"Lost in the Post"

[HeadingNorth]

I've returned from a brief vacation to find, among my other mail, a letter addressed to a nursing home in Sutton-in-Ashfield. It happens to have the same street name and number as my house, but the town and postcode are completely wrong.

 

Well, I'm not going to whinge - any organisation that deals with countless millions of items, will misplace some of them. But it started me thinking - I wonder how many they really do lose?

 

In the last thirty years, I estimate that I've received less than half a dozen pieces of wrongly-delivered mail. On the other hand, the amount of mail that I've failed to receive must number in the hundreds, if the companies and people who tell me "it must have got lost in the post" are to be believed.

 

Why the discrepancy? If there are far more letters going elsewhere that should have come here, than there are letters coming here that should have gone elsewhere - what is the explanation? Or is it as simple an explanation as that various people and companies are using "lost in the post" as a catch-all excuse for things they never sent to begin with?

[Alex C.]

I've never had a parcel, or a letter I've been expecting get lost in the post, so I can't say how often it actually happens. Occasionally had something misdelivered (can only think of one occasion, when we got a card for next door - just passed it on to her) - on the whole, the RM service around here is fantastic.

 

Edit: from my knowledge of several large companies, I've known them use the "it's on it's way" excuse when referring to a letter or parcel - usually meaning 'the system' says it's been dispatched. Unfortunately, you can rarely rely on them being able to actually find out if it has been dispatched.

 

The other common thing which happened very, very frequently was an automated letter would go out to customers with a new problem saying "we tried to call you but were unable to - please call us on <insert revenue generating phone number>". They never made outbound calls unless it was in relation to an existing case.

[HeadingNorth]

I should also mention the fairly hefty number of items I have posted myself, which never arrived at their destination - but in fairness to the Royal Mail, my experience of the average workplace office suggests to me that the vast majority of those items did reach the correct office letterbox, and were lost at some point thereafter.

[metalman]

 

In the last thirty years, I estimate that I've received less than half a dozen pieces of wrongly-delivered mail. On the other hand, the amount of mail that I've failed to receive must number in the hundreds, if the companies and people who tell me "it must have got lost in the post" are to be believed.

 

Why the discrepancy?

 

Because you're not taking account of things that never reach any destination at all and just get dumped in a bonfire or in the postman's cellar.

[MonkeyLover]

Because you're not taking account of things that never reach any destination at all and just get dumped in a bonfire or in the postman's cellar.

 

.............or the ones that take about 29 years to arrive at their destination!

[Redyam]

21 billion letters are sent each year and 99.92% of all mail is delivered safely. But don't let statistics get in the way of your paranoia. Here is your tin foil hat.

[HeadingNorth]

21 billion letters are sent each year and 99.92% of all mail is delivered safely.

 

Which is a remarkably high figure, all things considered.

 

It still leaves the question of why the numbers don't match up. All things being equal, you should have wrongly-delivered letters arrive at your own house, just about as often as your own letters go missing in transit. For me, at least, that doesn't appear to happen.

 

I don't believe that there are many postmen who just dump the things in bonfires - if there were, that 99.92% figure would be more like 22.29%...

[Karis]

I have about 0.3% of my parcels lost in the post. Had three this month -- but you never really know whether the customer is trying to pull a fast one or not.

 

Had two recorded delivery items go missing and quite a few courier items lost forever...

[chem1st]

Which is a remarkably high figure, all things considered.

 

It still leaves the question of why the numbers don't match up. All things being equal, you should have wrongly-delivered letters arrive at your own house, just about as often as your own letters go missing in transit. For me, at least, that doesn't appear to happen.

 

I don't believe that there are many postmen who just dump the things in bonfires - if there were, that 99.92% figure would be more like 22.29%...

 

If somebody is thieving, their 'turf' of the postcode will suffer disproportionately. (A real postcode gang member lol)

 

It's also a convenient excuse and works both ways in many person-person/organization relationships.

 

I've knowingly had mail stolen, but after it was posted through the door!

 

I always get a record of posting.

[hodgepodge]

I have just recieved a postcard that was posted in France on 17th August this year.....5 weeks. However a card from New Zealand this week took 4 days.....is there a time portal somewhere?