To think my postman is up to something?

[Kabooooom]

10 days ago, it was my DS's birthday and his Great Grandparents and Great Uncle live a long way away, have no idea how to do internet banking etc, so stick to what they usually do and send a Birthday card followed by a letter including Birthday money. One card was received, yet the other one and the money still hasn't.

Also, I booked train tickets last Thursday and paid extra to have them recorded delivery and arrive the next day. I still haven't received them either. As I need them for in a few days, I rang Virgin trains to find out what is going on. On the tracking system it says that the postman had tried to deliver on Saturday, but there was no answer. This is bullshit, as I live in a block of flats and he buzzed my door to get in on Saturday and delivered junk mail through my letter box (the only thing I have been getting for 2 weeks, apart from some Birthday cards, two still not here, along with the money, and another letter I have been waiting to receive confirming direct debit payments). So, because it says he attempted to deliver, I don't get my money back for the recorded delivery and they gave me a number for Royal Mail to ring.

So, I rang them, and they told me the same thing and said I should of received a red card through the door to inform me of an attempt at delivery. I never got this. The best they could do after telling them everything, about other letters not appearing etc, is offer me a redelivery slot and report the fact no card was left, and ask the sorting office to check for other mail which could be there to be delivered at the same time.

AIBU in thinking that something fishy is going on with the postman? He didn't even turn up for 5 days the first week. No one in the block received a thing. And now letters/cards are disappearing and he is lying about attempted deliveries. I am tempted to pull him up about it the next time I see him and try and report this further. Or am I reading too much into it and should just leave it, pray it still gets to us, if not then suck it up, seeing as I actually don't have proof other than him lying about the tickets? I just don't understand though, why lie about it?

WWYD?

To be fair, I have been told by a former Sorting Office employee that's that where a lot of the shenanigans go on.

Usually, I see him coming in most days into the block to deliver to someone. But two weeks ago, I didn't see him for 5 days running and I asked 2 neighbours (one flat is empty, one is occupied by a very old lady and never see her, and the other is a single mum who works nights so haven't bothered her either) and the 2 neighbours said they didn't see him, or receive any post either. Then he turned up and delivered junk mail the next day, and I hoped he had just had time off and catching up. But I still haven't received stuff two weeks later. Then with this whole ticket situation, it has made me think something very strange is going on.

I have never had any problems before with regards to birthday money. But, they didn't stick the envelope down properly and you could see my Nan had wrote "Birthday money to follow", and since, no cards or money, or anything else apart from junk has come :/

As soon as I read the card, I thought "Fuck, here we go. I bet someone chances it and tries to get their hands on it" but I hoped they hadn't gone looking and seen what was written.

YANBU, but don't be too optimistic. DP and I had a dodgy postman when we lived in a share house last year. Same kind of thing: Post not arrived, recorded things being marked as posted/signed for/attempted delivery even though they hadn't, money not arriving, etc. Our local PO couldn't give a damn.

I tried to make complaints and kept getting referred to my local pot office. They tried fobbing me off, saying they had evidence things were signed for by somebody at our address or at times when nobody was in, on more than one occasion he'd left signed for packages on our doorstep. We left at the beginning of Feb, having been there for four months, with a standard A5 notebook half full of incidents between me, DP and our house mates of things this postie had not delivered or done or things that had disappeared (including all of my Ofsted paperwork, twice!) and the post office just continued to make excuses for him, even Head Office did on the one occasion I managed to get them to speak to me about my Ofsted documents not arriving!

So have the sorting office actually got your train tickets? If the postie attempted delivery then the tickets should be back at the sorting office ready for you to collect or for him to redeliver.

I've had loads of problems with post, in my old flat I swear the postie would just post letters wherever he felt like it. Once we got everyone in the blocks voting cards through our door! Here hasn't been so bad but I have had letters turning up months later and once the postman left a red 'while you were out' card but I wasn't out and I watched him through the window post it and walk away without even knocking!

I have had lots of post go awol usually those with cards , photos, newspaper cuttings about Ds2 to his Grandma or cards with money, gift cards etc from her. we now wait until we are together to exchange things, she tells me how much to give DC's and puts it in 'my drawer' at her house for next time I visit. It really is annoying and every complaint to Royal mail just elicits a 'sympathetic' letter.

Is there a road with a similar name or another block of flats nearby?
I used to live in a block of flats and the name of the block wasn't prominently displayed. I used to end up with post for other blocks of flats, where the name of the block wasn't even similar, just because they couldn't find the other block so tried any old block.
E.g. I lived in 3 Orchard Court on Manor Road. I sometimes received post for 3 Manor Court even though that was on a completely different road because the postie assumed Manor Court must be on Manor Road.
(Not the real names btw!!!)

Nope, there is just the one lane and not any other lanes in nearby streets/roads but there is another block next door, but there is a big sign on the building of each one that says Block 59 and the other one Block 61 so not sure if the postman could of got them mixed up. But I would of thought if it had been delivered to the wrong address, with the right address being on it, that the occupants would pop round to drop it off. Especially the train tickets, as the address is printed on it.

I suppose I could pop around just in case and ask.

