Checks Stolen from An Post Mail

spiraleye

just discovered this thread as i have had same problem with the Galway post office - my company based in Dublin recently sent on two separate occasions one letter and one birthday card to my address - neither have showed up . i have lodged a complaint on line with an post. nothing will probably come of it but its really not on in this day and age.

also last year the missus sent numerous parcels from 2 post offices galway , items sent from one post office where delivered fine but strangely enough the other items that were sent from the other post office never got to their intended recipients...... :rolleyes:

bdb

Going to bump this up. Live in SF, and for some reason it would seem that anything that's like a birthday card never arrives.

Wife's birthday was 10 days ago - 4 cards mailed from Drogheda - 0 cards arrived.
1 parcel did arrive.

This seems to be a common occurence for her. Also when we mail Christmas cards or birthday cards home, it would seem that often times they are 'opened' Accidentally of course. We know not to put money in cards, as that appears to be easily discoverable, and at this point it seems like people are going to have to come together and Fedex cards in an envelope.

that or register birthday cards which seems bizarre.

prettygurrly

i've started not sealing any birthday cards and writing on the front, "unsealed envelope" indicating no monetary value inside. So far none have gone missing from Drogheda post (where I live) in the last year...

Arciphel

I had a package from Amazon which they tried to deliver to my house but I wasn't in, had to go to the depot to collect it. When I got it, one side of the package had been opened and the person responsible hadn't even bothered to stick the flap back inside the box (if you have ever ordered anything big from Amazon you'll know the kind of cardboard box I am talking about).

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61Soys46rTL._AA1500_.jpg

keithclancy

Arciphel wrote: »

Before anyone says that it is from a sorting machine, the slit is quite plainly made with a sharp blade and doesn't reach the corners of the card.

Its not from a Sorting machine, it's Customs checking it for illegal substances. on an xray machine it would come up as a solid block.

Hence why they had to open it to check.

Had a similar experience with Contact Lenses coming from the UK that were opened by the Dutch Douane.

BailMeOut

had similiar issue with local small PO in Cork where numerous letters to USA went missing over a period of time. I complained to An Post and they just said that some post goes missing and sent me a four international stamps as complensation. All letters sent at different times had addresses in USA clearly printed using a laser printer with my return address printed on top left corner. I have written back to an post at the GPO in Dublin four subsequent times using the stamps they sent me looking for some sort of explanation as to what happened but they do not reply.

I just stoppped using this specific post office and my letters do not get lost anymore.

Solair

keithclancy wrote: »

Its not from a Sorting machine, it's Customs checking it for illegal substances. on an xray machine it would come up as a solid block.

Hence why they had to open it to check.

Had a similar experience with Contact Lenses coming from the UK that were opened by the Dutch Douane.

Where customs open a package, they'll usually stick a label on it saying that it was opened by customs.

That looks like the package was torn by some kind of machine, or rolled over with something. You can see other scrape marks along the back of the envelope.

I've had books utterly destroyed by French customs though. I sent some rather expensive academic books to a friend of mine who lives in France. They were sent over on loan as they're about €150 each.

Anyway, they arrived back with the spines sliced into with a blade and slices all through the hard covers. They even sliced a corner off each book right through the spine.

They were basically totally wrecked.

I can't get a cent in compensation as it was 'officially opened by customs'.

All I know is that I will never bother sending anything valuable by post again as a result.

mcmoustache

Just to add to the list, I've had an atm card (original bank envelope inside larger brown envelope) as well as a birthday card go missing in transit from Galway to Dublin.

Unfortunately, I don't know which point during the transit is at fault.

foggy_lad

keithclancy wrote: »

Its not from a Sorting machine, it's Customs checking it for illegal substances. on an xray machine it would come up as a solid block.

Hence why they had to open it to check.

Had a similar experience with Contact Lenses coming from the UK that were opened by the Dutch Douane.

