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Postal Delays?


Gardian

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Almost half our ‘expected’ Christmas cards didn’t turn up before ......... well, Christmas.

They’ve been trickling in over recent days - one turned up today with a UK postmark of 11/12. Same with the other late ones.

Just wondered whether anybody else had had the same experience? UK or a France problem?

Oh & don’t let this start a ‘Why do you bother exchanging Christmas Cards?’ debate. We do & it suits us.
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I have a huge number of friends and acquaintances who keep in touch with me. Family too. Many of them send Christmas cards.

I’m not sure if you are trying to be funny or just being rude but yet again your attempts to gain attention leave a lot to be desired.

I’m obviously lucky as I seem to be well served by both the postal and delivery services.
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Lucky above all to have a huge number of friends and acquaintances who keep in touch with you.

 

This year I recieved 50% more PV's than Xmas cards [:-))]

 

En revanche le réveillon was une nuit blanche with a constant stream of long and flowery textos coming through to my phone from 2am throught to 7am, all sent in the seconds after midnight, all but one I have no idea who they are from as apart from my coiffeuse all these I am guessing snowflakes dont see the need to give their name and guessing again send a cut n paste greeting to their whole contact list.

 

I also got one from the UK, at precisely 23.00 CET (no delay at that time) the person giving their name and clearly drunk because they said that we must go out for a beer soon, I have been teetotal for 5 years!

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Two more cards arrived this morning, we send a lot, well, my wife does so actually, but unfortunately each year we receive a couple or so less.

I don't know which side of the Channel the problem is on, but I'm still awaiting the arrival a parcel posted on Dec 11.

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I have had no problems with any post arriving in the UK***, even in December everything has been 'fairly quick' and I was expecting things to be slower.

And the cards I sent to France arrived within a week, so no problems at all for me.

I have had little from France yet,  as my Happy New Year cards arrive in January![:D] As per french tradition!!!

***I said it was fairly quick, well, it is actually much slower than it ever was and I use the term 'fairly quick' as to what it is and not what it should be, ie 'quick'. Still it has to go from it's current bloody awful, to the atrocious I had in my part of France. And it remains the same in France, friends and son, do moan about it.

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nomoss, posted two parcels to my son on the 8th, they arrived on the 12th, I was well impressed as I had not taken the fastest deal. He lives in a city, so maybe that makes a difference?

Chancer, going out for a pint still means going to the pub, least it does where I live. I get that said to me and everyone knows that I do not really drink, not teetotal, as I have about 2 units a month! And usually have a J2O and soda or coffee whilst out[Www][:D]

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Idun, said person knows very well I no longer like going to pubs, I see too many reminders of my former self [:D].

 

He rarely drinks and has never in 40 years given me Xmas  or new years greetings and also like you he now rarely drinks and mostly in moderation so I'm fairly sure he must have been bien arrosé!

 

The deluge of textos from the French is a real problem though, in the spirit of the other thread about giving la bise I am going to spend January as an exception just to re-inforce that as an etranger I really dont get it and so they will continue to humour my avoiding the kissy-kissy handshake thing for the rest of the year. For the whole of January I am going to wish everyone meilleur vouex every time I see them not just once, I will faire la bise with every woman in the running club but on the lips and I will kiss every guy on the cheek, then after doing everyone I will do the same again with half of them [:D]

 

After a month of being kissed and wished meilleur vœux twice each meeting they will be glad when I return to my normal self [:P]

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My parcel was sent by "Royal Mail International Standard", but the tracking information I get refers to "parcelforce international".

The Royal Mail delivery service is called "Parcelforce Worldwide", but parcels mostly arrive in the usual anonymous dirty white van.

Today I am told the parcel has been "returned to the sender", although he hasn't got it yet.

The motive is "
Address problem - insufficient address", but the address shown on the tracking link emails is correct and complete.

Ebay insists on "Languedoc Roussillon" being chosen from a drop-down list for the "State" field, but that hasn't caused a problem previously.

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No moss, if you mean me, I am a Madame, not a Monsieur.

And wooly, I have my own ways of keeping them off without ressorting to such tactics........[Www]

Re the parcels: I sent my son's parcels via Parcel Force, but there again, he lives on a main road in a city, so easy to find.

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I am still receiving cards sent mid December via Royal Mail from the UK. Through the year deliveries from the UK via Royal Mail have taken from weeks to months. Deliveries by others are usually here within a couple of days. Is the Royal Mail managed by the same people as the NHS?
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Idun. I know you are a lady. I meant Chancer.

[quote user="Kong"]I am still receiving cards sent mid December via Royal Mail from the UK. Through the year deliveries from the UK via Royal Mail have taken from weeks to months. Deliveries by others are usually here within a couple of days. Is the Royal Mail managed by the same people as the NHS?[/quote]

Royal Mail does not seem to use La Poste for parcel delivery, at least not around here, as I said above, although letters and small packages from the UK are delivered, usually on time, by La Poste.

If my parcel had been carried by our post lady we would have received it.

Last week she delivered a card with a completely wrong address, from an inlaw on holiday without his address book.

The only correct things on it were our names and the post code, but she faithfully delivers everything with our names, regardless of what else is written on it.

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But how do you know that the problem is on the UK side Kong?

I remember sending our french impots declaration from England, signed for recorded delivery and all the Post Office would say when tracking it, was that it had left the UK, which I could see it had, within a day of sending. That I got nothing more, including proof of receipt was quite another thing.

As I didn't want to pay any extra (one pays more french tax on french income, when living abroad, than those living in France)... I just sent it again via normal post par avion etc and got our bill, as we should have. I did not like dealing with Noissy on line, didn't trust them.

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I checked with my bank just before Xmas as important letter seemed to be taking a hell of a long time. They said that it varies from a couple of days to two weeks. My guess is that the late Xmas cards caught the postal slowdown in the UK and in France. Plus, perhaps, a change of postie which seems to matter a lot locally.
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Well, thought I must say that a good friend sent a card from the Alpes to us, on Tuesday and it arrived today.

And the cost 2€40[:-))][:-))][:-))] and I thought that my paying £1.17 to send cards to France was scandalous!

So at both ends the postal service seems to have been on the ball........ and that is very very good !!!!

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