Parcel panic- Please join me if you are awaiting deliveries

[Countsinpotatoes]

Hello,
It's getting to that bit of Christmas where I'm starting to panic about things not arriving in time
Currently I'm awaiting a necklace, that has suddenly jumped to expected deliver on the 23rd. Its the main part of my mum's gifts

Lots of other bits struggling to find their way through the post including a key ring that should have arrived at the weekend.

What is everyone else waiting for?

I’m still waiting for an Etsy order that was despatched on the 18th November. Tracking can’t be used until a delivery attempt has been made. Item only cost £13 band I am loathe to ask the seller to refund just yet but again, why should I be out of pocket.

It's not a present but I'm still waiting on something that dispatched on 25th Nov but on the plus side, the return item I posted the same day got refunded yesterday so there is still hope!

My lovely local postie told me that at the delivery office there are huge piles and the new stuff is just put on top of the stuff that’s been there for weeks - hence why things from November still aren’t out for delivery as they are bottom of the pile and are never reached. Can only imagine this will get worse with the next lot of strikes.

He very kindly offered to have a rummage for me if he can!

I had something turn up day before yesterday that was over three weeks overdue. There is hope

I ordered a load of stuff from Etsy 20th november Al came but one pair of earrings. I asked to be resent and they came 2 days later (Well unless that's the original set....!)

I ordered a parkrun wristband for hubby on 9th November... No sign of it. They sent out a second one last week and that hasn't appeared either :(

Waiting anxiously for one that should have arrived last week.

DPD delivered something for me yesterday and the driver said that they’re currently running about a week behind on deliveries due to the RM issues and things being sent by courier instead.

I know you’re thinking why didn’t I order trainers earlier but I wasn’t sure they were in reach cost wise and I paid for special delivery post! I genuinely thought I’d get them and now they’re saying it’s 48 hours to respond to emails too 🙄

DS had only one thing on his Christmas list. Instead of ordering it straight away I waited a bit and now the only place we were able to order was from the USA. I suspect it won't turn up in time for Christmas so have to make up some sort of reason for DS 😩

So sorry @Sparklythings1 it is so rubbish people cannot be understanding when it isn't your fault.
I don't know if it's possible (and I'm probably stating the obvious) to include before people purchase, that delivery can be up to 2 weeks. It will prevent some people ordering, but also will mean you won't do abortive work if they ask for refunds after 3 days?

I'm waiting on some mantis which were dropped at the delivery office with 24 hour delivery Monday morning (so as to avoid the cold and the strikes) and didn't move until last night and won't be arriving today due to the strike. I can only assume they will have/will have passed over the past few days in the cold weather, but really hoping they haven't. They should have arrived Tuesday before the cold snap. Mine was one of two of all the packages the seller posted that got lost in the system, the rest arrived as they should have.
It isn't the sellers fault, he is beside himself.
The majority of the cost of the order was other things so I'm not going to ask for a refund or replacement as that isn't fair on him. He won't get anything back from RM and he isn't going to be doing any more orders this year now because of the issues so he isn't going to have an income now through no fault of his own.
I don't blame the mail workers for striking either. They should be getting fair pay and conditions and more people should stand up and demand that. It's just a series of unfortunate events.

Had an email from a regular supplier yesterday they've cancelled royal mail and chosen DHL royal mail had informed them that goods were two weeks behind . It's worrying for small businesses

Least they are honest unlike Evri.

Evri are awful they are dumping stuff - www.kentonline.co.uk/medway/news/evri-delivery-probe-after-sackfuls-of-parcels-dumped-278464/

Or just letting it pile up - www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-63890146

From an online retailers point of view:

These strikes are killing my business. I will lose a week's worth of trade. I cannot claim for missing parcels as I'm a business customer and there is no compensation for anything other than special delivery, and even then you have to jump through so many hoops it's barely worth it. I cannot use another option. Evri is the next best price wise and it's at least twice the price for large letters, which is what I mostly send. They are also vastly behind because they don't have the staff (we don't have a driver in my area, he quit, leaving the parcels building up in the depot). DPD have stopped taking orders if you don't have an account. There aren't many other viable or affordable options and you the buyers wouldn't pay £8 to courier a £5 item.

