Hi,

On 13/3/14 I sent out a parcel on tracked returns to Mazuma Mobile which contained a fairy new iPhone 6 Plus (gold) that I was meant to receive £360 for of Mazuma Mobile through bank transfer. I went to the Post Office on 13/3/14 and told the lady behind the desk I'd like to send this back on tracked returns. She said okay and started to scan my parcel when she asked me what's in the parcel sir? I told her there's a phone in the parcel and immediately her colleague (a middle aged shifty looking Asian man looked at my parcel with eye contact even though he was serving another customer in the next counter. I found this quite strange and suspicious at the time but I thought nothing of it. So I continued with the process of sending my parcel and the lady asked me if there's a battery inside? So I said yes. She gave me a receipt with a tracker number and i left the branch.

Now, whenever I've sent out parcels with royal mail before I always get a tracking number and when I do check online a a one day later, it always said that the parcel was posted at this branch blah blah and now now being processed at the MC and eventually being ready for delivery and so on. I've tracked my parcel online with royal mail and even spoke to an advisor on the phone. Online it says Status: We have your item Item --721673457GB was posted at 6 - 8 Station Ro UB3 4DA on 13/03/15 and is being progressed through our network for delivery, and the advisor I spoke to said the same thing your parcel/item that was sent on the 13/3/14 is currently being processed and it has not being scanned anywhere else other than your local post office.

I don't know weather I'm jumping to conclusions but I'm positive that shifty looking man has stolen my parcel once he over heard what was inside my parcel. Royal mail are now offering me £50 compensation if it does not tun up after 10 working days (which they said will be on the 26/3/14. I know I was stupid and should used the special delivery service for an item like mine, but either way this is pure THEFT! £50 compensation for my £360 parcel. That means I've lost over £300. I will be paying the branch a visit on Monday with my receipt and will demand to speak to the branch manager if there is one. I'm wondering if they'll access the CCTV for me or would I have to get the police involved first?

I now realise that I should have sent it with special delivery,

Any advise would be helpful

What advice are you expecting?

You could call the police but they are likely to tell you there's no way they can reasonably investigate it. The phone could be anywhere.

I can't believe somebody would send a £300 phone in the post and not use SD or another insured service. I mean, it's madness.

This things go missing in the post everyday it likely to have just got lost somewhere.

I have bought things off Ebay and other sites over the years have not got them as they have gotten lost just this week in fact I contacted someone and they said they posted it weeks ago and I have now got a refund ok good for me not for them.

Well, quite. This is the reason insurance is (I thought) something that goes without saying.

I always insure anything over the value of £50 going through the post; not because I think it's likely to get maliciously stolen, but because so many letters and packets simply do get lost in the post every day.

Why wait a year to join this forum and start a thread about this?

Welcome to my world.

Local PO thief in my area, he`s stolen at least 3 items and something I posted a week ago hasn`t turned up. Have to ask anyone who sends anything small to send it in a brown bag, even then some people still send it in envelopes which I`m suprised doesn`t get nicked.

I would of kept the phone, why didn`t you?

I would be very surprised when you sent it that the Post Office didn't ask you the value of the phone and advise you to use the appropriate service with the correct insurance.

Did they ask you?

They always ask me this question.

Your second to last paragraph says all that needs to be said unfortunately.

You have no proof the gentlemen in question took your item. A glance/stare does not cut it. Hindsight tainted with suspicion has a way of making the smallest gesture more suspicious.

By all means, enquire at the post office over cctv, I would imagine it would be at their discretion though.

Doubt the local authorities would get involved with this.

Sorry, probably not what you are wanting to hear.

Iphone 6 was not even around in march 2014. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are smartphones running iOS developed by Apple Inc. The devices are part of the iPhone series and were released on September 19, 2014.

