"Recorded Delivery"

A review of Royal Mail - Cambridge Sorting & Delivery Office by A caring postie written on Thursday 9th of November 2006

Anna wrote about losing parcels in the Royal Mail system and suggested using recorded delivery for items of value.

It is important to note that recorded delivery items travel through the postal system in the same way as normal items. The bar code on the recorded delivery stickers is scanned at the time of posting/collection and again after delivery. In between times however it is not tracked through the system. Essentially this means that recorded delivery is not suitable as a means of ensuring safe carriage for items of value.

The service to use for valuable items is the 'Special Delivery' service. Special delivery gaurantees next day delivery by 1PM latest and is sent through the postal network separately to other post via security vans etc. The items are tracked via their barcode at all points on their journey and a compensation scheme is available if an item is lost.

The loss of a special delivery item is extremely rare and in such cases a full investigation is ALWAYS carried out.

Delivery postmen and drivers must sign for each special delivery item before taking it from the secure registry and therefore are responsible for the items safe delivery.

The service is more expensive than recorded delivery but it is a far safer and more secure way to send important or valuable items. .

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