Royal mail have binned my rear shock!

Thinking a bit more about this, it says that you can’t send batteries unless they are installed in the device….

But electronic stuff that you buy doesn’t have the battery pre-installed; digital cameras for example are generally packed with the battery in a separate little bag, not already mounted in the device. There must be hundreds of other things where the same things apply.

isn’t that due to business / professional customers being able to make their own decisions about what can and can’t be transported (and also being responsible for those decisions), vs someone just walking into their local PO and dropping a potentially hazardous package over the counter?

We sometimes send (non-hazardous) chemical samples by post, but we also have a trained person who understands all the various UN / ADR / IATA restrictions.

You need to read a bit more carefully (it is admittedly very confusing) it actually says you can send batteries within the UK as long as they are sent with a device. Which hopefully means the battery I’ve just ordered will come through the post OK, as I did order some devices with it – even if none of them will connect directly to it. I don’t suppose it makes any difference to the magical properties of a device to make a battery safe whether or not they connect to it, if they don’t have to be connected anyway. As it doesn’t specify at all what the electronic device has to be, from what I can work out the protection circuit on a battery should actually count – in which case a protected LiIon battery should be OK for international travel on its own.

As a side note, I used to fly to international races fairly often, and took with me home made battery packs with home-made electronic control circuits – they almost always got flagged by security for closer inspection, but I never once had a problem when I explained what it was (I’m guessing I didn’t meet their other criteria for being suspicious as I don’t think I was ever even asked to turn the lights on).

I just ordered 8xAA and 8xAAA rechargeable batteries from eBay UK, with no device… and I’m pretty certain the seller won’t be using a courier.

Anyway, I hope you get this sorted Paul!

This morning I received some rechargeable batteries in the post – just came in the Duracell ‘blister pack’

Paul – we’re in contact with Post Office PR to get an official statement. Could you drop me an email dave@singletrackworld.com

Excellent work getting it in the press is a good start.

OP Have you requested Rm provide you with evidence of the disposal / method/means of “Disposal”…

If they are disposing of items they consider Hazardous they will have a duty to comply with Legislation and Regulations governing the disposal of hazardous materials, they should also have to document any disposal…

If they cannot provide any evidence then IMO you have grounds to challenge their claim to have actually “Disposed” of the item at all and they have either lost or an employee has stolen it… oh and CC trading standards…

“Their disposal method is interesting… it’s not safe to deliver but it’s safe to handle and sell on..”.

Great descriptive line plus great stuff from stw

email sent Dave.

Everyone else…
I’ve not gone down the route of complaining officially, trying to make a big fuss, asking for disposal evidence, threatening legal action, small claims court etc etc.

I’d much prefer a couple of polite phone calls and emails to try to get to the bottom of the issue first. Mistakes will always happen afterall. If these actions don’t work then taking it to the next level (what ever that may be) will be considered.

Out of this whole issue, I hope that people are more aware of the dangers of sending certain items through the post and if RM can alter their screening policies so that they provide better customer service then this whole issue may have been worth the hassle. For starters, my address was on the shipping label as the “sender”, perhaps a note to the sender about what was going on would be a good first step in trying to resolve the cases where a dose of common sense is required.

I don’t want this to turn into a RM bash as on the whole they provide a very good service in my experience.

Hopefully my situation will end well but I don’t think i’ll send shocks, forks or electronics through RM again as this could potentially happen all over again.

the amount of disclaimers that are written into postal/courier T&Cs these days makes you wonder if anything is covered.

Something someone mentioned a couple of pages back about you having to pay extra for compensation against loss or theft when it’s the courier/postal service employees who would be losing or stealing it is a very good point. Why do we have to pay extra for cover against that? We are paying them to transport items safely, it shouldn’t matter if that item is a ball point pen or a laptop, they should deliver it with care and without losing or stealing it.

Just read all this – Well said, PG!

I was of your mindset. I’d even paid for upto 500 insurance and I stayed polite and patient. I came across ‘falling down the cracks’/inbetween T&C’s. As such the default response to me was ‘no’.

The question/more info letters that I received all had very tight time deadlines for me to respond in. I ended up snapping and only then did rudeness work. I hate rude people. Hope you deal with common sense RM managers.

Hi,

I don’t normally post on the forums (just read a lot), but this one has me intrigued.

Devash has posted a link above to a Royal Mail forum, and on page 2 it names two ebay sellers who buy seized goods and sell them on ebay:

sharonj2013
sharonkind123

If you look at what they’re selling (and what they’ve sold) it is a bizarre range of random stuff, which all appears to be prohibited items (in Royal Mail’s eyes) – there are several bike items such as CO2 canisters (wonder how they post them out?)

May be worth checking them in the next few weeks for your shock…..

You might no ok, they sent me an email recently, telling me that they’d binned my li-ion battery. I sent off an email to them, they said that they had to ‘protect their employees’. It turned up a week later, with a dangerous label on it, minus the wee kettle plug cable for the charger.

Spoke to my local post office owner, and he reckons that they are changing rules weekly, and that even he isn’t sure what is ok now. Muppets.

Oh, and this happened pre privatisation, so not really the Tories fault. Unfortunately.

Absolute joke…

I’d think that Brakes may fall under this category as well.

