Postage

When I was in New Zealand I purchased a few gifts and things to bring home that were likely to stretch the boundaries of my luggage allowance to carrying capacity. Since I was residing at the time with my good friends in Te Anau, they offered to stick it in the post for me as they had successfully sent parcels back to the UK previously. This seemed like a cracking solution, as I would not have to struggle under the extra weight for the next few days, nor would I glance anxiously down at the scales when my backpack was being weighed at the airport. So I boxed up a load of stuff, wrapped an entire roll of parcel tape around it and wrote up the necessary declaration label and stuck it on. I left it with my friends, who popped it in the post the following day. I then spent another week travelling and returned to the UK eagerly awaiting the arrival of my package.

Guestimates suggested that two weeks was a probable delivery time. After a fortnight had passed, I started to get a little nervous, and after four weeks I contact my friends to see whether there was any way to trace the parcel. After failing to locate the tracking number online, they called New Zealand Post to see if it was still in the system. Indeed it was! On its way back to New Zealand! Apparently it had beaten me home by a day or two, but I had never seen any hint of a ‘we missed you’ note that might have been deposited through my letter box in its place. Nor had I received either of the two letters apparently dispatched to alert me to its presence in a warehouse somewhere. So it had been returned to sender, back in New Zealand, presumably by a much slower route.

Some weeks later my friend informed me that it had landed on his doorstep and he could see no reason why it had been returned. So he checked the address and duly dispatched it again on our mutual hope that I had simply missed it when it beat me home. This time I would be ready! Several days elapsed and I checked the tracking number on the website only to be fobbed off with a message suggesting that the parcel was not being tracked. I waited another few days and nothing changed. Finally I heard the wonderful news from my friend that the parcel had, yet again, been returned to him in New Zealand.

So he contacted New Zealand Post to ask why the parcel is so desperate not to stay in the UK, and they had no idea. I have no idea how the financial arrangements of international mail work, but having now paid for the parcel to be delivered twice, and with it still remaining in New Zealand, I’m inclined to suspect this is relatively poor value for money. And since we knew not what the issue was or who was responsible for it, I had no idea who to contact to get it resolved, or to seek compensation financially, emotionally, or environmentally. This package is now responsible for a vast amount of carbon emissions as a direct result of incompetence within the mailing community! But it is a well-travelled parcel and I was very much looking forward to hearing tales of adventure and mystery when/if it finally arrived. 

Having made a complaint to New Zealand post, I was asked to confirm my address via email, which I duly did.  I followed this up after two weeks had elapsed to see whether any progress had been made, only to be told that the contents of the package had now been lost. This was news to me, since they were residing safely with my mate as far as I knew, and he was able to confirm this. I subsequently received a letter from NZ post, asking me to confirm my address again. I duly replied, whilst acknowledging the irony that this was the only letter I had received from them of all the things that had been sent! After several more weeks had elapsed I contacted NZ post again to see what progress had been made, only to be told that the results of their investigation had found that we had not included the postcode on the parcel! This was a kick in the teeth since I had written the original address, including postcode, and that was copied to the customs label that was also attached to the box. My friend had double checked it when it had been first returned to him, confirming that all details were correct. Now I was mad! Outright lies to cover their incompetence!

I wrote again to customer services in a less than enthusiastic tone, demanding to be taken seriously. A delightful chap called Jamie took on our case and assured us that he would personally investigate the matter. Not only that, but he kept us informed of progress each time there was a development – a resounding success for customer service at last! My friend took the executive decision to send the package recorded, which cost a bit more but might turn out to be excellent value for money since paying the lesser amount was clearly not enough! And indeed it worked. I have been reunited with the package, including all of its contents; a mere four months after it was initially dispatched on the other side of the world.