Royal Mail Rant (Poor DS)

[expatkat]

As some of you know I moved the kids to the US for 7 months, separating them from their beloved dad who had to stay in London. Shy ds, with great difficulty, made a classroom full of new friends at his tiny new preschool by the ocean. It was a tremendous adjustmentand achievementfor him in particular. His classmates & teachers were so sorry to see him go that they got him a t-shirt, and each child put their handprint & name on it. Then they all took a class trip to the post office to mail the package to LONDON: an exciting prospect for the children of this small town where travel is pretty rare

So a few days ago, a neighbour of ours here in London rang our doorbell and handed us a box she found on the street. It had been opened. The sweet note from the children and teachers was in the box, but the t-shirt was missing.

How the hell did our package wind up on the street?

We've complained to royal mail once before about shoddy service, but this time I want to make a complaint that will mean something. I'm not really sure whom to contact. Any suggestions?

Poor little mite. No practical advice but:

bump!

how horrible, that would really upset me

First place to complain ,plus Postwatch ?

I was going to mention the Royal Mail website as well, but it seems a little impersonal. How about the person in charge of the local delivery office? Whoever didn't deliver the parcel to you must be working for him. It maybe that the parcel can be "tracked" and the culprit identified and questioned? In addition, the local paper would be REALLY happy to print such a sad story - poor performance of the Royal Mail is a hot topic at the moment. I bet there are London Mumsnetters out there who are going to keep their eyes peeled for a child in a T shirt with hand prints on!

Zebra: what quick (& impressive) thinking!! Many thanks.

Thanks for your sympathy coppertop and fio. This is such a small matter in the scheme of things, but it did quite upset even unsentimental me.

Thanks Tissy, just saw your good suggestions, too. LOL at the London mumsnetters keeping a look out.

That's really sad they do a similar sort of thing for our school leavers and I'd be really upset on ds' behalf. Definitely complain and perhaps a local appeal might yet turn it up - albeit anonymously.

I've contacted the Evening Standard, thinking it the sort of story they just might print. Unfortunately, I don't know how to get hold of the e-mail addresses of their editors, so I wrote to the Letters Editor in the hopes that he or she will pass it on to the right person. Does anyone know how I might be able to contact the editors there more directly?

Or how, in general, one alerts a newspaper of a potential story? I've always wondered that.

I guess I could contact a very local paper which covers our neighbourhood, but I suppose I think the Royal Mail problem is larger than our neighbourhood, and might deserve attention in a slightly larger paper? (Not a national paper, but at least a London paper.)

you can contact newsdesk if you like
020 7938 7161

sorry should have said newsdesk at Evening Standard

bump, just to make sure expatkat sees foxinsocks' post- looks like a woman in the know!

just saw it, tissy, thanks. Wow, foxinsocks, v. resourceful. I'll let you all know what if anything happens.

how about the bbc. They seem to have had various stories on royal mail. Watchdog maybe? Don't bother with the website. I've complained there and didn't even get an automated response, never mind a useful one. You could write a letter directly to the ceo of royal mail. I forget his name, but he was all over the news after that expose tv show saying how wonderful his mailmen were.

The head honcho at the RM is Adam Crozier.