Royal Mail not so special delivery

[Agaumac]

I’ve just recently completed a sale here on the buy / sell, part of which was a full tube of silver Maples sent RMSD. The delivery took exactly one week after. The story goes, after several phone calls, that the package was classed as suspicious, denied air travel and sent to Northern Ireland for verification before onward journey to the buyer. Can I ask members of the Forum who regularly send full tubes if this is:-

1. Pretty common, just part of doing business 

2. Unusual but not unheard of 

3. Almost never happens 

Also, is there any recourse to a refund on the SD part of the postage?, is there any tips on future packaging to avoid this. All my other packages to balance the argument arrived within the day.

 Thanks 

Mac

 

[BackyardBullion]

Option number 3.

I have had one parcel out of an estimated few thousand special deliveries sent over 5 years where this happened. 

You should be able to get a refund on the postage - push them for this as it was their mistake. 

Contrary to what a lot of the airport security postal scanning people think it is perfectly fine to have PM's travel by air, there was even an investigation into this and a memo sent out about 8/9 years ago (so I was told by a UK based PM dealer).

Basically, someone in Royal Mail made a mistake, you should get your postage refunded in my opinion. 

Good luck!

[Pete]

Never experienced any issues with SD and I have sent multiple tubes of 25 coins this method.
Why N.I. was this the final destination ?
Could Brexit have been the reason meaning the EU regulations we apparently signed up to ?

I think with SD you can claim a refund of postage for lateness so worth pursuing a claim on-line.

[BackyardBullion]

Just now, Pete said:

Why N.I. was this the final destination ?

Royal Mail has a "suspicious package investigations centre" based in Northern Ireland - thats what I was told when my parcel was destined for it.

Fun fact on mine though - it was a very valuable package heading for the assay office and I actually spotted on the tracking something was off. 

I kicked up a massive fuss and I suspect that I actually managed to divert it from going to this centre in Northern Ireland, it was found swiftly and put back on it's correct path. 

[Agaumac]

2 minutes ago, Pete said:

Never experienced any issues with SD and I have sent multiple tubes of 25 coins this method.
Why N.I. was this the final destination ?
Could Brexit have been the reason meaning the EU regulations we apparently signed up to ?

I think with SD you can claim a refund of postage for lateness so worth pursuing a claim on-line.

London was the final destination, no idea why it was sent there. Glad to hear I’ve just been unlucky 

 

[Pete]

1 minute ago, Agaumac said:

London was the final destination, no idea why it was sent there. Glad to hear I’ve just been unlucky 

 

I sometimes wonder how a tube of silver looks and feels to handlers and X-rays.
A cylindrical shape, quite heavy meaning high density.
First thoughts are ammunition then maybe some sort of explosives.
Maybe disks of Polonium even ?

 

[Gruff]

I've not had any issues sending or receiving tubes of Brits and the like in the post. So class yourself as unlucky in this regard mate. 

[Connor]

I would imagine there would be some sort of sorting facility in place that is legacy from the troubles and the royal mail just keep it going. 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, BackyardBullion said:

Royal Mail has a "suspicious package investigations centre" based in Northern Ireland - thats what I was told when my parcel was destined for it.

Fun fact on mine though - it was a very valuable package heading for the assay office and I actually spotted on the tracking something was off. 

I kicked up a massive fuss and I suspect that I actually managed to divert it from going to this centre in Northern Ireland, it was found swiftly and put back on it's correct path. 

You're correct! I had something delivered and 4 hours later I had 8 armed cops at the door because they thought I had a package of drugs delivered when it was trays of vitamins.  😄😁🤭

And I'm in Northern Ireland 

[BackyardBullion]

1 minute ago, Floyd1504 said:

You're correct! I had something delivered and 4 hours later I had 8 armed cops at the door because they thought I had a package of drugs delivered when it was trays of vitamins.  😄😁🤭

And I'm in Northern Ireland 

Wow.

[pricha]

Belfast is the office that sorts returned items with no return address showing in the parcel/letter. Any items that have came out of packaging , lost items and suspicious items , drugs , knives  etc .  The person at the Post Office counter should have asked what was in the parcel  . After they accepted it that should have been that.  Probably you were just unlucky that someone got suspicious at the sorting office about your parcel. Royal mail are the UK largest drug mule , so they will check items . 

