Who's had one of those 'while you were out' cards from Royal Mail in the last month?

I've just found one on my doormat when I got in today and it's left me a little confused. The back bit isn't filled out so how do I know where it's gone now? I tried to phone the number but they're too busy to take my call.

So, I'm assuming they didn't leave the parcell somewhere else and it's gone back to Royal Mail but the trouble now is they didn't fill in the box telling me how long to leave it before I go to fetch it. The website just refers to the card so I'm still baffled.

Can anyone help?

You need to leave it until the next morning, then collect from the sorting office

its usually 48 hours to guarantee it gets back to your local sorting office, then you take the card there and collect your parcel.

Lovely, thanks a lot.

If that's the standard time, how comes it isn't printed on the card instead of leaving a box to be written in?

It all depends on how the postie returns the parcel.

If its a delivery van they will take it back to the depot straight away, which means it will be there the next day. If your normal postie on foot drops a card off, they may put it back into the system at their local post office or post box and it takes an extra day to get back to the sorting office.

(that's what I've been led to believe anyway)

They're nice here in Chesterfield, they put 48 hours on the card so that they can try to deliver it again the next day :)

Here's a hint - DO NOT bother turning up to collect the parcel from the local office 15 minutes before it closes on a saturday! Tried this at the Hillsborough office a couple of weeks ago, queued for ages in the pouring rain (the queue went right down the road), only to get to the front and be told 'the parcel isn't back yet' (we received the card on thursday!). Lots of other people where being told the same thing - some had been waiting for 4 days! Our parcel finally returned from the Royal Mail black hole on the following tuesday.

Good luck with getting yours before Christmas!

On the back it should have a number- I usually just call and get them to deliver it to my local post office which works quite well. They usually knock and then run away, leaving me no time to get up and actually reach the door. Grrr

You can also leave a designated 'safe place' for them to drop it off like if you live near a newsagents or something like that.

Careful, it might just be an oversized christmas card, costs you £1.16

And remember the opening hours of the sorting offices you can pick parcels up from are designed so that if you have a job, there's no possibility of you being able to trouble them. It's a genius plan to ensure they don't actually have to do too much work - don't be open when any of your customers can actually get to you.

You can also leave a designated 'safe place' for them to drop it off like if you live near a newsagents or something like that.

That works some of the time - problem is if it's not your regular postperson (as they often aren't at this time of year) they don't know about your 'safe place' and will take it back to the black hole that is the sorting office leaving you with nothing more than an unfilled out card.....

Who's had one of those 'while you were out' cards from Royal Mail in the last month?

I've just found one on my doormat when I got in today and it's left me a little confused. The back bit isn't filled out so how do I know where it's gone now? I tried to phone the number but they're too busy to take my call.

So, I'm assuming they didn't leave the parcell somewhere else and it's gone back to Royal Mail but the trouble now is they didn't fill in the box telling me how long to leave it before I go to fetch it. The website just refers to the card so I'm still baffled.

Can anyone help?

Yes I have had them as well if you don't answer the door on the third knock its back to the office they go.

You are supposed to leave it 24hrs before going to collect the item but I went back three seperate times for one particular item it had got waylaid enroute back to the office,

If its the Rotherham sorting ofice make sure you have plenty of time on your hands as the line of people waiting feels like the January sales are on.

Lovely, thanks a lot.

If that's the standard time, how comes it isn't printed on the card instead of leaving a box to be written in?

In my experience most things are back at the depot by 7am the next day.

In my experience most things are back at the depot by 7am the next day.

I think your experience is rare sadly. As a rule, parcels take at least 48 hours to get to the sorting office from the card drop and even then they don't seem to have a logical system for retrieiving them. I shall be joining the queue on Saturday morning, although after reading this I am going to bring a book :suspect:

In my experience most things are back at the depot by 7am the next day.

Not in the case of Hillsborough in December they're not - see my earlier post!

The question is, where does all this post go between leaving my front door and turning up at the office 4 days later?

Not in the case of Hillsborough in December they're not - see my earlier post!

The question is, where does all this post go between leaving my front door and turning up at the office 4 days later?

Ah you see I asked this question. I was told that when the postie finishes his shift, the undeliverable stuff stays in his van overnight in the compound and then it's unloaded the followig day and it takes another 24 hours to make it to the little office where we are allowed to collect our mail from.

Of course that could be incorrect, hopefully a forum postie will correct / confirm / tell me I'm wrong shortly ;)

Ive had a card this morning and is ready to collect from post office in 3 hours

I think your experience is rare sadly. As a rule, parcels take at least 48 hours to get to the sorting office from the card drop and even then they don't seem to have a logical system for retrieiving them. I shall be joining the queue on Saturday morning, although after reading this I am going to bring a book :suspect:
It's really interesting to see the local and regional variations. I'm in south Leicestershire. The postman always writes '2-3 hours' as the amount of time to allow before going to the collection office to pick up the missed parcel. I suppose it depends on the route and where the sorting/collection office is.

