AddressPal from Anpost. Similar to Parcel Motel and Parcel Wizard.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Jesus, that number is still fu¢king huge though!

kneemos

Techmaster wrote: »

Jesus, that number is still fu¢king huge though!

Obviously never gave a thought to how people were going to use the cursed thing.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

kneemos wrote: »

Obviously never gave a thought to how people were going to use the cursed thing.

Most retailers have a limit for the amount of characters you can input. Also, quite easy to miss a number or letter if you're not concentrating or it gets cuts off by the label machine! An Post really didn't put much thought into this at all.

crabbypaddy

Went to the togher sorting office to collect my express posted addresspal card, the guys in the office had never heard of the service.

OU812

Techmaster wrote: »

Most retailers have a limit for the amount of characters you can input. Also, quite easy to miss a number or letter if you're not concentrating or it gets cuts off by the label machine! An Post really didn't put much thought into this at all.

Actually would have been an ideal opportunity to use Eircode as the ID - AP D04 X1C7

crabbypaddy

OU812 wrote: »

Actually would have been an ideal opportunity to use Eircode as the ID - AP D04 X1C7

I thought that initially a unique identifier plus eircode would be good but then theres 9 students in the house next door with the same eircode, they will all be somewhere else next year with a different eircode.

Also eircode only updates every 3 months if you're lucky so a new build, conversion etc wouldn't have an eircode initially.

A 6 digit alphanumeric would allow over 2 billion codes.

The code as it stands allows for 7,874,752,800,000,000 unique codes.

Thats over a million codes for each of the 7.4 billion people on the planet.

dodzy

crabbypaddy wrote: »

A 6 digit alphanumeric would allow over 2 billion codes.

+1.
No need to re-invent the wheel.

bk

Hi An Post staff

From the changes they are making it is obvious they are reading this thread and making changes based on the feedback here. That is great.

And While the changes are positive, IMO they still don't go far enough.

1) Dropping the overage fee from €50 to €25 is good, but it is still a little too expensive compared to PM's €14 charge. Plus more importantly the limit at which your package is oversize is still half of PM/PW's and that still isn't good enough IMO.

Still too much chance that a regular Amazon delivery will become a €25 charge!

2) Good that they have shortened the address ID, a quick and easy fix. But still far too long IMO. As crabbypaddy points out, 7 billion people are never going to use this service!

3) The tracking of packages through the system and scanning at arrival at post offices needs to improve.

4) Deliveries from the UK take far too long (up to 9 days!) compared to PW/PM which seem to usually take just 2/3 days from retailer to Dublin!

I have to say now that the €1 offer is over, I've already returned to ParcelWizard for me orders from the UK. Got two yesterday, another today. Just one day after each arrived in the UK to my day the next day within the notified hour. Far more impressive then AddressPal IMO.

BTW As An Post staff seem to be reading this. I'd love if An Post introduced a ParcelWizard type service on all their Parcel and package deliveries.

Basically you sign up to the service and any time a parcel destined for you via An Post, you get a notification and can opt to have the parcel held for a few days and delivered on a particular day or to a different address or even to a post office for later pickup. Also notifications of when exactly the parcel will be delivered.

Basically exactly like how the very good PW system works. But with one change, no need for an ID in the address, instead simply match based on registered name/address, mobile phone number or email on the parcel.

mathie

crabbypaddy wrote: »

I thought that initially a unique identifier plus eircode would be good but then theres 9 students in the house next door with the same eircode, they will all be somewhere else next year with a different eircode.

Also eircode only updates every 3 months if you're lucky so a new build, conversion etc wouldn't have an eircode initially.

A 6 digit alphanumeric would allow over 2 billion codes.

The code as it stands allows for 7,874,752,800,000,000 unique codes.

Thats over a million codes for each of the 7.4 billion people on the planet.

Better to use a hexadecimal code so people don't get confused between 1 and l and I etc...
A 6 digit hex code = 16 million codes

NeverWaining

That long code surely stands for a few different things. Like the first few digits might indicate the sorting office relevant to you...

kneemos

NeverWaining wrote: »

That long code surely stands for a few different things. Like the first few digits might indicate the sorting office relevant to you...

There's two thousand PO's,that's four digits.What are the other ten for?

jenno86

Just collected a parcel and was only charged €1.

NeverWaining

kneemos wrote: »

There's two thousand PO's,that's four digits.What are the other ten for?

I have no idea what any of them are for. My point is that they're surely not solely to identify individuals.

I'm not saying that they're not too long. They are! But they obviously mean something.

Trent Houseboat

Had to walk 40 minutes to a collection office and 40 minutes back, just to sign for my card. Given the fact that I have an address pal account they should have held it in the nominated office. It would be a great way to familiarise staff and customers with the service.

The real disappointment was that I had forgotten that I was waiting for a card from them and I just assumed that it was something I had bought from aliexpress and forgotten about (again).