Bubble wrAp falls under that catagory 😉

A long way down the line but post resolution Im up for bidding/leaving neg feedback on those accounts

A long way down the line but post resolution Im up for bidding/leaving neg feedback on those accounts

For ever ago, I shipped via Parcel Force (this was pre demerger from RM)an expensive antique clock back to the auction house in Germany where is came from. The clock was delivered to me via Parcel Force so going back via Parcel Force made sense. The clock had a bespoke heavy duty wooden box made for it with over 10mm of shock absorbing foam between the clock and the inside of the box. Everything was labelled up correctly with the usual “this way up” “fragile” etc. The clock cost over £10k and when it arrived in Germany it was clear someone had stamped all over it and the photos also showed numerous marks suggesting it had been booted about. The damage was extensive and repairs cost over £1,250. RM/PF started out by saying antiques were exempt from claims, then they said goods over £x were also exempt, this nonsense went on for about a week until I sent a letter threatening to sue for breach of contract on the grounds that I had detailed everything clearly and honestly, they had also accepted my additional insurance payment and that they had a duty of care to explain to me all these restrictions before accepting my payment for the carriage and additional insurance. Thankfully someone further up the food chain read the letter and commonsense prevailed and they paid the repair bill. I think you have a rock solid case for full compensation if they cannot locate your shock and I would be surprised in this age of social media if they don’t eventually see sense and sort you out, best of luck.

My mate took a delivery in work,

He asked what it was and the courier simply replied “rock samples”

It was actually an antique fire place he’d won on ebay. Sadly, it hadn’t been packaged very well and cared for even less on its journey from Scotland to Wales.

Oh how we laughed.

Pooped myself this morning after reading this thread! Last week I posted 2 shocks in a Jiffy bag to Loco, thank god he phoned this aft with my bill 🙂

My postie quite often ‘disposes’ of my larger post items in my wheelie bin, that’s apparently my ‘nominated safe place’ whatever that is
I’ve just checked and can confirm the OP’s shock has not been disposed of there

cookeaa – Member

OP Have you requested Rm provide you with evidence of the disposal / method/means of “Disposal”…

If they are disposing of items they consider Hazardous they will have a duty to comply with Legislation and Regulations governing the disposal of hazardous materials, they should also have to document any disposal

You’re getting confused between items that are legally regarded as hazardous, and items that a private company describe as hazardous, in their own non-legal definition.

Hope you get this sorted OP.

shifter – Member

If they are entitled to charge you for disposal of said dangerous goods then I’d offer to do that for them. I’m assuming they know where it is of course and they should – it’s dangerous! Dangerous stuff can’t just be lobbed in the bin, there needs to be a manifest and a paper trail to demonstrate their duty of care. Someone at RM must know where this shock is.

This. Actually, whether charging for disposal or not. If they don’t have a clearly documented trail of what has happened to it (therefore making it traceable/recoverable) they are in breach of so many laws it’s untrue. Duty of care and disposal regs – if it’s too dangerous for them to keep then it’s too dangerous to simply bin or give away to someone to ebay (as is mentioned above ‘may’ be the case ‘sometimes’)

Read the notes above re Exec’s beginning to take an interest and STW mods lending a hand with the power of the press. Please let us know how this turns out.

Seriously do people still use RM has no one ever heard of sticking your parcel in a large bottle and dropping it in the sea. Cant be any worse than that shower of shits.

Yes I use them all the time, I have never failed to get anything where I want etc. Sometimes it takes a bit longer than i’d like though I admit.

Very interested to hear how this turns out. Has some quite large implications for the biking community.

Fwiw i’d take them to small claims. I’d recommend another courier but in my experience they are all poor. Collect + is limited but probably the best.

I’d recommend another courier but in my experience they are all poor. Collect + is limited but probably the best.

Dont collect plus use Yodel to deliver. Good luck with that one.

Interlink Express or DPD.. Give you a 1 hr time slot and you can even track the driver.

Great to see STW take an active interest in this – bravo!

Hope you either get the shock back or are suitable compensated.

I wonder what will happen to RM?

All my bills etc are now franked/delvered by a private company and I dont receive anything else by RM.

Well that’s it, as you don’t get anything delivered by Royal Mail then they’re definitely going bust. Just think, you could save the entire company if you used them for all your frame purchases/sales

Of course I should add 😛 😀

I wonder what will happen to RM?

hmmmm, public entity sold off under value, largely to big investors. I know what I think could possibly happen next.
There’s plenty of prime development sites, spoilt only by the existence of very flimsy looking RM buildings housing very precariously employed staff

Interesting read, and for once the OP isn’t getting a flaming 😆

I have shared this on various forums and on a couple of FB pages to spread the word.

Everything I would like to say has been said but I will be keeping a close eye on this thread to see how you get on. I hope you get it sorted. Best of luck.

i dont know what im more shocked about :

the fact the RM disposed of something that clearly has a high value, and is pretty common on bikes in general and must get posted alot through their network

or the fact somebody here on STW world hasnt blamed the OP in some way and told him its his own fault 😆

im amazed on both counts

or the fact somebody here on STW world hasnt blamed the OP in some way

Pretty sure that they have, to some extent

Seriously do people still use RM

I’m amazed you’re amazed.

*everyone* likes to have a bash at RM even more than blaming people for their own misfortunes.

😉

clubber dont spoil it for me – i thought it was a christmas miracle!

i still cant get over the fact they can just dispose of it, seriously WTF send the thing back to the sender worse case

To be fair I’ve never had an issue with RM however all this has made me think about what I’m posting with them.

So, what happens if you send a whole bike that has forks, shock & possibly reverb fitted? Could it get binned?