of items out just before a strike day and they took nearly 4 weeks to arrive.

I sold some parts to another member of the forum recently and I stupidly dropped it off at the post office during a strike and that took 3 weeks to get delivered

 

[Marvello]

My wife has a little Etsy business on the side and the strikes have really started to cause problems. She is now looking at using an alternative company.

She sent a couple of items out just before a strike day and they took nearly 4 weeks to arrive.

I sold some parts to another member of the forum recently and I stupidly dropped it off at the post office during a strike and that took 3 weeks to get delivered

I don't see how a couple of days strike will result in weeks of delays? Items sent to me during the strike days arrived 2 or 3 days late as would be expected.

Also the same for items I've posted during strike days, they arrived a day or two after the strike.

 

[Ant-H]

I don't see how a couple of days strike will result in weeks of delays? Items sent to me during the strike days arrived 2 or 3 days late as would be expected.

Also the same for items I've posted during strike days, they arrived a day or two after the strike.

I don’t get it either. But their service is in the toilet at the moment imo.

Some things my wife posted are delayed by a few days, others have been weeks. She even had to refund one item as it took so long. Luckily the buyer was very honest and told her that it had arrived and wanted to pay again.

When I sent the pin parts out on the 25/10, I was ready to refund the forum member as we both thought the item was lost, but it suddenly got delivered on the 14/11.

 

[Marvello]

I wonder what happened to my niece's birthday card, that was posted over a month ago and never turned up. If it ever gets delivered she can have it as next year's card.

 

[Paul]

I don't see how a couple of days strike will result in weeks of delays?

Going from their figures here... https://www.statista.com/statistics/1006816/royal-mail-volume-of-parcels-and-letters-delivered-uk/

Works out at 22m letters a day and 4.2m parcels a day.... Couple of days strike and it's easy to see how things suddenly get backed up... There's only a finite bandwidth in the system... plus only a finiate amount of post that can be dealt with...

 

[russdx1]

I don't see how a couple of days strike will result in weeks of delays? Items sent to me during the strike days arrived 2 or 3 days late as would be expected.

Also the same for items I've posted during strike days, they arrived a day or two after the strike.

Need to look at it this way, it would take 2 to 3 days to catch up if all the post just stopped for 2 to 3 days but now they still have all there current flow of packages plus the extra 2 to 3 days worth sat at post offices to process so it’s basically now double the load and if you don’t put in double the hours you would just have to slowly chip away at it. I can easily see how a few days could cause a huge backlog which would be hard to clear especially this time of year. Better off using a service not on strike to avoid delays

 

[32-BOY]

After waiting for 6 days….for jeans I’ve ordered in the UK that supposed to be with me in 48h. I will do anything not to use Royal Mail

 

[Sako-TRG]

Yeah, nightmare
Get your high viz on, my birthday cards are AWOL.

 

[Paul]

Because of the above, all the other companies are running 3-4 days behind schedule... what took 2 days with A.N other courier is now taking 5+ since they cant cope with the demand....

But you know what... the world wiill keep spinning... It is what it is....

 

[russdx1]

These big companies need to treat there staff a little better or this is what happens!

 

[32-BOY]

These big companies need to treat there staff a little better or this is what happens!

I agree….but surly this is real bad for business long term, Xmas season and everything being majorly delayed

 

[JT.]

Because of the above, all the other companies are running 3-4 days behind schedule... what took 2 days with A.N other courier is now taking 5+ since they cant cope with the demand....

I've had a next-day parcel sat in Evri's warehouse 'being sorted' since November the bleeding 22nd now...

 

[Paul]

I've had a next-day parcel sat in Evri's warehouse 'being sorted' since November the bleeding 22nd now...

Thats standard for Evri tho.... If you chase them i bet they say that it's lost....

 

[Fantazia2]

I've had a next-day parcel sat in Evri's warehouse 'being sorted' since November the bleeding 22nd now...

I had one marked as out for delivery on the 2nd then updated on the 4th to say it was sent to the wrong depot.

 

[Gonzo]

Thats standard for Evri tho.... If you chase them i bet they say that it's lost....