[Gordy]

I sent a coin SD on monday to N.I next day guaranteed by 13:00 and it arrived today!!!!! 

[BackyardBullion]

8 minutes ago, Gordy said:

I sent a coin SD on monday to N.I next day guaranteed by 13:00 and it arrived today!!!!! 

Make a claim, you will get a refund.

In fact, to anyone that sends special delivery, check it every time, if it is later than the guaranteed time you can claim. 

There was a period with Covid where they changed the 1pm delivery guarantee to 9pm that same day, then to 4pm - I have not checked what it is right now and whether it is 1pm again or not. 

[Agaumac]

5 minutes ago, Gordy said:

I sent a coin SD on monday to N.I next day guaranteed by 13:00 and it arrived today!!!!! 

I’ll see you at the refund counter !

[pricha]

Yes it's back to 1pm . Not sure if you'll get a refund as probably something in the small print about suspicious parcels . Any way i'm waiting for a SD today . Never arrived. So i text the bloke. It's in the post. First class not tracked . Give me strength . 

[Agaumac]

2 minutes ago, pricha said:

Yes it's back to 1pm . Not sure if you'll get a refund as probably something in the small print about suspicious parcels . Any way i'm waiting for a SD today . Never arrived. So i text the bloke. It's in the post. First class not tracked . Give me strength . 

The money wasn’t the real issue. As a new member, as well as established, reputation is everything and it could be crippled if a few parcels were late resulting in bad feedback. I’m so glad this is a relatively rare occurrence and I shouldn’t experience the problem again 

[Bixley]

I bought a coin from a forum member which was posted special delivery on the 30th September. The track and trace app showed it in the local office with no further progress. It unexpectedly turned up on the 10th October. Is this a record for snail mail, it was only from Kent to Northamptonshire?

[Gordy]

2 minutes ago, Agaumac said:

The money wasn’t the real issue. As a new member, as well as established, reputation is everything and it could be crippled if a few parcels were late resulting in bad feedback. I’m so glad this is a relatively rare occurrence and I shouldn’t experience the problem again 

if it had been sent SD the buyer would have been tracking it anyway so anyone giving bad feedback when a screenshot of the tracking path can show its not your fault would no doubt have it reciprocated ...

[Bixley]

4 minutes ago, Bixley said:

I bought a coin from a forum member which was posted special delivery on the 30th September. The track and trace app showed it in the local office with no further progress. It unexpectedly turned up on the 10th October. Is this a record for snail mail, it was only from Kent to Northamptonshire?

Sorry, should have said 20th September.

[Agaumac]

2 minutes ago, Gordy said:

if it had been sent SD the buyer would have been tracking it anyway so anyone giving bad feedback when a screenshot of the tracking path can show its not your fault would no doubt have it reciprocated ...

He had the tracking number and there was good comms- my bad on the last reply

[pricha]

18 minutes ago, Bixley said:

I bought a coin from a forum member which was posted special delivery on the 30th September. The track and trace app showed it in the local office with no further progress. It unexpectedly turned up on the 10th October. Is this a record for snail mail, it was only from Kent to Northamptonshire?

If it said at the local delivery office i'd have gone down there with ID and said i wanted it . Its a bit odd because even if they are short staffed SD are always given priority and sent out the day they arrive . 

[dicker]

I have not had any problems at all and have send all sorts of sizes and weights by RMSD.

I frequently send / receive packages to and from Northern Ireland and have never had a problem at all.  
 

[dicker]

Just to add, I am sending and receiving at an address just off the Shankill Road in what might be considered a slightly troublesome area.

 

[sovereignsteve]

3 hours ago, Gordy said:

I sent a coin SD on monday to N.I next day guaranteed by 13:00 and it arrived today!!!!! 

I'm actually surprised they are offering next day special delivery to NI what with the Brexit NI protocol and all that rubbish.

[dicker]

3 minutes ago, sovereignsteve said:

I'm actually surprised they are offering next day special delivery to NI what with the Brexit NI protocol and all that rubbish.

I recently bought a coin from a forum member in NI and it got to me in 18 hours (after I paid!!!) I suspect the SD items are flown to the mainland Birmingham or similar before onward transit    

Best

Dicker