Royal Mail Tracking

[A.Carter (BiG-T)]

Hi Bought some second hand TTA tankers from KJB Models today they have been sent Royal Mail Signed For, i received an email telling me the package has been sent and heres my tracking number.....
Went onto Royal Mails Tracking site to have a look and this is the message for my parcel:-

Status: Royal Mail Signed For™ items are only scanned when the item has been delivered. Depending on whether the item was sent 1st or 2nd class, this may be a few days after posting. Please try again later.
Please come back later
Information on your Royal Mail Signed For™ item is not yet available.

If i can only track my parcel AFTER it has been delivered to me, what's the point of giving me a tracking facility...
unless it's for when I have to hide stuff from SWMBO and forget where I've hidden it then I can go to Royal Mail Tracking and find it!

Tony

[bridgiesimon]

Signed for and Tracked are different processes and different prices - tracked packages will show up at each depot/point of the journey but as you have found, the signed for will only be recorded when delivered.

Best wishes
simon

[A.Carter (BiG-T)]

Hi Simon i understand that but what's the point of sending me a tracking number for a signed for package.  just made me smile when i could only track it when i have it in my hand...lol

Tony

[MalcolmInN]

unless it's for when I have to hide stuff from SWMBO and forget where I've hidden it then I can go to Royal Mail Tracking and find it!

like

I have often wondered but never asked RM if, for signed-for packages, they could hold it at the local sorting office for me to collect,
instead of leaving a card saying "couldnt deliver" and making-off on the rest of their round and me following trying to intercept, all the while shouting "Im here, I'm here", , ,
instead they could just leave a card saying "It's at the office for you"
??

[Hailstone]

unless it's for when I have to hide stuff from SWMBO and forget where I've hidden it then I can go to Royal Mail Tracking and find it!

like

I have often wondered but never asked RM if, for signed-for packages, they could hold it at the local sorting office for me to collect,
instead of leaving a card saying "couldnt deliver" and making-off on the rest of their round and me following trying to intercept, all the while shouting "Im here, I'm here", , ,
instead they could just leave a card saying "It's at the office for you"
??

The card my postman leaves if he cannot deliver says exactly that and I collect the next day (you are supposed to wait for 24 hours, but it is usually back in my local sorting office by the next morning) I have been receiving parcels like this for years - maybe you should have a word with your postman if he is a regular one, or talk to your local sorting office.

Regards,

Alex

[MalcolmInN]

if he cannot deliver says exactly that and I collect the next day (you are supposed to wait for 24 hours,

Yep, quite so,
and that is why I was wondering what if ,,
what if s/he did not carry it on the round meanwhile,
that way I could go to sort that same morning and collect without waiting for him/her to return it to the sort,,,, you see ,,
yes I must ask sometime.

usually tho' I do manage to catch them en-route, but it is a country one with many little lanes and long driveways, so it is a bit of a game 

[thebrighton]

You can

I have often wondered but never asked RM if, for signed-for packages, they could hold it at the local sorting office for me to collect,
instead of leaving a card saying "couldnt deliver" and making-off on the rest of their round and me following trying to intercept, all the while shouting "Im here, I'm here", , ,
instead they could just leave a card saying "It's at the office for you"
??

Just provide written authority for your parcels to be handed straight to the enquiry office and a card be put through your door. We've a couple of customers at my office that do this. Can't do anything without written authority though.
Gareth (postie)

[thebrighton]

Hi Simon i understand that but what's the point of sending me a tracking number for a signed for package.  just made me smile when i could only track it when i have it in my hand...lol

That's KJB miss informing you of how they were sending the parcel. IIRC Signed For is a cheaper option than Tracked. They shouldn't be providing you with a tracking number as that isn't the service they're providing. They're just giving you the Signed For number.
Gareth (postie)

[trkilliman]

Royal Mail signed for is the "modern" name for what many of us older folk knew as recorded delivery. Signed for is a fee of around £1 that is added to the respective 1st or 2nd class postage you will have paid for your letter or parcel.

The sender is given a signed for number, which also acts as a proof of posting. If the recipient claims non-delivery, there is a process whereby the signed for number is checked to see if a signature has been provided by the/a recipient. This is the way I normally send out ebay items I have sold, my postage charge reflecting this.To my mind it gives peace of mind to both seller and buyer.
                                        ---------------------------------------------

Royal Mail Special delivery...

Now, this service is tracked...and you pay for it accordingly. Last summer I had a perishable/time sensitive package to send to Glasgow from Falmouth, Cornwall. It cost me £12 and I was given a tracking number. The service is said to guarantee delivery to the vast majority of mainland addresses by 1300 the following day. I had the package into my local post office by 0930. Having spent 18 years working in Bristol's main sorting office, I felt sure that getting it into the postal system so early in the day would ensure next day delivery. Sadly on this occasion the service failed me. I was able to track it on my laptop and discovered it had sat in Truro sorting office until 1730!  I was also able to track its progress once it left Truro.  I was annoyed and tried to speak to a manager at Truro sorting office, but strangely this proved impossible. The package was delivered the following day with (thankfully) no ill effects. I made a claim for non-delivery and my £12 fee was promptly refunded.

I have sent a large number of packages by special delivery over the years, and this is the only time a package has failed to arrive the next day.

So, whilst my reply is a tad long winded I hope it makes the differences between signed for and tracked items clearer.

[Newportnobby]

I believe 'Signed For' only carries insurance of up to £50 so if a higher value is needed then it must be sent 'Tracked Special delivery'. I think the limit on that is £200.
Of course, I stand to be corrected by anyone in the know.

[Malc]

I ordered a PC monitor that was tracked. The tracking showed out for delivery, but I had to pop out for 10 mins. When I got back, there was a card saying that the parcel was at my local post office. This was much better than having to go to the sorting office as it is difficult to park there. I went straight round to the office and collected my monitor.

[EtchedPixels]

Signed for is also unreliable. When I was shipping stuff out a lot I saw lots of stuff delivered to customer but never marked as signed for, and I've also seen stuff marked as signed for but not in fact delivered to customer at that point (usually when they were out)

So it's not that trustable, and trying to make a claim they do everything conceivable to get out of it.

Special Delivery is tracked and it seems properly.

Alan

[jrb]

Signed for is also unreliable. When I was shipping stuff out a lot I saw lots of stuff delivered to customer but never marked as signed for, and I've also seen stuff marked as signed for but not in fact delivered to customer at that point (usually when they were out)

So it's not that trustable, and trying to make a claim they do everything conceivable to get out of it.

Special Delivery is tracked and it seems properly.

Alan

Signed For is not the only one that's a bit useless. I've just (about 30 mins ago) received an airbrush I ordered from eBay. The package was sent 'Tracked 48', so I waited in & when I heard the postie on the street I went downstairs to open the door. Just as I was about to open it, the package was launched through the letterbox...

I would have thought a service with the word 'tracked' in the name would be more reliable, but it seems not!!!

[MikeDunn]

"Tracked" doesn't imply "signed for" or "personally handed over" though 

[jrb]

"Tracked" doesn't imply "signed for" or "personally handed over" though 

Hmmm... I guess that's true! I just assumed that it would need a signature on delivery. I guess I'm the one that's unreliable!