Just tried to track a parcel that's heading in my direction, the Royal Mail tracking service came up with .....

Recorded Signed For™ items are only tracked after the item has been delivered. Depending on whether the item was sent first or second class, this may be a few days after posting.

I am still scratching my head on this one ....

Firstly, a "Signed For" item is surely more necessary to track?

Secondly, if they only track it AFTER its been delivered, does this mean they secretly tag your item and see where you take it??????

Flumuxed me

Surely you would want to track an posted item to see where it was and estimate a delivery day, once its delivered you have no reason to track it, as you now would know where it was and that it had already been delivered.

I think you are missing the point of this service; "Signed For" means just that, the item is to be signed for at the delivery point. The tracking on signed for deliveries, covers only the delivery, it enables the sender to verify the parcel has been delivered and who the delivery was taken by (they provide a signature image within 48 hours of delivery). It IS NOT a realtime tracking service, and I have never seen Royal Mail make such a claim.

FFS people, it is a 75p service, if you want the ability to actually track where the parcel is, and/or when the estimated delivery date is, use a proper realtime tracked service from a company such as City Link or DHL... BUT BE PREPARED TO PAY THE PRICE!!! For smaller items, it's a lot more than 75p + basic postage cost, I can tell you. And even then, it only tells you when it is collected from the sender, when it arrives at their distribution centres, when it is scheduled for delivery, and when it is out for delivery (which unless you pay a much higher price, will usually be anytime between 0700 and 1800 so no real help).

And they don't even offer realtime tracking on the Sameday or Special Delivery services, they don't claim to, and I would like to see where in the terms and conditions it says that they do provide a realtime tracking service on any of these services.

They are providing what you have paid for, a delivery service that is signed for by the recipient, and a delivery service that you can track to check whether or not it has been delivered and who signed for it. If the sender has stated the service should work in any other way, then it is the sender who you should raise the issue with and attempt to slate/badmouth, not Royal Mail (and im no fan of the Royal Mail at the best of times).

The system has worked this way for many many years now, longer than I can remember indeed, and ive never heard anyone have any issues or fail to understand the concept, or fail to grasp the miserly price they are paying for the service. Online tracking is an additional element of the service introduced about 7 years ago, and is not updated quite as quick as the telephone service, so for the latest up to date info, phone them, but they still won't be able to tell you that the item was delivered until... yes, you guessed it, it has been SIGNED FOR and delivered.

But times have moved on now Matt, if you go to any Royal Mail parcel depot, there are scanners on every entrance and exit to the buildings that monitor every parcel movement.

The wording above implies that if it wasn't a recorded signed for delivery then it would be tracked.

It doesn't even acknowledge whether it is in the Royal Mail system.

The point of what I posted was that the statement issued by the tracking system is totally inane/stupid/indicypherable, I wasn't looking at the efficiency or otherwise of the tracking system.

How can they tell me where the item is AFTER delivery - surely they can only say where it was AT delivery.

Do they really have NO tracking before or at delivery? Surely they track their receiving point to know that it is in their system at all.

On an associated topic, Radio Spares (or one of that group of companies) tracking system used to be able to (and may still do) show you a picture of YOUR parcel going down their conveyor belt. That must have started nearly 10 years ago.

If you can find me any evidence that they offer a realtime tracking service with the "signed for" scheme, then I will accept your analogy. Until then, I would say you need to realise they are providing the service they claim to provide, the parcel is signed for at the destination, the notification of delivery is logged and available to be viewed online within 12 hours of deliver, and the proof of delivery (signature) is available to be viewed online within 48 hours of delivery.

Whoever radiospares are/were, and whatever service they offer is completely irrelevant. If they are so fantastic, use them instead. As I say, the Royal Mail, to my knowledge, have NEVER claimed to offer realtime tracking, and none of the MAJOR delivery companies within the UK do so far as im aware (ive not experienced all services from all companies of course, but a fair few at least). I doubt radiospares are handling in excess of 30 BILLION items per year, and I doubt they use moe than one or two isolated and fully automated distribution centres etc... I also doubt they would compete on price if their service was nationwide. In addition, it sounds like they upgraded their one or two distribution centres, how many billions and how long would it take to upgrade Royal Mail's hundreds of distribution and handling centres, and thousands of sorting offices, and would you be prepared to pay a LOT more for deliveries just so one or two people can sit in front of their PC screens like simpletons, watching their item going down the conveyor belt, watching their items being loaded onto a van etc...

Besides which, most of us just want our items delivered, and don't have any interest as to how they get to us.

In an ideal world, everything you are looking for would be in place, but we don't live in an ideal world, and everything you suggest would have to be paid for... and dare the Royal Mail ever try to introduce such systems, then the Labour Party (sorry Unions) would be trying to stop deliveries altogether until the proposals were dropped. Royal Mail are lagging behind the times, and they are the first to admit it, for the simple reason the Unions do everything in their power to prevent them from modernising.

@ this thread!

@Matt, please read threads before going off on one.

must be time of the month

Or alternatively, please read the terms and conditions and the service schedule, PRIOR to making stupid threads. If you can't read the perfect English (and Welsh) that Royal Mail provide their media in, maybe you should consider going to college? Your having a moan about Royal Mail not providing a service that only exists in your head, one that they have never claimed to provide and probably never will, so what is your problem with people pointing this fact out... or do you just expect everyone to agree with you and congratulate you for your thread? I think you would be better posting on royalmailsucks.com if this is the case, im sure they would all agree with your warped view on their service and it's complete lack of tracking abilities, and failiure to move with the times and provide all dolites and anoraks with realtime webcam tracking services etc...

As I say, ive not come across anyone who has failed to grasp the concept of "signed for" and you saying that "well x company does this and has done for ages" does not really matter, Royal Mail do it differently and you are paying pennies, if you don't like it, you don't "have" to use them!!

Or continue to make yourself look a fool by trying to slate companies, for not delivering services, they never even claimed to provide. As I say, not all of us have so much time on our hands that we want to to be able to watch our parcels as they travel down the conveyor belt etc, and not many people would even be interested as there is far more to life.

Still haven't got it yet Matt - you really should read before you post.

I am not complaining about the tracking service however much you think I am ....

I am trying to decipher the online tracker's message which would not pass the Crystal Mark for clear English and common sense.

bloody hell I can see
"handbags at 20 paces 6am behind the bike shed" bout to happen

on a light note - DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THE PONY EXPRESS HAD TROUBLE WITH THE POST {APART FROM DOGGING THE ARROWS]