The shifty eyed middle aged asian man definitely stole it

I think you should confront him. If he denies it, torture him until he confesses

Well its over a year since you posted the parcel. ( On 13/3/14 I sent out a parcel on tracked returns to Mazuma Mobile which contained a fairy new iPhone 6 Plus (gold) )

Yes, you're right. There are a lot of thieves within Royal Mail and the post office. Just look at their reviews https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.royalmail.com

I was looking to switch over to Samsung as my iPhone was too big.

I would speak to the manager as you suggest. Normally I would have put it down to lost in the post but if you say it is still showing as at the local post office that is odd. Normally it goes missing in the sorting office the fact it does not have seem to have been scanned at the depot is telling. You might be on to something with asking if they could review the CCTV based on what you said.

I would not call the police you have nothing to go on to suggest it has been stolen. Lost items in the post is not civil matter not a criminal one.so speak to the manager. If that does not work write a letter to the post office explaining your story they might investigate. If the manager is not much help ask him for the head office address.

I hope you find out what happened but I would suggest sending high value items in future via a post service that covers the value. The standard mail will only cover up to £50 once you send any item over 100 it is really not worth the risk of paying a bit more for the cover.

[quote=MrMen1;77412645]Yes, you're right. There are a lot of thieves within Royal Mail and the post office. Just look at their reviews https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.royalmail.com

I was looking to switch over to Samsung as my iPhone was too big.[/QUOTE

Mrmen1 did you mean that you posted the phone in March 2015? You've put 2014.

I made a mistake on the post, it was meant to say 13/03/15

This is from royal mail website. (vii) Items sent by 1st Class, 2nd Class and Royal Mail Signed For™ are not classed as lost until 15 working days after the due date.

Common sense was well and truly left at home on that day wasn't it.

[quote=silvertiara;77412673]
Yes, I posed my parcel on March 13 2015, I made a mistake on the post.

Hang on a minute. Am I right in thinking, OP, that you are assuming the item has been stolen because the RM tracking system is still saying your item is being progressed through the network? You did mean 2015 instead of 2014 I take it?

RM can be very, very slow updating the system and before accusing this RM employee of theft you should contact Mazuma and see if they have received it.

I sent an item RM tracked and even though the recipient received it the next day, it was still showing as progressing through the RM network 6 months later.

I'd be gutted but it's happened darling. I wouldn't go kicking off in the post office you'll probably just end up being arrested. Sometimes you just have to chalk things up to shitty experience. Don't let pig headedness stop you from getting what you can though.

Bet it's at a time when you really need it though as well.Thats how these things tend to go!

Edit: hey just read some of the above posts. You might have jumpednthe gun. Fingers crossed.

I was once told that if I was posting anything of value to certain west London postcodes to insure them.
Having said that the 'shifty eyed Asian man' may have been looking at you as you were posting a high value item on the cheap in a disapproving fashion.

I won't go kicking off at the post office, I'm just very disappointed about the service they offer. Thanks for your response.

"A shifty looking Asian man"?
I'd say you have a watertight case.

Firstly, The Post Office is not Royal Mail, they are a completely seperate business now, one just has a contract with the other.
Secondly, as far as Royal Mail are concerned, they only have your word as to what was in the parcel. Many, many, people try it on.
When you posted it, they should have asked the value, not what was in it, if it was over £45 they are supposed to recommend insurance, unfortunately you didn't insure it so the max compensation is £50. (Make what you will of the non offer, if they didn't)
The offer of compensation of £50 isn't 'theft', regardless of what you say was in the parcel, it's what you are entitled to.
From the tracking, whatever it was obviously didn't make it to the local sorting office, but again, no insurance.

Says it all really.

You can make a complaint and ask for the decision to be reviewed, should it not be found within the 10 days. (check the procedure online). Good luck with that.
Maybe a lesson learned the hard way....

Having worked for the post office in the past the 'shifty' behaviour could very easily translate to meeting delivery targets. 1 down x amount to go.

Asking if the battery is inside is one of the security question, from what I remember the lithium battery HAD to be inside the phone.

Go into the store and tell them that the last place it was signed into was here, Don't go in there accusing a man of 'stealing' your phone.