Evri are truly awful and their customer contact/complaint mechanisms are purposefully evasive I suspect.

As for the Royal Mail . . . apparently they've turned down an 8% pay rise today and pledged to strike. Meanwhile 3 companies that I know of are switching to alternative couriers to deliver their products (probably not Evri by the sounds of it ). I'm not sure if they're bluffing or not but I'm selling a camera on Ebay and there is no way I'll trust the RM at the moment.

The union well get the outcome they wish for but they might also find they'll irrevocably lose customers to such an extent that the company will have to make redundancies.

It's a massive shame because a regular postie is a real asset to any street/community but if the Royal Mail cease to be able to deliver stuff efficiently & promptly then they're sort of fooked because it's no longer a viable option.

 

[Marvello]

I haven't had any issues outside of a couple of days delay but have avoided listing anything on eBay now until it settles down a bit.

 

[JT.]

Evri are truly awful and their customer contact/complaint mechanisms are purposefully evasive I suspect.

Defo this, their customer services is non-existent. I even suspect they don't give a toss if they lose uninsured parcels - the difference for my shoe-box sized parcel was £5 standard or £15 insured. If I had the mental strength at the mo I'd take them to court if it does prove to be lost and they (inevitably) refuse to refund me the entire value. It's a totally shoddy business model, forcing people to insure against the possibility that a company doesn't fulfil its primary purpose (imagine if you had to insure against Amazon not bothering to fulfil an order, for example - it's absolute nonsense) and it just needs one person to go through the rigmarole of taking them to county court, refusing to take any last minute offers, then winning, to completely kill the practice off.

 

[Sako-TRG]

"As for the Royal Mail . . . apparently they've turned down an 8% pay rise today and pledged to strike."

Lol.... ive not had a pay rise in years .
Private sector.......If i go on strike i just get sacked

 

[Gonzo]

"As for the Royal Mail . . . apparently they've turned down an 8% pay rise today and pledged to strike."

Lol.... ive not had a pay rise in years .
Private sector.......If i go on strike i just get sacked

Well this is where public sympathy will be in short supply because everyone is feeling the pinch.

Last month I lost a major sponsor and as a result will earn about 20% less than my usual income. . . . things are tight but there are far worse off than me.

Many have lost jobs, some have had their wages cut and so many people I know are doing double the work for the same money because fellow staff members have been laid off.

It's also worth pointing out that there are an awful lot of posties who have joined the royal mail relatively recently and are perfectly happy with the terms they accepted.

 

[paulg100]

Have a pin2dmd still at Heathrow customs since 4th November, its in the royalmail network.

Try and search for ways to contact them and its almost like they make it hard as possible to find a phone number now. it seems they actually DONT want to provide any customer service and there actually isnt anything you can do or anyone to speak to anymore.

Getting the same with banks, GP etc.

Pretty sure id have no clients left if i carried on the same and certainly aint getting a 10% inflation busting pay rise any time soon so no sympathy for posties or train drivers what so ever.

 

[Sako-TRG]

^^^ My brother in law left the Navy Submariner service around 18 months - 2 year ago.
Now a train driver for Scot-rail.
Said great working conditions, loads of flexibility with shifts etc… … 60k per annum basic wage, cracking pension to look forward too.! ‘It’s the gift that keeps on giving’ lol….
Guess what, they’re striking too!

 

[paulg100]

yep! i know someone who recently closed his dental lab (my profession) and got a job as a train driver.

Said pretty much the same, in comparison basically does sod all and gets 60k a year + overtime, said its a joke. Guys there apparently pulling in 100k with over time and still working a fraction of the hours he did when he had his own business.

Basically they dont know what side their bread is buttered on. Completely out of touch (or intentionally out of touch)

The technology is already there and the sooner they automate the network with driverless trains the better.

 

[JT.]

"As for the Royal Mail . . . apparently they've turned down an 8% pay rise today and pledged to strike."

Lol.... ive not had a pay rise in years .
Private sector.......If i go on strike i just get sacked

Royal Mail has been a private company for about a decade.