If Customs or An Post open a package or envelope they will seal it back up again if they intend to deliver the item, if something is being stolen in the post the rest of the package will be destroyed by the crook

readytosnap

I have seen people in white/red/green hi-ace type vans emptying mailboxes around Carlow on a number of occasions, they were not wearing any form of an post uniform and there was no an post markings on their vehicles, they did however have an post mail bags which they emptied the mailbox contents into. on more than one occasion there were others in the vans, twice i saw children and another occasion a woman that could have been the drivers wife/girlfriend.

working in An Post for over 15 years and I have never seen an An Post mail bag!!
they are all royal mail bags

Supraman

readytosnap wrote: »

working in An Post for over 15 years and I have never seen an An Post mail bag!!
they are all royal mail bags

are you serious I'm working there 3 years , up to a couple of months ago it was a majority of royal mail bags . there is a big effort now to use the official an post bags . you must be walking around with your eyes closed if you have never seen an an post mail bag lol

readytosnap

Supraman wrote: »

are you serious I'm working there 3 years , up to a couple of months ago it was a majority of royal mail bags . there is a big effort now to use the official an post bags . you must be walking around with your eyes closed if you have never seen an an post mail bag lol

yes i am serious and i have done my fair share of the collections over the years (granted not in the last 4 years but yep never once did i ever see a mail bag with An Post on it)
yeah i walk around with my eyes closed, well at least that explains the mis-sorts

i dont have any connection with the mail collection or sorting anymore sit in a little office now pushing my pen.

ben101

I've worked as a postie for 16 years in the same north county dublin office and can honestly say its very rare.Not too many people are going to risk a fulltime decent job with a (small)pension for a tenner and background check normally filters out the undesirables.When it does happen its normally someone on a short term contract and the guys who investigate these things catch them very fast as they are very good at what they do.I would have to say a lot of mail coming from Britain does seem to be tampered with, probably because of the high amount of agency staff they use.I remember watching CH4 Dispatches on the Royal Mail ,hiring agency workers for a day here,a day there ,no checks,some couldn't even read english!?!?
That would never happen here.

Solair

A British friend of mine was utterly convinced that An Post is a subsidiary of the Royal Mail because anytime she picks up undelivered items from the delivery office or calls into the local post office they are using Royal Mail branded bags!

What's the reason for that? It looks a bit sloppy.

I can't imagine turning up on an Aer Lingus flight and finding they were using random other airlines' napkins or something!

Is some mail to the US by any chance transiting the UK?

Maybe someone is assuming that non Royal Mail items are less likely to be followed up on....?

I've a huge problem with the local delivery service in my area but, it's down to it being a city centre area with house name addresses. It's not just the locals being snobs either, there is literally no numbering system for houses around here at all!

A large % of my mail is regularly delivered to the wrong address or i get neighbours letters. I always drop them in if I can identify the address or put them back into the post with a note on the envelope if I can't. It's very difficult to know which house is which. Many have no name outside, no numbers and I don't know most of the neighbours (unfriendly, urban area with large houses)

Anyway, I now get important items delivered to work as it's just so unreliable. Like cheques, insurance docs etc

Total indictment of Irish idiotic ad hoc addressing!

I have no idea how the postie figures it out. I feel sorry for him tbh.

We really need to number buildings properly. It's a complete joke!

It's also nuts that we've no postcodes!

It's actually embarrassing to direct a foreign client to an address in Cork that is like

High Tech IT Company,
Snob House,
Unpronounceable Technology Park,
Cork.

(be gorra and be jeepers, to be shure to be sure, you're in Ireland now, just ask Annie Murphy where it is. She'll be dancing at the crossroads!)

Absolutely ridiculous non system that we have!

Supraman

Some of the routes especially in rural areas are a disaster , there can be 300-400 houses on it , many houses with no names , letters addressed as mr murphy in a townland where there may be 4-5 murphys , may be family may not be . Can be that they don't talk to each other and mail gets misplaced if regular postie is off and a relief postie is covering the route .

LeoB

I am 32 years working in An Post (P&t) and am stunned with some of what I am reading.

