I agree - and sometimes it's the postie who takes the mail! I think you are covered by your bank if you didn't receive the post (many of them use TNT now for reliability), but not before going through an awful lot of hassle to prove it! RM never ring the doorbell to ask for a signature for recorded delivery, they just post it through the door with the rest of the post. My cheque book went missing a few months back and the fraud dept of my bank phoned me for verification due to unusual activity - a cheque for just under £10k! It was almost laughable due to the financial position RM have left me in, there was no way the bank would honour the cheque! I have instructed my bank to send everything to my local branch and I will collect it from there. However, when you are not expecting things to arrive and they go missing, hence you don't know that they have gone astray leaves you wide open to identity theft - there is nothing you can do about it and to be honest, RM REALLY don't care as they have the monopoly and many companies don't realise that they have any choice. RM are so unreliable that they are not fit for purpose. If you are sending parcels - a new service called Collect+ is brilliant, £3.49 for up to 10kg, up to £50 insurance - you drop it off at a local shop, the recipient can track it all the way, they pick it up from their local shop (in shop opening hours often until 10pm). The best bit is, they have a code sent by text to their mobile which they have to give to collect the parcel - so no more (some [problem]) eBayers saying it hasn't arrived! I often ask sellers if they will use this in preference to RM and I will pay the extra, most do and are thankful for introducing them to it.

WHOOPS! Sorry, meant to change the font size before sending last post!

Good on you for keeping at them! I fear that your complaints are falling on deaf ears with RM staff, their customer service doesn't exist, private companies would not tolerate some of their behavious. If this was any other company in the UK, Trading Standards would have stopped them from trading. But when they make almost £1million from auctioning off undelivered parcels which have, in effect, been donated to robbery mail and you have even paid the postage to donate - wouldn't it make sense to not deliver all of the parcels? What a nice little earner!

If you want FAST contact - go on Twitter and find Royal Mail. Then post your complaint for all the world to see and they respond pretty quickly! They usually ask you to DM (Direct Message) them with additional details. Not sure what the timescale is re RM complaints handling - you will find that on the their site. The other sites to go to are postrs.org.uk/ or consumerfocus.org.uk/get-advice/post/post-advice/how-to-complain Good luck!

Hi, just came across this thread and am having similar health problems and it's so difficult to fight back when you are feeling so low. DX - why do you say that they are not entitled to a budget sheet? I was advised via CCS that this should be completed and sent as evidence of your inability to pay - you may know something different? Tim - you might find it useful to search the web for "Debt & Mental Health Good Practice" (I am unable to add links yet). You will find a few sites including MALG and links to Royal college of Psychiatrists who have done loads of studies and set out a code of good practice for people with mental health issues including depression. Also on HMRC website look up DMBM585185 - It's a document regarding "considering the defaulter with mental health issues", contains some very useful information, along with Financial Ombudsman Service website which, again, sets out good practice for financial companies. Like you, I have a card with Halifax and they are the worst, rude, unsympathetic and despite having no disposable income they have tried to bully me into borrowing to make payments to them - it makes you feel so much worse. I completed and printed off the CCS budget sheet (with the CCS logo) and explained that I have received advice from CCS and gone on to explain my situation along with the fact that I am on medication for my depression. I offered my £1 per month payment as advised and enclosed a cheque, (also set up a DD) and finished off with a final paragraph: I have been a loyal customer and have always kept up repayments until these unfortunate circumstances I now find myself in. So I ask that you please consider reducing or stopping interest or any other charges on my account to help me during my financial and unfortunate health difficulties. (Under the Debt & Mental Health Good Practice, I would be happy to complete Mental Health Evidence Forms for your verification as indicated may be required on Financial Ombudsman Service and MALG websites). I have to say, they have all been really good except Halifax. The best thing you can do is be honest with them, tell them that you will only deal with them in writing (which gives you breathing space - but do reply), and ensure that you tell them you are suffering with depression - this is important as once you disclose this, they have to work within certain good practice guidelines. Do NOT give them any web log in or reference numbers (if you do the budget planner on CCS, they give you a number so that you can return to your details. Hope this helps! Best wishes

I agree, there was a prog on BBC during the week regarding telemarketing. I didn't see it but my Mum did, she said there was no solution and no one is doing anything to stop it, it wasn't worth watching. Telephone & Mail Preference Service have not imposed any fines for companies in breach of the rules. It might be worth another go with Watchdog, if enough of us keep sending complaints about Robbery Mail, their ethics, business practices and customer service and how these complaints are not in line with their 'Corporate Responsibility Report' (as on their web site),Watchdog will investigate. Another one to contact is Daily Mail, they have published many articles in recent years about RM and their practices and will probably be interested in your issue

Interesting article on Telegraph co.uk, 04 Jul 2011 - 16 million pieces of '[problem] mail' sent using company part-owned by Royal Mail. Royal Mail are doing all sorts of things to bring in more revenue, much of it questionable in terms of ethics and good business practice. I have posted on another couple of threads re missing/ undelivered parcels, which RM auction off and made almost 1 million from this last year - it's more profitable for them not to deliver. It has been well documented that they sell consumer information which has increased their profits from the cost of the information in addition to the actual postage cost. Nobody seems to have challenged RM practices and it increasingly seems as if they are untouchable and can do exactly as they wish. I suggest that you also go to the bbc Watchdog page and send them an email. (watchdog/gotastory/) - you can either complete the web form or there is a link to send them an email if you want to include attachments) - they have been doing a lot on RM recently and the more complaints they get - the more likely they will get some investigators onto it.

Hi, you have probably sorted this (hopefully) by now, but if not Copy and paste your experience into an email on Watchdog on the BBC website. (watchdog/gotastory/) - you can either complete the web form or there is a link to send them an email if you want to include attachments). They have been doing a lot on them recently and the more complaints they get - the more likely they will get some investigators onto it. Your parcel like 250 of mine has probably ended up being sold of at auction, making RM almost a million last year - ( I can't post links yet but if you go to the BBC site, there is an article /news /uk-politics-14785851 - or the heading is "How Much Does Royal Mail Maike From Undelivered Parcels?". When you see how much they are making from auctioning off undelivered items, along with postage paid, it's making them a fortune - no wonder they have recently announced that they are now in the black, there seems to be almost an incentive for them not to deliver. [edit]

Hi, you have probably sorted this (hopefully) by now, but if not Copy and paste your experience into an email on Watchdog on the BBC website. (watchdog/gotastory/) - you can either complete the web form or there is a link to send them an email if you want to include attachments). They have been doing a lot on them recently and the more complaints they get - the more likely they will get some investigators onto it. Your parcel like 250 of mine has probably ended up being sold of at auction, making RM almost a million last year - ( I can't post links yet but if you go to the BBC site, there is an article /news /uk-politics-14785851 - or the heading is "How Much Does Royal Mail Maike From Undelivered Parcels?". When you see how much they are making from auctioning off undelivered items, along with postage paid, it's making them a fortune - no wonder they have recently announced that they are now in the black, there seems to be almost an incentive for them not to deliver. [edit]