Complaints soar over ‘Sorry, you were out’ cards put through doors by postmen… while residents were IN

January 3rd, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Some ‘overworked’ postmen fill out the cards before they even arrive at houses to save time, admits union
37% rise in two years – despite Royal Mail pledge to tackle the problem

By
Gavin Allen

Last updated at 5:53 PM on 3rd January 2012

The number of complaints about postmen leaving cards to say residents weren’t in when they tried to deliver packages, when in fact the householders were home, has risen by more than a third.

The cards are meant to be used by postmen if they knocked the door to deliver a parcel and received no response from the resident.

However, it appears the cards are being increasingly misused, pre-prepared by postmen seeking to lighten their loads and save time on their rounds.

Actually, I was in: The number of complaints about postmen leaving 'Sorry, you were out cards' when residents were home has risen by a third in two years

Actually, I was in: The number of complaints about postmen leaving ‘Sorry, you were out cards’ when residents were home has risen by a third in two years

In 2011, 32,000 people complained about being left a
P739 form, better known as a ‘Sorry, you were out’ card, a 14 per cent
rise.

Between June and September last year
alone, more than 8,500 people complained about the practice, which
represents a 37 per cent increase in the same period in 2009.

The figures show that the practice is on the rise despite promised by Royal Mail to curb the problem.

A 2009 study found that Royal Mail staff were routinely leaving ‘Sorry, you were out’ cards without even knocking doors.

Some sorting office managers have allocated just 10 seconds per house on new delivery routes, the postal workers union CWU has claimed.

It has led to postmen filling out the forms before they approach houses because they do not have enough time to complete their rounds.

Snap survey: Customers queuing outside the Royal Mail delivery office in North Shields, North Tyneside to collect their Christmas parcels in December

‘When we heard the allegations that
people were not ringing the door bell, we reminded staff they have to
ring and wait for people to answer the door, a spokesman for Royal Mail
told the Daily Telegraph.

A spokesman for CWU acknowledged that
pressure to finish greater deliveries and in some cases insufficient
time built into delivery times was a factor in the increase in cards
being left.

But she also said there had been a
huge rise in the number of packets, largely from internet shopping,
being delivered, which require more door knocking and therefore more
cards being issued.

She also said over the past three
years deliveries had been pushed back later and people were more likely
to be out with the later delivery start times.

A
snap survey of sorting offices by the Daily Mail, taken in
mid-December, revealed queues of customers waiting to pick up parcels.

Many left empty-handed because they were too busy to wait up to 90 minutes in the Christmas rush, while others reached the counter only to be told their item couldn’t be found.

In a rush: Postmen are facing limits of 10 second per property on some rounds, increasing use of the cards

A variety of reasons were given for
the delays. Frustrated customers said the queues could have been avoided
if Royal Mail had put on extra staff to handle the workload.

And while some parcels may have
genuinely been too big for letterboxes, or needed to be signed for, a
significant number of customers complained that they had been at home
when their postman shoved a notice through their door and drove off.

North Shields, North Tyneside, saw
waits of 20 minutes, while customers in Bristol waited for over an hour
in temperatures of 5c. In Cambridge, the delays topped 90 minutes as 70
people stood in line.

Heavily pregnant teacher Jo Starkey, 31, lost 30 minutes of her day in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester.

‘You can never park here so I had to walk,’ she complained.

Royal Mail apologised to customers who
have ‘experienced difficulties’ but stressed that it has taken steps to
improve its service, such as extending opening hours for 1,400 offices
and carrying out deliveries that require a signature on Sundays to catch
people at home.

The company has been criticised for
curtailing collections and deliveries while hiking prices and pursuing
other money-spinning ventures.

It emerged this year that the firm was seeking a five-fold increase in revenue from junk mail deliveries as profits slumped.

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
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They’re copying the courier companies, who started this. I’ve actually watched one of their vans pull up-written card ( with the wrong time on it, too). leg it back and drive away with a Formula 1 type start.Then they take your parcel to the depot, which may be miles away – one lot round here use the airport site, a 40-mile round trip. Once, by the time I’d got there, the parcel wasllaready on its way back to Heathrow and the US.

