What is with the Mail!
Occasionally, I must vent about something and today it is the mail service.
2011 has been a horrible year for mail. I run a swap and where the items were reaching overseas within a week they have been taking weeks. Some have never made it to their destinations. The overseas postal charges are going up and up and the service is getting slower………… ‘Please explain’
I have ordered fabric on-line for many years and always received my package of goodies within 4-7 days. Now 2 – 3 weeks………… ‘Please explain’.
For me to post a package is between 250 and 500gms overseas it is $21.95 !!!!!!
If the package is over 500gms and going to the States, the US government has imposed on us poor Aussies an extra $9.00 charge because they need to employ more people to do security checks……….. ‘Please explain’.
Anyone out there in blogland feeling my pain? Then, please tell us about your experiences with your current postal service.
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18 Comments
Fiona
I'm with you there…. I have grandchildren overseas and it costs more to pay for the postage than the item itself! Seems things take longer to get here than being sent out!
Deep breaths….
Hugz
Jeanette
Yes Jane i feel your pain. The posties are very rarely leaving me parcels. I find a note in my mailbox saying to go into Ipswich to get the parcel. I'm home all day so they don't need to do this. It's most inconvenient especially as there is a post office in the suburb i live in. I sen a parcel to the US on 25th August as a swap & to this date & my knowledge it's not arrived (cost me over $30 to send). The lady to get it also sent me one about the same time & as yet i've not received it. I'm so angry at the postal service for not only lousy delivery service but the rising costs & the $9 surcharge. Hugs,
Mommarock
I too have had trouble with the post here in the U.S. I mailed a package to my son with tracking on the package. Now I tracked the package, and it tracked all the way to the destination. Problem?? he never got it!! He is in the military, and it went all the way to his post, and then.. nothing. BOOO! I even put a return address on it, and has it come back to me??? NO! Rediculous.
Cheri C.
Have you tried calling 1-800-ASK-USPS ?? Not sure if that number will work for you there as I'm in the USA. However, they may not be aware of what is going on OR maybe they are and can help you understand what is going on…. Sorry to hear about this but hopefully, things will be figured out soon!!
Suzee
Im stateside and unhappy with the postal service for partial lost items.. from ONE box.. yes partial.. I sent my friend 3 home made (hand spun)skeins of yarn in a large priority envie and it was ripped apart in transit and she only got 2 of the three. =( I'm so glad I put insurance on it as she can get that much back but we both want the yarn! also in the package was some smaller gifts I made her and nothing. It was gone as well..All they did was wrapped it up with tape and sent it on the way without a note saying why it arrived in that condition. Postage keeps going up about every 2 years here it seems like!! lol
I wish I had the answers for you but thought I would share what happened to me…= )
Quiltin' Sandy
Hi Jane, I couldn't agree more! I nearly fell over last Xmas when I went to post 4 small packages to the U.S. having had sent Xmas pressies to my penpals for years, and having to cough up an extra $36. What rot!!!
I have only this year bought some things on ebay, mainly fabric but also perfume a couple of times. The last lot I bought was 16th Sept and it still hasn't arrived.
Last month I sent my daughter in Sydney a parcel by express post, as it needed to get there quickly and she is not in good health. The postman did not even bother coming to the door, he left a note in the letterbox and then someone had to go to the Post Office to collect it, despite someone being home all day!! When I complained to Australia Post, their reply was " we are not a courier service" I was so angry. Can't complain about service which is non-existant. (getting off my soapbox now ………..) Sandy.
ladybugquilting
Here Here!
I have been told that the hold up with our in bound parcels is that customs have a backlog because of the good aussie dollar, but our postal system are nothing but thieving b******s
elliek
seem we all feel the same way. I don't trust the postal service at all and always watch my e-mails to make sure that hexies and swaps get to their recipient. Why does it take 3 weeks to come from Canada and only about a week from UK.My sister-in-law said yesterday that her daughter had ordered something from Scotland and it took 6 weeks to arrive, having been posted the day the order was received. Think it must have come by boat!! Don't know what the solution is.
