Most reliable courier (FedEx, DHL, other?)

Definitely second this.  I got a package from Hermes once that looked like this:



Now, I don't know if it was delivered like that or if a passerby decided to help themselves to it because it was left in front of my house, on a busy street, and then they realized it was just cat food... But neither one is acceptable if you ask me.

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It was probably delivered that way. At least it made it to your house not your bin!


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Yeah, we've had similar experiences. Assuming the package even gets here, it's been mangled.

JEEZUS F'ING CHRIST!

Not only have the overnight express documents not arrived in Tipperary, they are in INDIANAPOLIS, USA!!!!!!!

The deadline for us to get them in is freaking Monday or they will close the application out, and not refund all the fees we've paid.

JEEZUS F'ING CHRIST!

Not only have the overnight express documents not arrived in Tipperary, they are in INDIANAPOLIS, USA!!!!!!!

The deadline for us to get them in is freaking Monday or they will close the application out, and not refund all the fees we've paid.

Can you overnight a letter from here explaining that things are on their way and asking if they can extend the deadline?

How? Using ParcelForce? Is there another service you can recommend that actually works? I'm serious. If I try to send something tomorrow it won't go until Monday, and even paying top dollar for "overnight" service with ParcelForce things take two days to get there! There is no DHL drop-off in town. UPS does not guarantee next day. The Post Office has nothing that promises "next day" (other than through ParcelForce).

How? Using ParcelForce? Is there another service you can recommend that actually works? I'm serious. If I try to send something tomorrow it won't go until Monday, and even paying top dollar for "overnight" service with ParcelForce things take two days to get there! There is no DHL drop-off in town. UPS does not guarantee next day. The Post Office has nothing that promises "next day" (other than through ParcelForce).

Special Delivery? May only be for the mainland though?   I'd at least stick a first class stamp on a letter and throw it in a post box now.

I was told even a special delivery letter to Ireland would take two to three days. At this point the PO is closed. Royal Mail won't pick up from the pillar outside until the morning.  Was planning to go to the PO tomorrow morning, early, and try to send a special delivery to Ireland. Have already emailed the citizenship people on an email addy that I know works, and sent copies of the documents and the proof of postage (and the wayward tracking) explaining that "overnight" was going to be a lot more days, apparently.  No word back but it only was sent around 3pm.

FedEx tracking now says it's back at Stanstead as of 18:15. At least it's on the fricking right side of the Atlantic again.   

Have been burning up Twitter. The PO first said they didn't know why FedEx was involved, then it was Parcel Force's problem, then when I pointed out that they had mis-sold the service (stating a cutoff time of 3pm) they kept insisting it was sold correctly and that it was Parcel Force's problem. When I contacted Parcel Force they insisted that it was mis-sold, as yes there is a 15:00pm cutoff, but not for that type of service. That type of service at that postal code has a cutoff of 13:30. So back to the PO, who said it wasn't their fault and they would not compensate. Back to Parcel Force, lodged a complaint requesting compensation and indicated I believed the PO had mis-sold the product, but that PO said I had to file a claim with PF so that PF could go through channels to the PO to deal with it.

WTF. I am about to go to the head of the Post Office. I got the damned docs to the PO at 13:45pm. They said they'd go out and be in Tipperary today. If they'd been put on the fricking right plane and didn't go to France and then Indiana they probably would have been. 

I should have gotten on an airplane and delivered them myself. Would have ended up costing only a little more.

I am so sorry you’re having to deal with this Nan!

Really pulling for a positive outcome to make all of this nonsense worthwhile! You're due a change of fortune Nan! 

Not as much as I am. 

This has been a nightmare for almost a year now. Got everything ready, the Irish changed the form. Had to send things back overseas for new signatures on the new form, then to the local JP  (who signed incorrectly). Had to do it all over again. (Trip to another town for competent JP signing.) Every in-country signing was a wait of a few weeks. Every out-of-country signing was a FedEx and a few weeks' wait. Then various snafus with things.

Then we got it there ok to Ireland. So they sent a letter requesting Police Clearance Certificates that took a week to get to us, but the clock started ticking as of the date of the letter (28 days). The FBI insisted on ink fingerprints sent to them in hardcopy. Scrambled, found someone at the copshop who could do it, sent them in. FedEx (via the PO and ParcelForce) which was late in arriving.   FBI sent a PDF back, Ireland requires a hardcopy. Waited for the Hardcopy. Needed one from the local Sheriff in California. Sheriff insised on notarized permission slip sent to my friend for my friend in Cal to pick it up, as they would not accept it via mail or send out the report via mail. Jumped hoops to get it notarized here and sent to her there. Via "next day" that wasn't.  Friend sent it back to us on Saturday, it arrived late - on Wednesday.  The UK Police Clearance arrived within a week of application, thank god, but the Irish said to hold onto it and send them all at the same time.

Took everything to the Council Chambers to get "true copies" certified for our records, in case the originals got lost. (Color me paranoid.) Had to wait an hour, they couldn't find someone. Found someone, who certified the UK one but wouldn't the FBI one because the FBI's printout had a signature that looked like a photocopy. Whatever. Ran it all over to the PO, in line for like 15 minutes, got to the desk by 1:45, sent it out, assumed all was well. They swore the cutoff time was 3pm for their location and it was going to be in Tipparary today. Looked last night and tracking showed it "exported from UK". Ok, great, should have been in Ireland by midnight.

Nope. It went to France. Then Indiana. Indiana?!?! Now it's back at Stansted. And I'm so angry at those freaking idiots in the Post Office/Parcel Force/FedEx that I can barely sit still. I haven't seen it clear customs at Stansted, or get on a plane to Ireland yet. The last FedEx was late clearing customs and "missed the truck" for next day delivery.

We are running out of time, and I don't know whether to scream or cry.

You could not make this stuff up. This will make an interesting chapter in your memoirs!

Whatever. If it's meant to happen it'll happen. If not, it won't. There's always France.

Hey. Check my math on this. If someone says "within 28 days from the date of this letter" and the date is 25 September, would you say the deadline was Oct 22 or Oct 23?

If there just hadn't been such a delay in starting. We got a nudge back literally a year ago to go this route, and the Daughter dragged her feet. So it wasn't until like March of this year when we got the first application ready. If we could have just done it a year ago....

Whatever. If it's meant to happen it'll happen. If not, it won't. There's always France.

Hey. Check my math on this. If someone says "within 28 days from the date of this letter" and the date is 25 September, would you say the deadline was Oct 22 or Oct 23?

Day one is usually the day after. At least every time I've dealt with deadlines. Maybe someone else has dealt with some folks here.

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I'm praying it's the 23rd. But sending out the special delivery first thing in the morning anyway.

This is just too close.

20 Oct  00:17, FedEx tracking shows it still at Stansted. Where it arrived 19 Oct at 17:32.  So, it's just sitting there? They couldn't get it over to Ireland, that country 45 minutes away? 

ParcelForce tracking says it's in "the destination country" (of Stansted) being made ready to go to a distribution center. WTF?

Taking this to The Annoyances section, as it's serious griping at this point.