MBSnr

It isn't particularly clear from the FAQ - Where do you get this "Agent Authorisation form which you must sign" for someone to pick up the delivery on your behalf?

NeverWaining

MBSnr wrote: »

It isn't particularly clear from the FAQ - Where do you get this "Agent Authorisation form which you must sign" for someone to pick up the delivery on your behalf?

It's part of the email that you'll receive when you get a package.

clerk

I signed the form for the package to be collected by my wife.

She went into the local post office and ended up there for 1/2 hour because they hadn't a clue what to do, they had the package and showed it to her !! but they wouldn't give it to her whilst presumably phonecalls were being made behind the scenes. So apparently a huge queue built up and she was embarrassed so I got ate alive even though what was in the package wasn't even for me !! go figure.

Apart from that, happy Days, got the product, so the system works apart from huge gremlins.

MBSnr

clerk wrote: »

I signed the form for the package to be collected by my wife.

She went into the local post office and ended up there for 1/2 hour because they hadn't a clue what to do, they had the package and showed it to her !! but they wouldn't give it to her whilst presumably phonecalls were being made behind the scenes. So apparently a huge queue built up and she was embarrassed so I got ate alive even though what was in the package wasn't even for me !! go figure.

Apart from that, happy Days, got the product, so the system works apart from huge gremlins.

I was thinking the missus could collect any I got delivered but my local PO is a literally a wooden counter with plastic glass run by a 92 yr old. This isn't going to go well...

j4vier

i collected an item today and was still charged 1 euro btw, as this question popped up earlier in the thread

Thor

j4vier wrote: »

i collected an item today and was still charged 1 euro btw, as this question popped up earlier in the thread

Same here, collected in windy arbour. Charged 1 euro.

Item was shipped on Thursday. It actually arrived there yesterday, but the woman said she didn't scan it in until that morning.

bk

Picked up a package today, was still €1! Great, specially as I had ordered it back in early February and the item itself cost only €2, so happy out.

Pity I didn't know this earlier as I ordered 3 parcels via Parcel Wizard at €4 each, delivered this week as I thought the AddressPal intro rate was finished.

While ParcelWizard is vastly superior in terms of speed, process (they keep you well notified of where and when the parcel will be delivered and delivery was spot on within the allotted hour, impressive!) and convenience (delivery to your door), at just €1 versus €4, AddressPal is actually worth the extra hassle.

But at the normal price of €3.50, not worth it versus PM/PW IMO. Perhaps that is how AP could compete, as a much cheaper option.

Stinicker

I got another small packet today (my 3rd AP delivery) at the local PO, very efficient and like as others have said €1 so delighted with the value. AddressPal has saved me over €10 now compared to PM and PW. This item was ordered from eBay on Tuesday 23rd so 8 days to get here. All my small purchases and non time sensitive items are coming via AddressPal now. I'd say AddressPal will get around 75% of my purchases and Parcel Wizard 25%, this is compared to 100% for Parcel Motel just a while ago. I'd still use Parcel Motel only I live too far away and hate annoying people to get it whilst passing the Motel.

I've a few bigger items coming via AddressPal now which will be taking it up very close to the specified dimensions so I'll just see how that goes. I'm thinking if the €1 February offer is still being applied because our deliveries today might have been stuff which arrived in the UK depot before Feb 29th.

j4vier

I've got two packets that seem to be missing

No reply from AP customer service, and doesn't help the fact that both were sent untracked

hopefully paypal will be more helpful

sweetie

is the addresspal card necessary for picking up a collection?

cruhoortwunk

Anyone successfully shipped alcohol with it yet? Some very good value whiskey on Amazon

12 element

I have 3 missing Items from 3 different ebay shops and Address Pal are looking for tracking codes from the senders to prove they were delivered. Unlikely that they will be able to provide them as they were fairly low cost items. Where does this leave me now. Highly unlikely that all 3 happen to go missing when I've never had a problem before using addresspal.
Disaster.

Discodog

My item is also missing. I have been told to fill out a form on the addresspal website. I was on the phone for 12 minutes as the cs girl didn't have a clue.
Definitely the last time that I will use it. Thankfully it was only €10.

the groutch

cruhoortwunk wrote: »

Anyone successfully shipped alcohol with it yet? Some very good value whiskey on Amazon

pretty sure there's rules against buying alcohol from UK online.

brightkane

Mine also missing. Shirts from Saville row. Tracked and delivered to the UK on 22nd of Feb. Something seriously wrong if we all have missing items. Was told to lodge a claim for a refund

Stinicker

I ordered two items from eBay, one of which was delivered by Royal Mail Tracked Postage.

I ordered it on March 2nd (at 6am Wednesday) and it was delivered to the Herts depot on March 4th (Friday) and I subsequently received both parcels this morning at my local Post Office, these were my fourth & fifth successful deliveries. It was also my first delivery with "AP" instead of AddressPal in the Address line.

