Best excuses I've ever had - Royal mail

I have a really wonderful postman. He is very friendly and always has time for a chat - in fact I always know when he is on holiday because I get my post earlier! When my DH died he was one of the first to knock on my door and say if there was anything he could do to let him know, when I am away he will make a point of walking around the house (even if I have no post) just to make sure everything is OK. He does very rarely make a mistake but not often.

Only the overgrown shrubs bit Aka. I'm not really a complete slut, honest.

Why Dragonfly have I just described your house

I thought I was very popular last year - our postman handed me a huge wodge of xmas cards. However five minutes later I realised that only 4 were for me, the rest were for our end of the village. I handed them to my son and asked him to run and catch the postman, but he couldn't see him so posted all the ones to house names that he could see. He eventually caught him as he was about to get back into his van and drive off, telling him that he couldn't find the houses for the last half dozen. (no numbers in this village). He said the postman looked really shocked! He came round a couple of days later and asked me to thank my son. He is pretty dreadful though, he often hands me post for other people now, and my address is often confused with another lane of the same name five miles away in a different county. He needs to retire.

We keep getting pizzas deliveries to our house! The number is the same but the road is completely different although nearby.

We used to live in Marlborough Ave. Then a block of flats was built 100 yards away in a different road. The developer called it Marlborough Court. We immediately complained to Royal Mail about the problems we knew would occur with post being delivered to the wrong addresses but these were dismissed as we were told we had different post codes.

......and when the flats were occupied it was as we said, everybody in Marlborough Avenue kept getting post for Marlborough Court and vice versa.

Do you live near me then, Aka? Only joking....

How odd I have exactly the same problem dragon, but I dread taking the mail to the correct address. Think Adams Family*.

The gate is hanging off its hinges, the path is potholed, overgrown shrubs and tree branches reach out for you. The steps are crumbling and the front door is bleached by the weather. Black, tattered curtains hang at the windows. The letter box is almost impossible to open it is stiff with muck and mildew.

I just shove letters through the letterbox as best I can and scarper. I know if my mail goes there, there's no chance of it being returned.

Your tales have made me chuckle!

We used to get wrong mail quite often over a period of time. My husband rang to complain and was told "Oh, you've got the dyslexic postman"!!! Now I may be being a bit naive here, but surely dyslexia might mean that being a postman isn't the greatest career choice?

Similar to Elegran's experience, at work we had an 'insufficient postage' notice inviting us to stick the extra amount due (plus £1 handling fee) in stamps on the tear off portion of the notice.

Back it came, a couple of days later! I had to go in person to the RM office to collect the letter, and got a very cursory and reluctant apology.

Ah, Penguin, same problem as mine last year - streets being next to each other. Fatal.

I had exactly the same Dragonfly.
Several times I received the same house number but next street mail.
I used to hand deliver the post with a note to explain. One day it happened the other way round and my mail had a hand written 'I'm delighted to return this to you, thank you for delivering our mail.'
Then we had a new postman and since then, fingers crossed, no problems.

I was waiting for a new router as I d changed service providers for phone/BB Of course I was out when the courier tried to deliver it, but he/she kindly left me a card with a tick in the box that said left at neighbours however it didn't say which neighbour hey ho I knocked on first neighbours door she said no she hadn't seen anything but she d asked her husband when he got back to make sure. I toddled along to neighbour on the other side. No she hadn't had anything left, I went home looked on the card to see who to ring to check what was happening but only a website, went through directory enquires for a customer service number, got it, made a call, an answer machine told me that I could only contact them on a website and then cut off,- as my internet was cut off until I got the new hub I couldn't do that I then rang the new service provider, they contacted the courier for me, only to be told they had taken the package back to the warehouse and would deliver that very day. I carried the house bell all around with me to every room that morning to make sure I didn't miss them About 11 am the bell rang I went to the door expecting my router but my next door neighbours husband stood there he told me yes he d seen the courier trying to deliver and offered to take the package in for me but he wouldn't leave it and insisted he took it back to the warehouse I was having a moan and saying I hope they aren't to late bringing it today when neighbour looked down and said what's that there and by the side of my front door step was the router package So they and left it on a step on the main road without ringing/ knocking or alerting me but they wouldn't leave it with a neighbour grrrrrrr

I had a note through the door saying something could not be delivered as I was out. There was a box to name a day when I would be in to receive it, and an address to post it to by freepost. I filed it in and dropped it in the postbox.

Next morning it was put through my letterbox again (the card, not the parcel).

I once had a card put through the door saying too big for letterbox. I was in at the time. He handy rung the bell. Had to down to the main PO to collect my 25K anchor. He'd never even tried, the wimp!

I subscribe to a monthly magazine which had my correct address clearly printed. It was delivered to a town about 40 miles away to a close when we live in a road. The person who received it wrote clearly the town where I live and then "the clue is in the postcode". Instead of sending it on to me RM returned it to the publisher who put it in an envelope wrote what they thought on a complement slip and sent to me. The complaints people sent me a standard reply!

Oh my days!

Our best delivery from the facteur was when we got every single copy of the Times Literary Supplement that is delivered to Normandy, held together with a rubber band. You would be surprised how many there are.

Nice one lefthanded. I've emailed Royal Mail customer services again - mainly out of devilment because I want to see what the excuse for the excuse is, if you follow me.

Lazy postman! Our postie tells me he goes by numbers, not names, but at least he reads the road name!

Prior to moving to our current address, we used to live in a road called "Stockton Close" but we used to get a lot of mail clearly addressed to the same number "Sickert Close" - which was about two miles away. I complained to Royal Mail several times but without any noticeable improvement.

So I waited until I had a letter for Sickert Close which was obviously a bank/credit card (you can tell by the "feel"). I opened the letter to see who it was from and it was a Barclaycard. So then I rang Barclaycard and told them all about it and sugested that it might be in their interests if THEY rang Royal Mail.

I never saw another letter to Sickert Close after that.

Maybe the wind blew the wrong post into your Roads sorting frame Dragonfly fancy us mere mortals not knowing that