I generally pick up the parcels on a Saturday morning. Usually there isn't a queue and I'm in and out within a minute or two.

Right, that's it! I'm moving! Not fair :confused:

Aye I had one the other day. The postman did'nt fill in ANY of it at all. Just a blank red slip thing! Luckily I was expecting something otherwise i would have left it as I live in a big house divided into 4 flats. I usually just go the next day to the PO and its fine

Ah but how many of these collections will be the £1.16 charge for a large letter sent on a first class stamp eh :suspect:

A pensioner neighbour of mine trailed all the way to the sorting office to collect what she thought was a parcel, turned out to be a xmas card which cost her the above to collect :roll:

I think your experience is rare sadly. As a rule, parcels take at least 48 hours to get to the sorting office from the card drop and even then they don't seem to have a logical system for retrieiving them. I shall be joining the queue on Saturday morning, although after reading this I am going to bring a book :suspect:

eh? We always go to the sorting office the morning after we've had a card and not had a problem yet- Ecclesall Rd Sorting Office

eh? We always go to the sorting office the morning after we've had a card and not had a problem yet- Ecclesall Rd Sorting Office

I must always live near sorting offices that just don't get their act together then. Ho hum. Can't wait till Saturday :roll:

I must be very unlucky, I've been back to the office 4 times over the past two weeks and it still hasn't arrived, all sorts of excuses, I've now lodged a complaint.

And remember the opening hours of the sorting offices you can pick parcels up from are designed so that if you have a job, there's no possibility of you being able to trouble them. It's a genius plan to ensure they don't actually have to do too much work - don't be open when any of your customers can actually get to you.


iF YOU START WORK AT 9AM YOU GO ON YOUR WAY TO WORK AS THEY OPEN AT 7AM

Ah you see I asked this question. I was told that when the postie finishes his shift, the undeliverable stuff stays in his van overnight in the compound and then it's unloaded the followig day and it takes another 24 hours to make it to the little office where we are allowed to collect our mail from.

Of course that could be incorrect, hopefully a forum postie will correct / confirm / tell me I'm wrong shortly ;)


If the delivery man/woman is not in a van then the item is sent back in the system to the delviery office , the easy solution to all this is to make sure you are in when you order something or if you are having a lot of large items buy a secure post / parcel box

Ive had loads of problems collecting recently...I was thinking in investing in one of those parcel drop things where you have a metal box that the parcel goes in and the postie (hopefully) turns a dial to lock it...you have a code that opens it later so you dont ever have to venture to the dreaded Manor Lane parcel depot...has anyone seen one for sale out there..I seem to remember them being in the paper a few months ago

Dinnington sorting office have been spot on with my parcels. Its always there 7.00am the following day. I have only ever had one incident where my normal postie was off and his relief didnt bother to knock, he just left the card in my postbox and ran.

That works some of the time - problem is if it's not your regular postperson (as they often aren't at this time of year) they don't know about your 'safe place' and will take it back to the black hole that is the sorting office leaving you with nothing more than an unfilled out card.....

Tell me about it!! I think they change the posties on my route more often than most people change their knickers.

I wrote to them specifying a safe place and also said they could leave it next door with my neighbour.

I've probably had about 2 parcels left in the safe place, the rest go back to office. I keep phoning them up and reminding them about my safe place, but it doesn't seem to work.

Why can't work out some sort of system to make sure each postie knows where stuff can be left?

I had a card today and have arranged online for it to be re-delivered on Saturday. I shall have to put a dirty great notice on the door to tell the postman I'm in, but I don't wear skates in the house, so I might not be able to get to the door in 0.3 seconds they seem to allow.

iF YOU START WORK AT 9AM YOU GO ON YOUR WAY TO WORK AS THEY OPEN AT 7AM
Not always practical. And closing at noon on a Saturday isn't particularly sensible either.

Not always practical. And closing at noon on a Saturday isn't particularly sensible either.


Easy it opens 24 hours but they put 5p on each letter - job done easy

Thought i'd let you know a postman's point of view.

Firstly how long you have to wait until collection a parcel from an office depends upon where the round finishes. My round finishes at the sorting office and i can put collect in 1 hour since the parcel is placed straight into the collection office. If a round finishes at a post office as opposed to a sorting office then the usual time is 48 hours since the items is sent from the post office with the normal mail collection, processed in a main sorting office and returned to the local sorting office. I hope that's clear.