One of this mornings parcels was also my largest to date at 43cm X 37cm X 8cm.

So it seems three working days from the UK to Ireland is what its taking once the parcel is delivered to Herts in the UK. (Saturday, Monday Tuesday).

Its disappointing to hear others are having issues, I wonder perhaps if it was delivered to the PO but the clerk maybe never scanned their parcels which would see you fail to get the notification text and email then?

The €1 introduction period seems to be over and I paid €3.50 for each parcel this morning.

dodzy

Not good feedback; not good at all.

upinthesky

i find it brilliant, no issues at all,and have gotten 4 packages so far.

Discodog

I emailed customer service & was told that the text is sent when it reaches UK depot. I queried this & they replied & apologised for misinformation. It really is a mess.

j4vier

Discodog wrote: »

I emailed customer service & was told that the text is sent when it reaches UK depot. I queried this & they replied & apologised for misinformation. It really is a mess.

same thing happened to me! way too messy, for 35c cheaper than dpd it is not worth the hassle

flintash

Its really sad to hear of all these failures. I hoped that uk mainland address will be handy. Just other day came across item on ebay that charged extra for overseas delivery, like N.I. And it was just some simple stuff, like chainsaw chain, so I got one from Germany instead. Well hopefully they quickly learn from mistakes and improve their service.

firestarter51

i ordered something on ebay and 3 days later a text came through it was at my post office, so uk to here 3 days, about the same as parcel motel and parcel wizard, and only a euro too, she said i was the first customer using it
no prize sadly lol

firestarter51

12 element wrote: »

I have 3 missing Items from 3 different ebay shops and Address Pal are looking for tracking codes from the senders to prove they were delivered. Unlikely that they will be able to provide them as they were fairly low cost items. Where does this leave me now. Highly unlikely that all 3 happen to go missing when I've never had a problem before using addresspal.
Disaster.

cant you claim for a refund with paypal ?

12 element

firestarter51 wrote: »

cant you claim for a refund with paypal ?

Possibly but why should I leave some ebay seller out of pocket for addresspals feck up?

Tigger

12 element wrote: »

Possibly but why should I leave some ebay seller out of pocket for parcel motels feck up?

parcel motel are awesome, amazon friday at 3 in my parcel motel monday at 3am

thesandeman

12 element wrote: »

Possibly but why should I leave some ebay seller out of pocket for parcel motels feck up?

Why are you blaming Parcel Motel?

Discodog

If the ebay seller doesn't use a signed for service then they have to take full responsibility. I have found Parcel Motel to be very good but it has a flaw in that they don't notify you until the package is in Dublin. They don't log the packages in at Newtonabbey.

If Parcel Wizard really want to capture the market they should offer a UK Mainland address.

Berty

Parcel motel did used to log them/picture them when they arrived in Newtownabbey and later on there were delays(in seeing them arrive online) because they moved that process to Dublin. Didn't delay the end service in any way.

Parcel Motels flaw is the busy times and busy lockers get jammed up. DPD, nor An Post, have that challenge. I will be using AP soon to get something from Amazon that only ships to mainland UK, about all I currently think the service is good for.

carltonleon

Lack of training for An Post staff for new products and services is unfortunately all too common.. Trust me, I know what I am talking about. It happens all the time and not just for new products or services either

Doge

For the first time Parcel Wizard will take 2 days to deliver my package rather than the usual next day delivery.

And i'm talking about the estimated date you get emailed, so it will take 2 days to get from Antrim to my local depot.

The package arrived at 1pm yesterday, and i payed for it at 2:30pm.

I wonder if i had bought credit for deliveries before hand would it have been the same.

Anyone else waiting 2 days befofe it gets to your depot and goes out for delivery?

doc11

Got package in post office but received no text/email and no record of package on web. Collected without ID too

fuse

I collected my parcel from post office after getting notification. Lady there didn't really know much about the new service and just gave me the parcel. I said I think I need to pay for it and she looked at the screen and said there was no mention of a charge so I said Thanks Missus and waltzed away with my new parcel!

flintash

Jeez, my rural post officer is an old lady, and even she admitted me being first customer (probably and the only one) she had no problem navigating through seemingly long process of parcel handover to customer. Even took driving licence number even on the second day in a row.

selous

I was asking a Post van driver about it, asking will they eventually be delivering them to the door if numbers pick up, he said, don't even joke about it, but he wouldn't be surprised, he said he heard one post office refused to take them in because she hadn't been told anything about them, what happens there, where do they go?
Surely they'd have to know about it....wouldn't they?

FobleAsNuck

for some reason I cannot validate my email, anyone got the same error?

dodzy

Phenomenal take-up out here in Dublin 15. Mulhuddart PO has had........wait for it......2 deliveries (and one of them was mine)