To complain about my postman?

[UncertainMum]

I realise i probably am being U, and insensitive, but i need to vent!

We've had a new postman since December, when our usual postlady retired.

And since then, the post has been nothing but trouble. I'll give a few examples.

1. Christmas Eve - i got a few parcels delivered. In amongst them (which i didn't notice until postman had gone) was a small packet meant for a random lady in a random street twenty minutes from here. It had no return address. I went and delivered it myself since it was first class, and i assumed she'd want it before Christmas.

2. Up to three times a week, i get letters posted through my door which are meant for one of my neighbours, which i then have to go and repost through the correct doors.

3. Vice versa - up to three times per week, my neighbours post through/knock at my door with my letters which have been wrongly posted to them.

4. Invasion of privacy! I realise that my neighbours don't read my letters, but the fact that they can see who they're from on the envelope (e.g. NHS, HMRC, my bank, Junkmail for the online stores i buy from) really feels like an invasion of privacy.

Today has really kicked off my annoyance. I came in from work and my neighbour stopped me on the stairs (i live in a flat) saying she saw me coming from the window. She handed me a postcard that was from my friend in France and she said to me, "Aw, hope you're feeling better now, love."

I got in and read the postcard, and my friend had mentioned something about me being ill at New Year and she hopes to see me for Easter instead when she's over.

I realise i should be annoyed at my neighbour for reading this rather than the postman - but it should have gone in MY door in the first place.

I've tried speaking to the postman a few times about it, but he just tries to make light of it saying things like, "Sorry, forgot to bring my specs with me today", or "Oops, i must be growing dyslexic"

I'm now at the stage where i feel i should contact Royal Mail and complain. But i would really prefer an alternative option. What if he really does have dyslexia or bad eyesight and that was just his way of joking about it? I don't want him to lose his job if it's just silly mistakes either. I just want him to put the right post through the right doors.

I would complain tbh. If he has poor eyesight then he can get it corrected. If he is dyslexic then he needs some support or maybe a change of career if it is sufficiently 'bad' that he can't read addresses.

A few times I would put up with but if it's regular then it's rediculous.

Spooky...I was just reading your post & mine arrived!

Definitely complain - he's not doing his job properly. You don't have to be harsh or personal about it, just call the sorting office and say you've been having problems with the delivery of your post and please can they fix them. You can also arrange to collect from the sorting office, but that can be a real pain as a lot of them open very early and shut at around lunch time.

Stop being so accommodating for a start by actually re-posting stuff through the correct doors. Shove them back in the post box with pen on saying delivered to the wrong address........surely then someone will take note of how many incorrect letters that particular round is getting.

btw you do realise that postmen read everyones postcards? Sometimes they get passed aroun the office.

Complain to his manager.he's just being lazy.just asked my dh about the postcard reading, (he's medically retired postie) and he smiled and said " yes especially if they have naked women on them"!!

Betty -I doubt anyone would notice that happening to be honest. The systems are automated so the only person that would notice is the postie himself (unless no postcode or unreadable postcode where there is human interaction with the sorting machine) You'll have to make a complaint. He's being lazy - if he really is dyslexic or has failing sight then he should get some help otherwise it's just laziness.

Ring the sorting office and speak to the manager. I've had to do this on a couple of occasions when a postie opened my front door and walked into my kitchen uninvited to give me a parcel, frightening the life out of me (he hadn't knocked or anything).

We've had a similar issue with our post and I spoke directly to our postman several times. From his response I honestly think he was unable to read numbers or was finding the job so stressful that he was making a lot of mistakes. I didn't have to complain directly to the post office as we got a new postman but I would definitely do so in your situation op.