If a letter or parcel has a charge on it then the card dropped through should have the amount to pay written on it. (No i don't know how they can justify £1 surcharge)

Secondly at this time of year i can be knocking on 100+ doors in a day to deliver a parcel/packet. You'd be amazed how many people arrive at the door without a key, can't answer cos they are on the phone, have to control dogs etc.. never mind the people who want to chat. If i waited 2 minutes at each house that would be over 3 hours a day just waiting.

And whilst i'm here could you please all check you door bells you'd be surprised how many don't work, also have you ever tried using your own letterbox, take a bundle of cards and A4 letters and give it a go. Whilst your at it if you don't uses the door where the letterbox is then try using the path to it, Slippery paving slabs, overgrown hedges and low hanging baskets are a postman's bane. Go on make your postie happy.

Well Said.......

If a letter or parcel has a charge on it then the card dropped through should have the amount to pay written on it.



Which is a gray card. where as the parcel ETC cards are red :thumbsup:

so red = something good

gray = someone did not pay the right postage* there for up to if you want to go and line the pockets of the big boss's :suspect:

*this also means dont go running down the street after said postie asking where a parcel is :thumbsup:

I think your experience is rare sadly. As a rule, parcels take at least 48 hours to get to the sorting office from the card drop and even then they don't seem to have a logical system for retrieiving them. I shall be joining the queue on Saturday morning, although after reading this I am going to bring a book :suspect:

Christmas time is obviously different as we are inundated with parcels, but the rest of the year it's rare for a parcel to not get back to the delivery the day after it's posted back. I know as I do it every day! We put 48hrs to make sure the parcel is definitely back and save people a possible wasted journey.

Ah you see I asked this question. I was told that when the postie finishes his shift, the undeliverable stuff stays in his van overnight in the compound and then it's unloaded the followig day and it takes another 24 hours to make it to the little office where we are allowed to collect our mail from.

Of course that could be incorrect, hopefully a forum postie will correct / confirm / tell me I'm wrong shortly

As far as I know this is incorrect, when our postmen/drivers take the vans back in the afternoon they are then used for other duties, so they wouldnt be left full of parcels! I would assume all offices are the same, and would be very suprised if your scenario was true.

Finally I have to say that this xmas the service overall has been worse than in previous years - i've had quite a few people have parcels delivered that took a week from posting them. Thats what staff cuts gets you, and people wondered why we went on strike!

BTW how anyone can get a 'while you were out' card confused with an 'underpaid item of mail' card I dont know, unless you just dont bother reading them. They're different colours, and one tells you you have had a parcel, the other tells you you have an unpaid item of mail waiting. It's not rocket science.

Whilst were on this subject - Myself and a couple of other people I know have actually been in whilst the post-person "attempted" to deliver a parcel. On my occasion I only found this out when I went to collect the letters from the letterbox a few minutes later and found the red card. The post-person didn't knock on the door or ring the bell ! I looked up and down the street to see if I could see the post-person anywhere but they had gone. A friend of mine actually opened the door just as the post-person was sticking the red card through. When asked where the parcel was he had to eventually admit he hadn't brought it !!!!

Call me cynical but I think that Royal Mail have decided to save time and money by getting us to collect our parcel's from the local sorting office instead of having to deliver them !

I live in S10 area and judging by other recent threads we have a lot of problems with Royal Mail :rant::rant:

Whilst were on this subject - Myself and a couple of other people I know have actually been in whilst the post-person "attempted" to deliver a parcel. On my occasion I only found this out when I went to collect the letters from the letterbox a few minutes later and found the red card. The post-person didn't knock on the door or ring the bell ! I looked up and down the street to see if I could see the post-person anywhere but they had gone. A friend of mine actually opened the door just as the post-person was sticking the red card through. When asked where the parcel was he had to eventually admit he hadn't brought it !!!!

Call me cynical but I think that Royal Mail have decided to save time and money by getting us to collect our parcel's from the local sorting office instead of having to deliver them !

I live in S10 area and judging by other recent threads we have a lot of problems with Royal Mail :rant::rant:

This shouldn't happen, but again it's because of cuts - the amount of parcels we deliver due to internet shopping etc has increased dramatically, yet our deliveries are longer and there are less drivers than before.

Some days it's just impossible to get all the parcels in the bags, the managers are supposed to sign the ones that won't go in, and a driver take them - but the drivers complain that the amount of parcels they are getting means they cannot get finished within their duty time, so the managers won't sign many parcels out!

Personally I use my car to take my own mail up to the delivery, so having a lot of parcels isn't so bad - for the guys on the bus and foot it's a nightmare - and everytime someone isn't in the parcel has to be carried in the bag along with the next lot of mail.

As I said, it shouldn't happen, but it does and the above is why!