If I think it could inconvenience my customer by having to go to the office to pick up the parcel, I always try to leave it with a neighbor first and post a card through their door saying what I did & so & so has got their packet.

I think a major sticking problem for Royal Mail is that when a postman does eventually get out on his round, the postman cannot get rid of the larger items due to a high number of customers being at work . So yes that idea of yours with bigger boxes outside peoples abodes would definitely work & would help everyone in the long run.

I do think one of the things that makes it more difficult is UK letter boxes. Here in France, we have standard mail boxes which all posties have a master key for, and any parcel up to about 40cms in any direction can be left easily even if I’m out. If British houses had something similar, most of the delivery problems you ever get could be avoided IMHO.

No you misunderstand me. Letters with incomplete addresses will still go to their destination, but if the delivery postman does not know where the item of mail goes, he then endorses the item himself by putting a sticker on the letter/packet and ticks the appropriate box. ie

gone away
not known
address inaccessible
incomplete address
uncalled for

Then we put the letters in the dead corner which is picked up & then it is taken to Portsmouth or Belfast.

Remember that most items of mail which is incorrectly addressed is only found to be so, when it gets to the final delivery officer on his round.

I myself know that if this ever happened to me I would be fuming. This should be an automatic sacking without question if a postman was found guilty of doing this.

Maybe on reflection I have been very shortsighted on the things that I feel only happen in my office.

Sorry Bigpoppa if I caused you any offence by saying that you made a stupid remark. I was wrong to do

If it is one can only presume your colleagues are going through the mail for Christmas presnts when no-one is looking?

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=400144&mediaId=500140

Its funny these 1780 items that get lost in the post you should mention. But I get at least 30 items per day that are not addressed properly ie

Miss Smith
Flat 2
The high Road
Wherever
EG3 5TL

The fact that the person has not left a house number is why I have to kill off(pouch off) so many items per day.

People may think its our job to find out where these letters go but in fact its not. Once upon a time I used to do as much as possible to find out where this person lived so they can be reacquainted with their delivery item. But alas now I have no longer the time to find out where this item goes as we are constantly being assessed at how many items we are throwing of per minute in fear of the slow working procedure/conduct code.
We have a corner piled up of hundreds of letters with incomplete addreses like these with most having no return of address to send it back too. & this is just in our small 80 workforce office. Maybe just maybe this is one of the main reasons why so many items get lost in the post. Being an ex-postman you should know this.

& no I do not believe that even a small percentage of postman leave packages in dustbins. That is a stupid remark.

I also find it quite hypocritical that you yourself use Royal Mail when your pretty convinced that postman leave items in bins, burn items in their gardens, are a bunch of robbing thieves & store your packages in their attic.

Im sorry that you had a hard time when you were at Royal Mail,I really am. You did not deserve that & it was wrong. But to come out with the comments you are coming out are offensive & slanderous. Especially from someone like myself who has never left items in a bin & has never put a “sorry you was not in” card without attempt of delivery first.

Large letters not so which explains the rises (up to 100gm) from 48p to 52p to 61p.

I anticipate something around 70p from this April.