Forum Topic

Postal Services in Acton

I've lived in and around Acton for 8 years, but since moving to South Acton I have experienced by far the worst postal services of anywhere else I've lived in London.I live in a block of flats, and I have literally encountered every problem there could be with my post: days (occasionally weeks) with no deliveries at all (and no consistency in delivery times on a 'good' day) parcels left outside the main door to the block, recorded parcels (which require a signature as proof of delivery) stuffed through my door giving me no chance to sign, or left outside.  Missing items (usually good stuff too!), delayed items, broken items, eaten items!  Delivery attempt cards left on the floor in the main courtyard, or tucked into the front door of the block, or usually not left at all (this is by far my biggest problem)  I've had items sent back abroad because I didn't know there had been an attempted delivery, I've had to rescue live plants from the sorting office where they've been waiting 3 weeks for me to collect as I should have known purely by mind reading that they were there.  Last Christmas it was so bad, my partner and I literally had to take our ID down to the sorting office each week just to check if anything was waiting there for us (there usually was!).  And yes, I live within minutes of the main Acton Royal Mail depot, you'd think my service would be better than anywhere else!We had a lovely postman for about a month last year, who knew my name and would stop me in the street to give me my post, but who knows where he is now, as we seem to have a different postie every day.I have complained to Royal Mail, but all I ever get (and I've tried many times) is either a letter promising to investigate that comes to nothing, or a standard apology with no admission of responsibility and a book of first class stamps by way of 'compensation'.  I've begun to hate those little booklets!Has anyone else had any similar experiences?  Or does anyone have any ideas who I could contact to escalate my complaints to someone who might actually care?  And as for the Post Offices in Acton, don't even get me started...wasn't Royal Mail once a brand you could trust?

Cas Baker ● 5817d4 Comments

We are so lucky to have the wonderful Christine as our post peerson - but when she is away, we certainly feel her absence acutely. She malkes up for the fact that the rest of the service is pretty rubbish and before her we had a dreadful postman for ages - on buggins turn as our walk was seen to be an easy one so longstanding postmen got it.I rather approve of John Lewis-ing the Mail but wonder if it will work...and ditto on the don't get me started on The Post Office - especially the Acton one.

Sara Nathan ● 5817d

We've had problems for years and, like Sara, good service from one particular postman (now sadly retired) and mostly rubbish service from the ever-changing personnel currently delivering. (I'm sure the Bollo Lane sorting office is the source of most of the bother...)I know the Royal Mail website has recently been revamped and had a look to see if they make the complaints procedure easily available - they don't! But having ploughed through the various levels (complaints are well hidden) there is the following link:http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=69800720&mediaId=84400739There is apparently a 'customer complaints procedure' escalating to a 'Postal Review Panel' (don't know if you've ever been that far?) and, beyond that, the 'Postal Redress Service'.I've never been that far up, having had reasonably satisfactory answers from the customer relations people (based in Liverpool, I think) and a slight improvement in service at the time. The trouble is, you end up enduring bad service just because it's so much bother complaining...

Lorna Dodd ● 5816d

Here's my recent problem - our block has a trade entrance buzzer that works up to 1pm to let the postman in but he/she started not delivering until after this time, so they started keeping all the post at the Bollo Lane Sorting Office.  They said I should provide them with a key to the block which I did.Then again they started keeping all the block's mail at the Sorting Office and when we rang to complain they said the person with the key was away on holiday!  We rang again 2 weeks later and they got angry saying they'd already told us the guy was on holiday.Their customer service skills are a joke. 

Rupert Picken ● 5816d

"We had a lovely postman for about a month last year, who knew my name and would stop me in the street to give me my post". - This is illegal for the Postman to do, they are meant to put it through your letterbox, Too much from watching Postie's on Eastenders and programs of that ilk.What I really don't understand is why the Post Office would rather get in casuals, who don't get trained, some can't even read, especially at this time of year up to xmas, probably saves them contracts and pensions, them being the Post Office, not the workers.

John Pollastrini ● 5816d