SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

Is it just me, or has it all gone to hell over the last two years in Leeds?There was a time when if you needed something redelivering because it came when you were at work, you just rang up and it came. I don't remember that ever going wrong.Now it's really hard to get through and speak to a human being, and when you use the online service, will it just failed again at the weekend for the 3rd time in 18 months. The redelivery had definitely gone through as i got sent an email confirmation, so i just waited in all day and it never arrived A while back they managed to auction off my box set of terminator dvds because the redelivery failed but they only keep recorded delivery stuff for a week, and you can't schedule a redelivery for the next day and they refuse to schedule one for the final day of the week before they can it, so they will can it rather than redelivering even if you want them to It's all gone a bit cr*p hasn't it?

I think Leeds has gone backwards a lot since I left in 1995. I don't think you can see things deteriorating if you are there all the time but I come back about twice a year and its amazing how scruffy the place is now and some areas (Armley for instance) is just a mess.My postal system is good here in Newcastle so there again it must be Leeds that is poor. Write to your MP !!!!

The post is generally poor.We've had recorded items posted through the letter box unsigned for (the tag has been removed, so presumably it's ben marked as signed for?) and I've also caught posties shoving a "You were out card" through the letter box having made no effort to see if anyone was in - again apparently common practice to avoid carry too many items on the round. Plus we only get post (at best) every other day now.There is an undercover expose on Channel 4 this week - Monday or Tuesday I think. The trailer indicates it won't make comfortable viewing.We do a bit of ebaying and it's gotten to the point where anything we sell is now sent "signed for" as it's the only way we can make a claim if it doesn't arrive at the other end.And don't get me started on the ridiculous queues at the few remaining Post Office branches.Still, Adam Crozier has done quite nicely out of it hasn't he, with his new job at ITV?

nightrider wrote: I think Leeds has gone backwards a lot since I left in 1995. I don't think you can see things deteriorating if you are there all the time but I come back about twice a year and its amazing how scruffy the place is now and some areas (Armley for instance) is just a mess.My postal system is good here in Newcastle so there again it must be Leeds that is poor. Write to your MP !!!! I think Jane means how rubbish ROYAL MAIL has become here nightrider.And yes it has Jane, your right to call it Royal Fail, and i should know, i was a Postie for 10 years until i walked off the job, and quit about 4 years ago, I had enough of them ruining the job, and the postal service. There destroying a once great service, there cost cuting, and cost cutting again, there cutting jobs and making the remaining Posties duty a monumental task to complete. Most of the decent old time Posties have been finished, or quit the job (forced to quit) Now there employing part time labour, and casual staff from agencies because they can't attract decent people for long, indeed they don't even issue uniform to them for several weeks because they all leave within days. A lot of these new staff can't even understand English, no wonder the mail gets dumped into streams and tips, and yes it happens, it happens more times than Royal Fail will dare to admit to.At one time Royal Mail was as strict as been in the Army, indeed most of the workforce were ex servicemen, but these days there so lax, no wonder people join especially to thieve passports and credit cards and such. That is a big problem, also how many times do you read about the Postman with a loft or garage full of mail at home?You don't read about it as much as it REALLY happens though!The Posties can't complete there duty on time on any given day, there harrased for booking overtime, this harrasement makes a lot of the Posties feel they have to work unpayed overtime to complete these duties.No wonder you don't get the Postman knocking on your door trying to deliver parcels anymore, the packets are more often left in the delivery office and a card is pushed through your letterbox for you to collect it, It's far quicker.I recently saw a documentary about the state of Royal Fail, they had an Army fitness instructor try to deliver leaflets to the same houses on a Postmans real walk, even he couldn't do it in the allocated time Royal Mail set. He admitted he would have been running if he had started to go any faster than he did.***************************************P.S Ravey a recorded delivery isn't worth the cost of the sticker you've payed for, recorded delivery is treated no different to 1st or 2nd class mail, the only difference is you sign for it when the postie knocks on your door (if he hasn't already pulled the recorded sticker off so he can simply shove it through the letterbox of course)If you have anything valuable then send it by registered post, but even then they go missing, and you have to argue the toss for you compensation lol                     Royal Fail are the pits of the deepest of pits!!!

Our local postman is a gem.Always pleasant,knocks for signatures etc butyou can see he's well brassed off.Our once a day delivery is now about 11am,used to beabout 7am.Royal Mail is a victim of bad management from the VERY topdown to local sorting officesAnd upper managers always get 'kicked upstairs'to reekmore havoc.Good riddance to Crozier,best of luck you poorsouls who still work for ITV.

