To feel fucked off at having to describe the contents of my parcels to all and sundry in the post office queue?

[u32ng]

Just returned from a trip to the post office (bad enough at this time of year too!): Anyway, apparently my answer of "chocolates" & "a kitchen gift" were not sufficient explanation for its contents and ended up having to say "chocolates", "trivia game", "kitchen gadget for your pans to stop them from boiling over".

I swear a man in the queue let out a snort of amusement at the last one!

Proceded to do same with the 2 other parcels I had.

Why can they not just ask if you're sending anything prohibited or not?! I don't have to itemise the contents of my suitcase at check in so why for my parcels? It feels so bloody embarrassing!

Earlier in the year I was taking part in the Clear Blue ovulation trial which involved taking jiffy bags with comedy biohazrd labels on them filled with piss samples to the village post office.

That was fun.

Perhaps the prohibited and restricted goods list needs to be better publicised. Put leaflets through doors and have posters up in the PO then ask people if they've checked if it's restricted (like they do at check in). As reliable as asking people what's in there and them lying/giving an easy answer.

DH took my two parcels today but didn't really know what was in them -he said "baby stuff" (a nativity set and some books) and "biscuits and other food stuff" (there was also a book and a calendar in that box). He was tempted to say "probably a bomb".

What if it is something you feel slightly embarrassed about mentioning and don't want them to know/don't want the whole queue behind you to hear? Like a sex toy, bondage equipment, lube... Of course people are going to lie. I don't like being asked really. I never have anything suspect in there but to me, it's a private parcel I'm sending and it has fuck all to do with the post office what's in there.

I send abroad regularly, but the new regs for the UK posting feels very intrusive. If I was sending something dodgy I'd lie.

Takes ages in the post office now. I sent a craft pack to my friends children. Got interrogated. Basically it was stickers and foam cut outs. I felt like taking it out of the parcel and showing it to the staff.

In the end I had to confirm if it was dangerous or not. So I said VERY VERY dangerous and gave a pissed off look. PO man chuckled and sent it off.

Repeat after me
"4 teletubbies and an orange peeler"

thanks middlefinger I'm going to use this for all my parcels in 2015!

Our local post master (is that what you still call the PO boss?) was telling me how when he has to ask what's in the parcel they often look left and right sheepishly and lean in close to whisper, at which point he hopes thinks it's going to be something interesting or embarrassing but disappointingly it never is.

Well exactly, Jenny. Airlines manage without demanding a complete inventory of what's in the suitcase.

The thing I don't understand is that a lot of items on the banned list, eg lithium batteries or alcoholic drinks, are available to buy online. How are the sellers posting them out??

OP, I'm most disappointed. I was expecting your story to be about having to public ally describe your new black, ribbed Rampant Rabbit, or the Fleshlight you'd ordered your husband for Christmas. Instead, you give me THIS?!

My nine year old DS was helping me with the Christmas posting at an adjacent counter - when the woman asked him what was in the envelope he said.......
"Flat Stanley"
The poor woman wrote it down too.........

Hi pausing just to be clear, I don't have a counter. My role is to be out front talking to customers and trying to make sure they're directed to the best place for them to complete their transaction quickly. If I came across someone who couldn't speak then I would get one of the laminates from the kiosk and use that (and that is just what i did for a customer who was struggling to talk - I've no idea if he was disabled or had a bad cold, but it was simple enough to fetch the card and use that). Please don't think I would make someone struggle - I'd hate to do that.

Yanbu!
My mil had a nightmare last week trying to send a parcel from the UK.
She doesn't speak very good English but managed to say presents, cream and jars were inside.
She sends us allsorts and has never had a problem before now.
The lady said she had to open it to check then refused to send it.
WTF problems can be caused with an unopened face cream, a pair of new wellies, 2 jars of mint sauce, Heinz salad cream and 2 blocks of cheddar?
Mil took it home and saved herself some cash by finding a courier that picked up the parcel from her door and drove it here to ours in Europe for cheaper .
She won't be using PO again.