With Royal Mail depots, first in is last out. The couple of days after Black Friday are ALWAYS a hotspot for delays, even worse this year.

Items are taking two weeks to arrive now. Please consider this when you are contacting small businesses. Yes, we get it, you want your gifts for Christmas, but our stress levels are already through the roof after a really, truly, shitty year of trading. We don't need people demanding refunds or saying we are fobbing you off. I, like many others, are paying for postage upgrades out of our own pockets to avoid delays. I can't afford it, but I can't afford to lose my 11 year old business either.

A lot of us are working stupid hours to get items out quicker. We are tired, reduced to tears most days by vile customers, and we really, really need the money.

Please bear all of this in mind when contacting companies.

It's killing me.

I have items I'm waiting for, orders outstanding as I'm waiting for supplies and things stuck somewhere in the post. Luckily my customers are generally being very good about it but a lot of it is Christmas present jewellery so I'm going to be letting people down sadly but there is nothing I can do about it.

I will be switching permanently to a courier service and my prices will have to go up to cover the additional cost.

Waiting 2 weeks for a parcel of fabric that should have arrived in 48 hours by Royal Mail. Tracking keeps getting pushed further and further back.

These strikes are a nightmare at present. I sell a lot of small items on eBay and I am receiving messages every day asking where items I posted on the 23rd November are. I have no option but to use the Royal Mail Large Letter service as everything else would cost me 3 times as much and when you're selling items that start in price from £3.99 including free postage, it's just not an option.
I hope something gets sorted soon as, up until this point, things were going really well for me.
I hate the thought of letting customers down, but on the other hand, I also think some customers could learn a bit of patience and understand that the delays are out of sellers hands.

We’re waiting for all sorts of things that may or may not make an appearance before Christmas.

My strangest one so far though was a Boots order where I ordered a giftset that my DM asked for (half price online and unlikely to be in our little local branch), plus some little bits for DSis’ stocking. After a while, the giftset was delivered but nothing else. I thought the other bits must be arriving separately, but that evening I had an email from Boots about ‘my refund’ - no actual communication from them that they couldn’t fulfil the order until they’d actually processed the refund. Strange, but at least I’ve got time to actually go to the shop. 🤷🏻‍♀️ everything’s gone a bit bonkers.

It’s sort of reassuring to hear that many are in the same boat. I’m more hopeful that my parcel will arrive in the next 2 weeks.
If worst comes to the worst I’ll buy a small replacement present and wait for the other to come, rather than go back to where I bought it from.

Dunelm. Delivery meant to be by yesterday. Hasn't even been processed yet. And 4 of the 15 items not in stock.

Red candy. Order on 26th. Still not processed.

So can't even blame royal mail or other delivery companies as retailers aren't acting on their orders!

I've not really had any big issues with Royal Mail, everything has been a bit slower but turned up. Evri on the other hand have had a parcel of mine for weeks and done nothing with it.

I also run a small side business and have sent everything 24hour tracked with RM. It's taken longer than 24hour, but it's all got there.

Fully in support of anyone who needs to strike for fair working conditions. It's not just about pay with RM and the lies peddled out by Simon Thompson are criminal.

My cannabis edibles 🤪

Our main hub for sorting is Chester, we're in Wales. There was a picture in the press the other day of a huge backlog of post there. You will get it eventually. The days before Xmas they do get a chance to catch up normally because folks have paused buying.

@MagentaRocks
I just had a notification that last week's click and collect order for today has been cancelled by dunelm due to no stock for some reason

if they turned up in January do you not still have them for this year?

Yes a couple but we have lots of new guests this year so I needed extras for those and they’re all individually named.