Why don't UK companies ship through the post office?

When I lived in the US, I used to do a lot of shopping by catalogue.  If I ordered something, and nobody was home to pick up my package, I would walk to the post office and get it. Simple.

There is a huge post office depot in York, which happens to be a minute's walk away from my job.  It's actually easier for me to get to the post office now than it was when I lived in the US, as I can just pop over on my lunch break.

However, except for a few companies, whenever I've ordered something delivered, instead of receiving a notice to go pick it up at the post office, I get a card from a delivery company saying that I have to go pick it up in some depot in the middle of nowhere.  I don't drive, and it's never in a place that's accessible by public transport, so I have to ask my husband to drive me so I can pick up some £20 blouse.

Can you use your work address for the deliveries?

Not really. It would be innappropriate to have the mail delivery people running my personal errands, especially now that my company has to do a lot of cost cutting and many people have been/will be made redundant.

I wasn't sure if you could have the post office near your office hold it.

In the title of this topic you ask :-

Why don't UK companies ship through the post office?

The answer to that is that the Post Office is not that competitive, especially where large quantities of packages are needing to be despatched. Accordingly the mail order/internet companies work out that by using a competitor to the Post Office they can save a lot of money.

Why don't UK companies ship through the post office?

You can thank the government for that, breaking up the Royal Mail's monopoly allowing courier services to tender for the profitable parts but still leaving the Royal Mail to deliver that Christmas card from Penzance to the Shetland Isles for 30p!

You can thank the government for that, breaking up the Royal Mail's monopoly allowing courier services to tender for the profitable parts but still leaving the Royal Mail to deliver that Christmas card from Penzance to the Shetland Isles for 30p!

Actually, that is one of the things I love about Britain. Well, I do now that our parcel force delivery man is an angel. When I lived in Cornwall and he was utter crap, I wasn't quite as keen.

Actually, that is one of the things I love about Britain. Well, I do now that our parcel force delivery man is an angel. When I lived in Cornwall and he was utter crap, I wasn't quite as keen.

I think you may have mssed my subtle point - that the Royal Mail do provide a very good service, however they have to do the unprofitable stuff whilst other companies have been allowed to cream off the more lucrative parts

But if Parcelforce was a reliable, cost-effective service, then companies would be more inclined to use them, surely?  I would dearly love to use Parcelforce in my company, but they are simply not reliable enough, so I am forced to use couriers.

Vicky

I personally don't use Royal Mail/Parcel Force to post items with value or birthday cards because they keep getting stolen! The buggers at the sorting office feel card through envelopes and think money could be inside or reckon something inside the little packets are of a very high value. It's bad, especially in Peterborough where the sorting office doesn't have CCTV.

I'm not suprised why UK companies don't use the post office, they're useless!

My husband's company told all employees to never use the post office for work-related stuff.

And the posties stole the cookies I sent as a 'secret santa' gift!!

I twice received ALL the mail for my street.�  So I delivered it.. but that was odd.

And they told me that all the mail I was carefully marking 'RTS' and putting back in the postbox was just going in the trash.

So..

Goodness, this disturbing. It never even occurred to me to be wary a the national postal service in the UK. I now have newfound appreciation for the U.S. Postal Service.

Goodness, this disturbing. It never even occurred to me to be wary a the national postal service in the UK. I now have newfound appreciation for the U.S. Postal Service.

This is like shooting fish in a barrel!

Phoenix Postal Employee Indicted for Dumping Mail

A Phoenix, Arizona, federal grand jury indicted a former postal employee for dumping First-Class Mail, after an investigation by Special Agents of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG). The Phoenix employee was charged with ten counts of Delay or Destruction of Mail by a Postal Employee, a federal charge that carries up to 5years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both for each charge. The indictment charges the employee (at the time), with depositing mail into a trash bag and throwing it away rather than delivering it to the addressees.

“U. S. Postal Service employees are given a special trust to properly handle mail that comes into their possession. When even one postal employee violates that trust, it is a cause of concern for all of us as customers of the mail system,” said U.S. Attorney Paul K. Charlton.

THREE POSTAL SERVICE EMPLOYEES INDICTED FOR THEFT OR AVOIDING DELIVERY OF U. S. MAIL

            (HOUSTON) – A federal grand jury has indicted three current or former postal employees in the Houston area for a variety of felony crimes involving their theft and mishandling of the mails entrusted to them, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle and Jennifer Broussard, Special Agent in Charge of the Houston office of the U. S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, announced today.

Summary of Investigative Activity
for FY 2008

    * Investigations completed - 7,679
    * Arrests/Information/Indictments - 1,649
    * Convictions - 769
    * Administrative actions - 3,699
    * Cost avoidance - $207.2 million
    * Fines, restitutions and recoveries to the Postal Service - $25.7 million

You missed all the other incidences, as well. But careful it's not your foot your shooting.

My point is, I don't have the expectation that my mail won't be delivered in the US, so much so that I wouldn't even use it or instruct my employees not to, too.

Now headed for the UK, it seems UK folks are resigned to that. I'll have to take my cue from them who'd surely know better than I and adjust my expectations downward. And that's very different.

I think i've only ever had 1 or 2 things get lost in the post.  A lot depends on where abouts you live.

Having dealt with Italy's postal system in the past, the UK's seems just fine.