There's a telling article in the Business Section of Friday's Times.As a test, 100 packages were posted from London to addresses in Penzance, Edinburgh, Lincolnshire and somewhere else (can't remember). Each package was a colourful envelope containing a birthday card and a £1 lottery scratchcard. 50 were sealed and 50 unsealed, but with flaps well tucked in. 93 packages arrived intact, 7 had no scratchcards in, and 3 never arrived at all. When contacted, Royal Mail promised an investigation, but, incredibly, never asked for the relevant addresses, so how effective any investigation can be is questionable.So 10% went missing or were pilfered. Thank goodness I do my financial transactions and my father's online. OK, there may be a risk of fraud, but my bank is responsible for the security of its website.In fairness, though, I use 1st class mail for business papers, and it's been very reliable. Legal documents are posted out to my clients, and out of thousands over the past 6 years, only 3 went adrift. I do use Special Delivery for bulky and sensitive items, though. Expensive, but so far, effective.

Oh yeah and another thing, Royal Fail need to take up comedy.Before they started to try implement all these cost cuts, they tried to brainwash it's employess and the customer with absolute ludicrous propoganda statements. This was to get the Government to agree to the massive axe swing of 80,000 jobs e.t.c.A few of the classic examples were.*Everyday this company looses 1 million pound*You what? How can any company sustain losses of 365 million pound a year, yeah pull the other one Leighton and Crozier!*We loose 1p on every letter we deliver*Postman says, Well why don't we put the price of stamps up by 2p and we can make a penny profit then... oh hum... we can't do that says big boss man looking very silly         

Phill_dvsn wrote: Oh yeah and another thing, Royal Fail need to take up comedy.Before they started to try implement all these cost cuts, they tried to brainwash it's employess and the customer with absolute ludicrous propoganda statements. This was to get the Government to agree to the massive axe swing of 80,000 jobs e.t.c.A few of the classic examples were.*Everyday this company looses 1 million pound*You what? How can any company sustain losses of 365 million pound a year, yeah pull the other one Leighton and Crozier!*We loose 1p on every letter we deliver*Postman says, Well why don't we put the price of stamps up by 2p and we can make a penny profit then... oh hum... we can't do that says big boss man looking very silly          And over the years a share of that million has been in my post that was never delivered!

Very often our mail arrives opened. I ordered a photo calendar of our little 'un as a Christmas pressie and the tear tab on the cardboard envelope had been pulled off, Royal Fail had attempted to put a label on it to seal it but it was stuck in the wrong place so it was still open !We received an opened empty envelope from hubby's accountant it should have contained his end if year accounts.....None of the opened items are put in a seal bag as the sorting office are supposed to do.These are just two of the many items that have been opened, I have complained (many times) but it makes no difference. I was told that it is "very unusual for it to happen" or "there must be a problem with the machinery" and the problem would be reported to the sorting office.If the kept a record of the times I have contacted them they would see it's not unusual. (No Tom Jones gags lol ) I had to go to the sorting office to collect an undelivered item. I left the required 48 hours as stated on the card, only to be told that they did not have it. I got a phone call shortly after saying it had turned up but I would have to go collect it. When I went out of my way back to the office I was informed that they didn't have the package. After 10-15 and explaining about the phone call a few times it finally turned up.    

slw wrote: Very often our mail arrives opened. I ordered a photo calendar of our little 'un as a Christmas pressie and the tear tab on the cardboard envelope had been pulled off, Royal Fail had attempted to put a label on it to seal it but it was stuck in the wrong place so it was still open !We received an opened empty envelope from hubby's accountant it should have contained his end if year accounts.....None of the opened items are put in a seal bag as the sorting office are supposed to do.These are just two of the many items that have been opened, I have complained (many times) but it makes no difference. I was told that it is "very unusual for it to happen" or "there must be a problem with the machinery" and the problem would be reported to the sorting office.If the kept a record of the times I have contacted them they would see it's not unusual. (No Tom Jones gags lol ) I had to go to the sorting office to collect an undelivered item. I left the required 48 hours as stated on the card, only to be told that they did not have it. I got a phone call shortly after saying it had turned up but I would have to go collect it. When I went out of my way back to the office I was informed that they didn't have the package. After 10-15 and explaining about the phone call a few times it finally turned up.     Some years ago mising post caused us significant financial loss and embarrassment and was dealt with as an MP's complaint case. The crunch came when the MP's letter was delivered to us, having been opened and resealed (badly) with sellotape!Royal mail boss was told to triple his compensation offer by MP which quietly happened. Shortly after, a dismissed chap from thee Crossgates office, as was, appeared in court for thieving to fund his 'medicinal needs'!Our young postie of a few years has recently moved to a new walk - brilliant lad, always there to help, never faultered and very aware of his customer's needs, especially the elderly - wonderful lad He'll be a hard act for anyone to follow!