Royal Mail to begin next-door delivery option

[Michael Browne]

Royal Mail has been given the green light to start delivering parcels to neighbours, where recipients are not at home to receive them.

 

The service will now begin from the beginning of October.

 

UK postal regulator Ofcom gave its approval today to the “Delivery to Neighbour” programme, which has already been trialled with 748,000 addresses in six areas of the country.

 

Ofcom stated its belief that the new scheme would reduce the need for consumers to pick up their parcels from Royal Mail depots or post offices, and that it would bring Royal Mail in line with rival delivery firms, who can already leave items with neighbours.

 

“The ‘Delivery to Neighbour’ scheme should help meet increasing consumer need for easier ways to receive certain items requiring a signature and parcels, if the person is not at home when the postman tries to deliver,” the regulators said in a statement.

 

Consumers will be able to opt out of the scheme – either having their items delivered to neighbours, or receiving items for their neighbours – by displaying a free opt-out sticker near their letterbox, Ofcom said. The stickers will be available from Royal Mail.

 

http://postandparcel.info/50840/news/companies/royal-mail-to-begin-next-door-delivery-option-next-week/

 

 

Postmen given go-ahead to leave parcels next door if you're not home

 

Postmen will be able to leave parcels with a neighbour when no one is home after Royal Mail was given the go-ahead today to change its delivery rules.

 

At present large items that cannot fit through letterboxes are returned to a depot and a red 'sorry, you were out' card is left.

 

The change will end the frustration of people who miss the postman during the week because they are at work and are therefore left with just a small window of time on a Saturday morning to get to their local collection point.

Royal Mail postmen will be allowed to follow other private delivery firms who leave packages with neighbours and then post a slip through the letter box explaining which house has the item.

The scheme was given the go-ahead by government watchdog Ofcom today after a consultation on how it would work and a three month trial that was welcomed by 90 per cent of customers due to its convenience.

 

The initiative will be rolled out on October 1, making it easier for people who are out and about to receive their post. The change will also save hundreds of man-hours as fewer Post Office staff will be required to man collection points.

 

Households will be able to opt out of the scheme by putting a sticker, which will be available from the Post Office, near their letter box. And Royal Mail will still be responsible for the mail if it goes missing.

 

Anything sent by Special Delivery, from abroad, or high-value parcels will be excluded from the scheme. Post sent by a Government department under the ‘Do Not Redirect’ (DNR) scheme, such as pension information or passports, will also be excluded. DNR means the item can only be delivered to the address it bears.

 

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2209356/Finally-Postmen-given-ahead-leave-parcels-neighbour-youre-home.html#ixzz27lXlVSI6

 

 

Opt out of Delivery to Neighbour

 

You can opt of Delivery to Neighbour by displaying a sticker at your address. Please note, senders of items will not be able to opt-out from Delivery to Neighbour.

 

You can request a sticker here.

[postggj]

i can tell you that most delivery staff will be bringing the items back to the office after they have left the "missed you delivery card" and stuff this leave it with a neighbour routine

 

most delivery staff now work in pairs with a van, the days of the cycle are well gone

 

leaving items with a neighbour is so open to fraud and allegations the postman nicked it will be rife

 

the real reason this is happening is that delivery offices are inundated with parcels and packets that they cant cope, especially the counter staff. ever since royal mail moved forward the postmans start time, the effect has had a knock on, nobody is at home anymore as they have allready left for work, and the postman cannot get rid of the item and has to bring it back to the delivery office

[johngie]

This is a pretty appalling way for Royal Mail to go about it. I only found out through this forum that I was expected to display a sticker to opt out, or where to find it. How are the general public supposed to know?

 

There is one neighbour, two doors away, with whom I would most definitely NOT wish to leave anything. Can I opt out selectively?

[latetrain]

I thought Royal Mail had started this ages ago as I keep getting neighbours mail delivered to my address, of course I post them back to Royal Mail

[GoneFission]

Having to display a sticker stating that I basically don't trust my neighbours with my mail order crap isn't going to make me any more popular, is it?

 

This is another scheme dreamed up by some cozy upper middle class public school educated who thinks we all live in a world written by Enid :censored:ing Blyton. The thought that some people might live next door to a crack dealer evidently hasn't occurred to them. The idea that someone might take in a parcel for a neighbour but then not be in for days afterwards probably hasn't occurred to them either.

 

In reality, it's just a way of saving some money on storing parcels, but it's not going to work out. Postmen are notoriously overworked, and now they're expected to do even more work by negotiating with people who just happen to live nearby to take parcels off them.

 

I live within a quarter of a mile of a sorting office. How would it be more convenient if my shiny new possessions were left with some random member of the public than if they were safely stored on a post office shelf? How often can I expect to be pestered to take in someone else's mail, come to that?

 

In short, which idiot (see above) dreamed up this scheme, and where does he live? I'd happily supply him with a large sticker for the front door of his mansion, printed at my own expense, saying "I'm the responsible for this fresh batch of mail order misery".