– Kate Evans, Nottingham,England, 03/1/2012 17:58

It is the same here in the US, my car was parked in the drive and the postal carrier doesn’t bother to knock. I was waiting for important legal papers. I had to chase him down the road when I realized he had left a card.
This comes down to being shorthanded and the service wanting to save money; I’m sure it is the same in the UK.
In the states they want to cut our postal services to the bare bones when they can’t even deliver the mail in a timely manner. Some of the carriers are so overloaded they sometimes deliver the mail after 6:00 PM!

– Melody, Hartford, Ct USA, 03/1/2012 17:57

This will get worse with more and more On Line shopping and not just at Xmas.
People should at least try to be in when they are expecting an important package or delivery. At the very least -leave a note with instructions on their doors.
Not sure whether it is allowed nationally–but posties and delivery guys in this area often ring an adjoining neighbours door and ask if they will “take in” their neighbours parcel post or package.Two things wrong with this “favour” .The post folk MUST put a card in the neighbours letterbox saying-“parcel at no x” since at present – the neighbour doing a good turn is left to do the the postman’s work by holding on to the parcel or attempting multiple deliveries till the adjoining neighbour turns up.!

– Foxy Face, Hitchin, UK, 03/1/2012 17:55

blame the managers who wont get off their backsides and actually go out on rounds doing what they expect their employees to do. perhaps if they did they would accept that no way is ’10 seconds per house’ acceptable!! what about houses with long drives/no easy access/up flights of stairs/in hard to find areas etc etc etc?????? these delivery drivers are driven like galley slaves in the name of ‘business’ and it is little wonder that some cut corners. am not endorsing the practice…simply saying that it is due in part to our insatiable desire for ‘stuff’ which is overloading an inept system. afraid there is no one size fits all solution to this. it’s called ‘progress’ folks!! 🙂

– treesnskies, glenrothes, scotland, 03/1/2012 17:53

I had one just this morning! never heard a knock even though I was in the living room feeding my little one.

– Tallulah, Manchester, 03/1/2012 17:52

I HAD A PACKAGE BUT THE POSTMAN SAID I WAS OUT,BUT I HAVE THE SAME PACKAGE DELIVERED EVERY COUPLE OF MONTHS,THEY HAVE ALWAYS PUSHED IT THROUGH THE LETTERBOX,WHY THIS TIME WAS DIFFERENT I HAVE NO IDEA.
MY HUSBAND WENT TO COLLECT IT BUT WAS TOLD HE NEEDED
IDENTIFICATION,HE TOOK SEVERAL ITEMS IN BUT THEY WOULD NOT ACCEPT THEM,EVEN MY BLUE BADGE WAS NO GOOD.SO THEY SAID THEY WOULD REDIRECT IT AND WOULD GET IT THE NEXT DAY.
WHAT A PALAVER.
,

– frances, fenton staffs, 03/1/2012 17:51

Our postman is a waste of space, not only does he not knock on the door when he has a large packet/parcel to deliver, but he just dumps it on the garden and doesn’t even bother in writing a note to say what he has done. Our last postman was amazing, but this new one just can’t be bothered.

– Northern Girl, UP NORTH, 03/1/2012 17:50

I do have some sympathy for the postpeople who are working flat out at busy times of the year, but there is no excuses for the company to allow this to happen. If time constraints are a big issue, then please Post Office managers, allow the undelivered parcels to be dropped off at the LOCAL post office, not a sorting office miles away. We trust the post office team to handle our outgoing mail, so why can’t they also look after out incoming mail that can’t for whatever reason be delivered in person.

– Pat, Kent, 03/1/2012 17:50

It certainly happens to us . We are pensioners in the house most of the time . Our door bell is connected indoors to the hall, lounge and upstairs landing enabling us to hear it anywhere. When gardening we also take the portable bell into the garden. Nothing left to chance then? Wrong! As too often we see the post through the door and a card saying we were out and the parcel’s at our local PO. We like our postie and post mistress but are very frustrated that this happens. Royal Mail does this too and 3 weeks ago left a food parcel marked “Frozen Food ” witha frozen bird in it at the PO. By time we could collect it said bird was partially defrosted so instead of using it for Xmas lunch has an early surprise meal. The PO clearly needs a good shake up. However in our experience 1-2 private companies we have dealt with do no better.

– Val , Redcar , 03/1/2012 17:48

I’m a postie and it takes so much longer to write out the P739 than it does to hide it in a ‘safe place’ or wait for them to answer, so I don’t know which postmen would deliberatly put one through without knocking and waiting first.

– Jess, Essex, England, 03/1/2012 17:47

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