I've been sending parcels this week. Yesterday I had the 'experience' of my nearest big post office always horrendous

The bloke before me was sending a trout which he proudly announced was fresh as it had been killed by him, he had packed it, with ice to keep it fresh, in a bin liner! if I hadn't been standing behind him I would never have believed it!

I'd tell them to get lost. All they need to do is weigh the parcel and take my money. It is nothing to do with some counter clerk what I choose to give to my relatives as a present. I would state that there is nothing prohibited in the parcel but that is it. Why are they asking? I'd suggest that I suspect they want to know the contents so they can target certain packages to steal and if they persist you will call the police and have the potential thief checked.

Think about it, if I post a parcel of say 30cm by 6cm by 20 cm weighing 4kg. Does it matter at all if it is a pack of paper, a selection of hard porn magazines, a box containing several dildos, a few packs of play dough. What difference does it make to the post service, the size and weight are the same size and weight and are exactly the same work for the royal mail. I see no reason to tell them what I choose to send to my friends and relatives.

Last year when my DM was in hospital 80 miles away from here, she told me on the phone that she was running out of clean underwear. As none of us live nearby and I couldn't get over to visit her for a few days, I bought some new pants and posted them to her on the ward.

Having experienced the grilling about parcel contents previously at the Post Office, I actually looked forward to taking my turn at the counter in the middle of the village shop so that when the assistant asked me what was in the parcel, I replied in a loud voice "knickers"

It's not as simple as that though joanne - I suspect if you were to refuse to tell them then, as in my MIL case, they'd request to open it and/or refuse to send.
I suspect it's more to do with them selling insurance than anything else tbh.
It's crazy.

Why are they asking? I'd suggest that I suspect they want to know the contents so they can target certain packages to steal and if they persist you will call the police and have the potential thief checked

omg - thats the funniest thing I've read all day.

www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/Tell-me-about-Prohibited-Goods
www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/Tell-me-about-Restricted-Goods

joanne It is illegal to send obscene material through the post - it has been that way for years and that is not related to the new dangerous goods questions. You may think it's not their business, or that they're just after pinching your stuff, but reality is that there are legal requirements to make sure that we're not accepting stuff into the mail system that could be dangerous or otherwise illegal.

When I'm working in branch, I need to know if your parcel is valuable so that I can offer you the best product - you probably would be pretty cheesed off if your parcel was lost or destroyed and I hadn't taken the time to make sure that you were sold the right product - the standard £20 compensation for a lost parcel would be pretty lousy if your parcel contained £100 of presents, and worse if there was no compensation because I've sold you the wrong service, or you've lied about its contents. A postie got badly burned when a parcel containing hair bleach split - I think it's pretty reasonable to think that he shouldn't have had to take that risk, which is what we're trying to achieve by asking the questions. Of course people can lie, but hopefully we can ensure that parcels are appropriately packed and labelled so that everyone dealing with the parcel on its journey knows if it's likely to pose a risk to them.

I mentioned above about Swiss Army knives - you can post knives that are appropriately packaged - you can send a kitchen knife if you want, but it has to be properly wrapped. And you can't send perishable foods abroad, which probably would be why the parcel with cheese was rejected. You could send your cheese within the UK as long as it went 1st class...

I recently had a run in with the v officious young man in our post office over this issue. I was very polite but refused to answer and explained that none of the items were hazardous or dangerous and that I found the questions intrusive. He took great pleasure in getting the leaflet from under the counter, then circling in biro (several times ) the paragraph where it says 'Failure to comply with this policy may result in prosecution' and trying to give it to me through the screen. I saw what he was doing and, still politely, refused to take the leaflet.

However, I have looked at the leaflet online and it stresses that responsibility for ensuring that nothing on the prohibited or restricted list is posted lies with the consumer rather than with the post office - therefore it seems to me that as long as you vouch that the items do not appear on the list, you have no need to describe them.

I don't understand why they just don't display the policy as per airline check-in desks....

i send my brother crows on a regular bases - its a family joke,

i always use marmite crisps as filler for the box, im not sure they believe me in the post office when im asked and always reply 'large crow with marmite crisps'!

It's crazy. I've stopped using the post office because of this. I just use collect+ no questions asked.