I'm a postie Ama

[Postieonthego]

What is DM26? Is the Royal Mail on its knees? Where's my post? AMA.

I know you are suggesting a parcel box but surely this is still not a secure place? And just as likely to be stolen from?

Well, that's a bit of an arsehole move. It's not the customer's fault that Amazon use Royal mail to deliver things.

I don't think Royal Mail should accept the contract to deliver them.

Not at my house it can't. I would accept that as a necessity if I wasn't home. But it pisses me off no end when I am home and generally pretty near the door so it's not like they have to wait.(just the layout of my very small place).

I have already said I am getting the litter box in the middle of the door.

No, there's no price difference in where you have the letterbox, it's just the more modern styles, for example, the long narrow piece of glass down the middle, or several squares of glass on the door, don't work with a letterbox in the middle of the door. More dated styles do. I want a modern looking door but not at the cost of the posties back, so I'm getting the most modern looking door I can with a litter box in the middle.

IMO there should be some 'law' against having your letterbox below waist height. But the way things are going Royal Mail will stop delivering letters before the government would get that passed.

I would think that highly unlikely as it's much more of a modern thing to have them at a low level, also they may be restricted in design, but it is highly unlikely they would be unable to mount a post box at a better level

Yes. They're good for protecting from the elements but sod all use for protecting against theft. It was better when you had a regular poster that you could share a lock code with, but when there are so few posters with regular rounds now it's just not feasible.

I’ve seen them on Victorian houses

having done a google it seems like they fell out of fashion in 1958 due to complaints from postal workers

personally I’m not a fan of a low letterbox and think a letterbox can enhance your door!!

https://www.brizebox.com/

my neighbours have something like this - it doesn’t need a code - you put the parcel in the drawer and then it drops it into the secure container once closed. I wonder if these sorts of things will replace letterboxes as we move away from letters and towards parcels

my teens don’t really understand why we get letters tbh and I would say 90% of what I receive is junk these days

Does it annoy you having my to deliver large packages for Amazon?

I regularly do Subscribe & Save orders that includes tins and cartons of food and drink. I do this as I have difficulty getting to the shops and Amazon are cheaper.

Amazon put a ridiculous amount of weight into a single walled box. When the Royal Mail deliver, the box always arrives ripped and often the contents has leaked.

I've complained to Amazon lots of times and asked them not to to use the Royal Mail but of course they still do. I don't have this problem when Amazon use their own couriers. They use Royal Mail for Subscribe & Save as the delivery date is at least 6 days ahead. Next day deliveries are delivered by Amazon drivers and are never damaged.

and that's completely fine. All I ask is it is a consideration.

It doesn't annoy me. I so appreciate it is a lifeline for many people who are disabled.
Some disabled people I know are fine for me to walk in with the box and letters - have a little chat and see if they are ok.

Amazon are known for putting items into a single-walled box with one piece of tape across the top. These boxes break either in the sorting office, the van or walking down the street the contents pour out. Last Christmas a person ordered various batteries and I was popping them through his letterbox for about a fortnight as we found them.

I'm not sure why when the parcel comes from Amazon itself it isn't damaged. Perhaps the process is less rigorous on the parcel.

This is what I mean by a parcel box. A lovely thing to behold.

I think that depends on the box.
Many I have seen you put the parcel in and it drops down to an area that can only be opened with a key or a code.
Some people just have a box - which as you say would protect the parcel from the rain, but not a thief.

The house opposite works 14 hour days and orders parcels most days, and that side don’t have front gardens. All the posties/delivery guys rant about them.

Who Royal Mail accepts contracts from is above my pay grade.

If I was that householder I would think about either having the items delivered to my work or to a lockbox - usually at a supermarket or garage where I could pick them up at my leisure.

You’d think! Much easier to get the WFH neighbour to be disrupted each day (then sit at home and wait for them to bring it to you) 🤔😤

Which I imagine is why more and more people refuse parcels for neighbours.

Thank you for answering, a PP also suggested this kind of box which I hadn’t heard of before, I will have a look into getting one

My local postie used to post on our community facebook group if he couldn’t find someone at an address / someone wasn’t in and wanted to ask if they needed him to come back later etc. People loved it obviously but I always wondered if there was some kind of breach there? He’s not a postie here anymore and so the mind wonders. I’m guessing you’d have some sort of GDPR guidelines for not engaging personally with your customers?

hi thanks for answering my questions. I have the RM app and it’s on there where my safe place is. And yes I think £1.80 is a lot to mail a letter, especially as first class, which used to mean overnight, can take several days - and it’s £3.60 to send a letter abroad! Also, when I’m not in and they don’t leave the parcel, why don’t they leave a card anymore? Even with medication that has an urgent note on it (it must be kept cold) I don’t get a card! It’s only because I’m expecting something or can see on the tracking that delivery was attempted then I go to the depo. One time my medication was kept there for three days before I tracked it didn’t. No attempt to redeliver it either.

It's tricky as you want to offer a service, but you never know who else is reading Facebook. What time will you be back home Sally Smith could turn into her being burgled.

Also people do take the piss and expect you to respond at all hours.
I've only ever used Facebook when I have. parcel with no number and put something like does anyone know what number Sandra Jones lives at please Dm me and then delete the message right off.

If you are not in you should get a card. Although that now has a QR code to scan.
Delivery vans are not cooled in anyway nor are sorting offices, so we can never guarantee something is kept cold, especially in summer.

What time do you start and finish work?

Monday/Tuesday 10.20am - 6pm
Wednesday/Thursday/Friday 9am - 6.30pm
Saturday 7.15am - 3.15pm.

Obviously one of those days will be my day off.