Then again, I know they have the train tickets as they admitted that they are at the sorting office after a "failed attempted delivery". Failed my arse.

Just the money to worry about now.

YANBU

I have had loads of problems with a new postman since January. Similar things as you op, recorded delivery items/registered items just never showing up, while you were out cards when I was in. Last time I dug him up, he said he didn't post the while you were out card as he'd none left, I said but I signed for something else that day so you didn't need a card, you could have given me the item. He can't even lie straight. Have complained to the main complaints number loads of times and they contact the sorting office and nothing changes. Told them I'd be contacting the police next time. Something stinks when they don't even care about registered items disappearing into the ether.

Hiya, I'm sorry to hear about your situation and I wouldn't be happy in your situation either. However, I do feel as though postmen get the blame for the predominantly sloppy organisation of the managers at royal mail. My dp is a postman at one of the largest offices in England. He is constantly abused due to misunderstandings surrounding the while you were out cards. What a lot of pe

I am on tenterhooks about the While You Were Out cards!

We've had countless things go missing, and keep getting post for people living in the next street- same number but completely different street/surname. Asked our neighbour and she says the same.
Ive given the post back to the postman and said wrong address. Keep wondering if those people are getting our mail

Sorry..... What a lot of people do not realise is many postmen do not carry special deliveries and parcels and they are given to a driver. These separate postmen are out delivering at a different time of day to the average postman with letters (eg bills and appointments). Please check the times and dates written on your card before assaulting the postmen. A lot of the time you were out. My dp and I, both feel there should be a standard leaflet clarifying the working hours, expectations and duties a postman/woman has. With all the ridiculous cut backs they still insist on piling on the work and running the company on overtime, causing stress and injury.

What I hate is when they pop a 'you weren't in' card throught the door and you know the lazy bugger hasn't even brought the parcel with him.

I caught my postman doing this once, ran after him saying 'I'm here, I'm here'. There was no parcel, the parcel was at the sorting office.

anoli22 Why do delivery people leave 'While You Were Out' cards, though, for people who are actually in? Or record an 'attempted delivery' on tracking systems and don't leave a card?

Not saying you should know the answers, but any enlightenment would be useful.

How about this... DP birthday in April, Card through the door from his sister, with 3 scratchcards, all scratched and then ripped in two! all the 'scratchings' were in the card, so obviously done quickly and almost been caught so shoved them back in the card and then sealed it back up

Also, if the parcel was actually meant to be with the postman (an untracked item) it would cause far more grief for the postman not to be carrying it, its a sackable offence 'delaying the mail'. Postmen would much prefer to hand the parcel over instead of taking it back to the office, spend time writing the card out. ANOTHER reason people are not getting their mail is because flats/appartments have security locks that are broken, if this is the case please complain to your care taker as postmen are not able to access your house. Again they would prefer to hand over their mail they have spent 4-5 hours sorting, and dragged around for hours around the routes in all weathers. But, yeah there are some wankers like in any job, but they are a minority.

In defence of postmen I do like when the good looking ones wear their shorts in the summertime.

Linerunner. If its a postman and they cannot get in to the building. ie. not gaining entrance through the main entrance of a flat they cannot deliver a while you were out card, so they often take it back to the sorting office and hand it to the door to door postman who will put it in with your post. (be sure to check times and dates as I mentioned before). If they are a company other than royal mail they often leave the cards near the intercoms or tuck it into the door- these can get lost as people access the building. Hence why royal mail opt out of this

Can you send them round my way, squoosh?

My postman has a huge trolley that looks like a hotdog vendor's stall.

My situation is completely different. Mine was not a parcel. It was a normal sized envelope containing something important, which needed to be signed for. I was told my usual postman would be the one who drops it off along with my other mail, however he will knock on to do so as it will need signing for.

He said there was no one in. He lied, knowing full well I was in. But lets say I wasn't, and he had ran out of those "Whilst you were out" cards, well, fair enough. But, you would think they would attempt delivery again the following working day and make sure they had one for then. So even with his claims, he hasn't even tried to notify me that something is waiting for me to collect. Instead, I could be someone who has been sent something important and I had no idea? They have no right to withheld MY post without even telling me so, nevermind when it wasn't even necessary.

The postmen who behave like this need to be spoken about and dealt with, otherwise people will boycott and the likes of your DP who is a decent postman, will find themselves redundant when they go bust.

No, not blocks of flats, anoli. Just regular houses with letterboxes.

I live in a block of flats, and I buzzed him in Saturday (didn't even turn up Friday when my tickets should of arrived) and today. He did have access. He posted the usual junk mail through the post trying to talk me into applying for credit cards, life insurance for over 50's (which did make me snigger, given how I am in my 20's) and then he proceeded to post the others mails, before leaving the block. He had no excuse.

I had to contact my local sorting office to complain after I twice found my post blowing down the drive. The postman couldn't be bothered to stick it through the letterbox and dumped it on the doormat. Letterbox is waist height so no excuses about bending down etc.....
They told me it was a 'training issue'... How hard can it be??

Definitely do some trial posts to yourself, both recorded and normal post.