Postal Service

[Teamedup]

My husband was going to post a letter the other day and I made a joke that if he wanted it to go that day, he should have posted it the day before.

In our village we used to have a last collection time of 4.30pm which was then brought forward to  3pm, which I believe is too early. So when we went to post a letter today at just before lunch time, we found that the new collection time has been brought forward to 11am. We missed todays post.

Also as our postie doesn't deliver until, well today now, and it is usually around half twelve, if there is anything important there is no way of sending anything back by return of post from our village. There is no public transport to the local town which is several kms away anyway.

 

I have no idea what it is like on a Saturday, I was so flabbergasted today that I forgot to look.

The postal price keeps going up and we now pay over the first class rate to send letters to the UK too. And the lack of service is just getting better and better.

 

Has the service got this bad anywhere else?

 

ps the post boxes in the village have always been emptied on a morning, that is why we always went to the Post Office itself.

 

 

 

[Deimos]

My nearest village post office has now “closed”. You can instead buy stamps in the village general store. Apparently levels of business the post office was doing had fallen below those required to keep the office open (Marie made announcement that everybody should start using it more if we wanted to keep it). Then it went to reduced hours for several months and now closed. However, it seems it will be re-opening again on Oct !!

Its actually not a great problem for me as a lot of villages around have post offices but is maybe assign that things are moving towards the “cost effective” direction.

Ian

[zeb]

.....and I don't know if you have all noticed but La Poste have changed the international parcel post service. It's now International Collisimo and prices have been dramatically increased. I posted a 500g parcel to the US this morning and it cost 21 euros (if it had been just over 1 Kilo it would"ve cost 28 euros)!!

This will kill international selling on ebay or through small commercial enterprises, not to mention all the folks who send parcels abroad at Christmas!

I really think La Poste have shot themselves in the foot with these changes.

[SaligoBay]

[quote user="Teamedup"]

Has the service got this bad anywhere else?

[/quote]

Yes, exactly the same here.  And since the tabac suffered an armed hold-up, the poste is now protected by a buzz-lock door. 

Zeb, you're right about parcels.  I don't post very many, so I don't keep up with prices, I just pay whatever has to be paid when I have to send a parcel.   But the last couple, I've been surprised at how much they cost.

I suppose it's to pay for all the sign-changing and advertising, now that it's La Banque Postale.

 

[gwenn]

Quote "zeb" ".....and I don't know if you have all noticed but La Poste have changed the international parcel post service."

There has been (and still is) a lot of confusion. As of the 1st March La Poste said that Tarif Courrier no longer existed and any parcel had to be sent via Colissimo International (which meant a minimum charge of 15 Euros).

BUT La Poste are now sayng that Tariff Courrier does still exist, so the same parcel they quoted me 15.00 Euros to send last week only cost me 3.50 Euros this week!

The information is taking a while to filter through to all offices though.

[Loiseau]

[quote user="Teamedup"]

...In our village we used to have a last collection time of 4.30pm ...when we went to post a letter today at just before lunch time, we found that the new collection time has been brought forward to 11am. ...I have no idea what it is like on a Saturday...

[/quote]

I had the same mauvaise surprise as you the other day, TU. Thought the post usually went at 4ish from my main village . . . and found it was now 11am.
I don't want to depress you, but I noticed that our Saturday collection has been done away with altogether.   [^o)]

[Lori]

Same here, post must be dropped by 11 am to go that day.  It has

been that way for a while here.  I just kind of consider La Poste

a bit of a joke.  The folks who work there are really quite

nice.  They know all us "village people" and where we all

live.  I always pay my utility bills there, etc.  But, as for

real postal service ---  you have to be kidding.  I NEVER

post anything to my family friends in the States - well practically

never.  A few years ago, I started using Internet shopping for

Xmas gifts.  It is just so much easier and so much more reliable.

When we were renting our apt. out, we would send out a large envelope

containing the rental contract, and lots of data on the

area/region/restaurants, etc. to, hopefully, get our guests looking

forward to their vacation.  These envelopes were normally mailed

months prior to guests arrival.  Nearly 50% of them never arrived

OR arrived a couple of months AFTER guests returned home. 

Average postage (depending upon destination country) was 8 euros. 

We eventually stopped sending the packets as it was a waste of time and

money.

We have come to accept (unhappily) that the concept of "service" in France is, at best, minimal.

[Richard-R]

We have found that getting international mail in France is very fast but sending anything outside of Europe is expensive and very slow. 8+ weeks to the Caribbean for letter seems to norm. I think in the sorting office they must have a large bin for 'places I've never heard off' items to go into until they can dig out an atlas.

[Eslier]

We get a  very good service, in our village, from La Poste. The small village post office which used only to open for two hours on two mornings per week is now funded by the commune and is open five full mornings. Our postie delivers around 9.30am each morning.

To send a letter to the UK it costs 55centimes which works out at just under 38p. To send the same letter from the UK to France costs 42p so I would say we get exceptionally good value for money.

Don't forget, you can also give letters you wish to post to your poste when he or she delivers.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Oddly, and I can only assume that this is due to some kind of error on

the part of someone in authority, our postal service has marginally

improved lately. Some months ago a "review" of the continuing operation

of the post office in our little corner was announced. Our mayor

instantly sprang into action (the most animated I have ever seen him)

and organised protests.

For some weeks it was impossible to get anything done in the Mairie

unless you first signed the petition - I signed it twice (the second

time I was told to wear a false beard and write left-handed - joke),

other people may have signed it a dozen times, until there were far

more signitures than there are people in the commune. A picket (with

placards) was organised. Postal officials were importuned by old ladies.

The net result was that not only did our post office stay open, but it

now has more sensible opening hours and (incredible as this may seem)

is open for more hours per week than it was previously. Official

collection times are still limited to somewhere around 11 am (our post

never arrives before midday), but I have learned that the lady who

sells the stamps takes a very-slightly-unofficial plastic crate with

her when she leaves at 4pm and drops it off at the sorting post office

on her way home. This is very convenient.

[Val_2]

I wasnt impressed when La Poste lost a tumour taken from one of my cats which was properly packed in a polystyrene box and wrapped for a lab less than 8 miles from where it was collected from (vet). Luckily our vet had a receipt because I put a cheque for 40€ inside and when it failed to arrive a week later,she went over the road to the PO and they upon looking on their computer said they had never collected it, although it was in person. Anyway it turned up about six week later and fortunately the preservative was still OK, but all that time it was a worry where it had got to. They did acknowledge that the box receipt would refund my cheque.

[gwenn]

We've had really good service from La Poste and we send approx. 10 parcels each week throughout Europe. The only real problem we've had was the recent price confusion.

We found the economique service too slow so we always use prioritairre now. Also, one Coliposte package was delivered to us (we were the return address on the package!) but that was sorted quickly.

[Teamedup]

LOL Gwenn, but it is only as good as the postal service at the other end too n'est pas...... and luck.

 

 

[Froggy Lou]

I am completely stunned - have just returned from La Poste having sent two small padded envelopes to the UK - gifts for children, nothing expensive or heavy.  My bill - 30 Euros!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   The contents cost me just 12!   This is completely ridiculous and has stopped me dead from sending anything else in the future - I did question it at the time but was told that was it, not other choice - if anyone can help it would be appreciated, I hate sending cheques as presents............[:@]..