Firstly, An Post have an Investigation Branch (who thankfully I dont know and have never had reason to deal with) and these people are very good at investigating any issues in An Post. There is zero tolerance of mis behavior or dishonesty in the company and rightfully so. Secondly, I would say from experience a lot of mail goes missing before it even enters Ireland, especially from U.K.

Now where do we start eliminating these "missing" letters? This is a great time of year for it with cards half addressed and as sure as night follows day from December 28th the complaints will start, "My aunt sent a card from Cork or Galway or Mayo and I didnt get it". There will be cards on mantle pieces and side boards and people trying to figure out who sent it to them but they dont bother to ask the neighbour with the same name.
As you will know areas and town lands in Ireland quite often have 4 or 5 families with the same name. These could be Murphys and then you have Mick Murphy, Matt Murphy, Martin Murphy who did they marry? what are there kids names etc. Do they talk to each other? if they dont and a letter comes M. Murphy there is a problem because so many people wont or just dont bother putting a name or number on their house. Then the letter does not arrive and sure we will blame An Post or our Postie.
There is one area where I deliver and there are 11 families on the same road with the same name but they use house names

The other problem and if we are honest we will admit ti receiving parcels and packets that are so badly packed. They are literally in ribbons again they get to their destination because the sender would not take the time to seal it and package it correctly.

Some of the posts here are actually quite insulting to people like me and my collegues in An Post who start work at 5.15 and do a good job every day, go beyond the call of duty to give a good service, every day, (and there are plenty of us)

With all I have above, stuff does get damaged in automatic sorting machines especially the older ones and some stuff may go missing but overall An Post does a very good job.

Solair

Supraman wrote: »

Some of the routes especially in rural areas are a disaster , there can be 300-400 houses on it , many houses with no names , letters addressed as mr murphy in a townland where there may be 4-5 murphys , may be family may not be . Can be that they don't talk to each other and mail gets misplaced if regular postie is off and a relief postie is covering the route .

We have that problem in the middle of Cork City!

The houses in my area have no numbering at all. Then where numbering is used, it's not even formalised or logical. You have all sorts of crazy inserts of houses into areas so it could be like

1,2,3,4,49,58,5,7,3...

On my road there's even a dispute where two houses claim to be #1 and another two claim to #3 !!!

Basically one family is following the logical order that the road runs i.e. 1,2,3,4... another family is insisting that because their house was the first one built on the street in 1958 or whatever, that they are #1 !!

The problem is pretty simple ... neither An Post nor the Local Authorities take any responsibility for numbering.

If people behaved like this in most countries, they'd simply have their mail service withdrawn until they agreed to use a valid address. An post is too nice!

They're also just expecting people to somehow manage to cooporate and come up with an addressing system.
That's just not happening.

In housing estates it works OK because the developer does it, but in older urban areas it's a total mess and in rural areas it's similar / worse.
Then you've also got new apartment and office buildings that don't have a number at all.

Like :

5, Idoitic House,
O'Connell Street,
Dublin 1

Instead of

5, Idiotic House,
1029 O'Connell St,
Dublin 1

ben101

It happens every where and an post don't really have a lot of say.I deliver to some blocks of flats ,lets call them Joe Bloggs court numbered 1 to 100.The builder built townhouses at the back and gave them the same name,numbered 1 to 13.My supervisor contacted them and fair enough they changed it toJoe Bloggs Ave,they didn't have to.
Later on ,in their wisdom the council seem to have changed the numbering for polling cards as follows, apt 1 to 100 Joe bloggs court ave,
1 to 13 Joe Bloggs court ave for the town houses.Their reasoning was that people would put "john smith APT 1 Joe Bloggs court Ave" for the apts or"john smith 1 court ave" for the townhouses.Of course this address caught on and was a complete mess ,people would never put apt or townhouse on post so it left me with no option,i had to return a lot of post back to sender.Low and behold,last election the addresses from the council for polling cards had returned back to "Joe Bloggs court" and "Joe Bloggs Ave"

bodhrandude

Bump: I had a birthday card go missing over February, it had money in it and I know that my sister should've registered it and there can be no comeback but its still bloody annoying.

dudara

Zombie thread, closed

dudara