Sasha
Ahm USPS is the bane of my life. It takes about 4 days for me to post from the UK and get it received in the US, but the other direction is currently around 6 weeks! However their tracking does provide entertainment. I received some fabric recently that spent 3 weeks in NY going from various Manhattan locations to Jamaica (NY) and back, finally it went to Chile(????) the to the UK, the envelope got wet, they packaged it up in a plastic bag still wet. I did finally received a smelly mould pile of fabric weeks after I had bought it. The only good point was Royal mail didn't charge me import duty on it because it was ruined.
Sunnybec
Don't get me started on the post. I live in France and buy most of my fabric from the US as it's much cheaper than here. Parcels take between 4 days (yes I have had things arrive in 4 days) and 21 days …why…where do they go to for the other 17 days?? Maybe they stop off in the South of France for some sunbathing and sightseeing! AND the thing that really bugs me is …. it can take just as long for things to arrive from the UK! Why???? I could drive there and back quicker than the post sometimes. Like Elliek in your previous comment parcels from Canada have taken 6 weeks to arrive. I suspect most of my problems are with the French post. Linda
Effie
Post from the USA to the UK is usually quick but……..why do I have to pay the Royal Mail £8 to open a package, I'll willingly pay the vat and customs but it seems there's no way to do that in advance.. A great way for the Royal Mail to make money!.. It's about time the Import allowance was raised. £18 is a joke!
rderrett
I'm piping up from the UK and we too have huge prolems. I posted to OZ three weeks ago and neither package has arrived yet. I've just had a small amount of fabric arrive from the USA in 3 days but a parcel posted in March has vanished into the ether. Postage costs are grim but far worse are the customs charges.
If the order is merchandise more than £18 declared value, you'll get charged even if you are a penny over. The ransom is £8 plus any VAT at 20%. The ransom is Royal Mail's reward for delaying your post for 3 weeks and often damaging it! Oh and for gifts it is £60 before the ransom is applied. It is worse than daylight robbery Off my soapbox…..
James-Linda
SORRY! FOR ALL THE EXTRA SECURITY+EXTRA CHARGES WE CAN THANK THE TERRORISTS! IT'S A SAD+SIN-FILLED WORLD WE LIVE IN.
Dana Gaffney
The USPS is always crying about needing money, but it's the only business I know that won't stand behind what they do unless you pay more for insurance. Then they have an auction for all the things that don't make it to their destinations. Can you imagine if we all ran our business like this.
Cass
I definitely feel your pain. Australia Post charge horrific prices compared to other countries and their service isn't the best.
And parcels from overseas, let's not start on that! I'm still waiting for one…
MulticoloredPieces
Well, be thankful your stuff arrives eventually. I have given up on the post in Tunisia–it's even longer than what you describe, and sometimes stuff just doesn't get there. Then, if something is from abroad, it will probably get a tax slapped on so you have to pay further. Or it may just get stolen.
Truth to tell, most of the time it more or less works, but it's just not worth the irritation. Thank heavens for email.
The problem may have something to do with how employees are treated. To work for the postal services 30 years ago was a good thing–a steady job with benefits (health insurance, paid vacation, retirement, etc)–so employees did generally reliable work. Now, in an effort to cut costs, so many people are hired part-time so benefits don't have to be paid. How many people work these days without a retirement plan? You get the point. I think we're looking at a serious social problem.
OK, I'll stop ranting.
best, nadia
Samelia's Mum
I agree with you Jane. Postal charges are getting higher and higher and services are getting worse and worse.
liz
Obviously a hot button topic. Postal services are undeniably frustrating but perhaps we should be supporting our local quilt shops like we used to. Save mail order for Tunisian quilters or friends from the bush. As for asking the postman to carry express parcels around by foot, how much can one person carry on their back? Perhaps you should be using a courier for that sort of thing.