When I am in the UK I get a lot of mail from Switzerland but have noticed lately that the time in letters arriving from Switzerland is unacceptable - 1-2 weeks.
I discovered that all the mail has a sticker over the stamps saying UKmail and if it is returned it has to be sent to a specific uk address.
It seems that the Royal Mail are not handling post from CH and post goes to one of these private companies.
For Xmas mail I would advise that you send it a little earlier - so annoying
Could be the Swiss Post Office's fault though. I have sent quite a few parcels in the last 3-4 months and at least 3 of them never made it to their destination, one to Prague, one to the UK and one to The Netherlands.
I was advised to send everything Registered Mail, but as i send at least 10 parcels a month to various countries i simply cannot afford to do this:-(
I have experienced the same to Ireland, for some reason they take 2 to 3 weeks to arrive there , back it only takes 3 to 5 days.
Would the Uk Post and An Post Ireland work like tourist places do in the summer, just scoop up a bundle and sent them, what ever is not in it will go with the next load?
I have had similar problems when I have sent parcels to the US... it has taken between 1 month to 6 weeks via regular mail. I found it to be quite unbelievable! But it has happened almost on every occasion. Even one package I sent to Prague took two weeks. ?? Don`t understand it at all. Especially with the high cost of shipping from here.
I suppose this is a good place to post this. I need to send of an application for graduate studies back in Canada... which method would be the most reliable way to do this?
P.S. I dont want to pay an arm and a leg. And if the mail gets there in a week, thats okay too.
Very strange. I wonder if they eventually want people to switch over to a special fast mail courier, since post offers that as well, it takes a day or two, tops. (and 80fr for 400gr post grad school papers, still gives me heebeegeebees thinking about that).
Why don't you talk to your post in Ste Croix? Anytime I mail something I ask when to expect it to arrive. Is it sent priority? Used to take 4-5 days to London from there, weird.
I would always mail uni application or important papers registered/priority/air mail. If you need it fast, use the post courier.
We go to Prague in a few days, seems to be a destination here for peeps, we could take a parcel with us, if anyone needs..
I have had similar problems getting things sent to the UK. A lot of shipments have spend weeks stewing somewhere in a customs warehouse. All telephone enquiries on my part have met with effortless stone-walling and deflection.
[./tinfoilhaton] I reckon the 'Powers That Be' are bricking it about dangerous substances / devices making their way into the UK in the name of the Religion of Peace, and are having a good look at incoming mail. [./tinfoilhatoff]
Remember fellow tin foil hat wearers, Shiny side out! or the voices will start again.
When I used to get correspondence from the Inland Revenue, it would be marked as having been routed through Sweden. Someone at the sorting office didn't pay attention in geography lessons at school it seems.
LOL, when my family and I join the Air Canada frequent flyer programme Aeroplan, our mail was going to Swaziland!!! I think Switzerland was next in the drop-down box. What the heck, they both start with "Sw", how far apart can they be???
OK, so maybe I should be patient cause I have a teeny tiny package that needs to arrive from the UK and it's been 19 days . I was already starting to figure it was lost. Maybe customs are working slower these days? I am quite annoyed, never had issues with packages here yet but I suppose it was time...
Had a similar issue with a registered letter i sent to England. It is stuck in "customs" in the UK somewhere according to the tracking system. The post office here say they can only get me to fill out a form to investigate - costing 20CHF for 15 mins searching time (I think round about that anyway). Seeing as this takes so much time anyway it was more time effective for me to send the same letter again instead of getting them to search for it although the "search money" would be refunded if it was found not to be me at fault. They said it was not their fault as it was in the UK and so could not help further.
Interesting to read that someone has had exactly the same problem as me. It was clearly addressed to a bank so don't know whether someone took an interest in the contents. No good at all!
I am not convinced that such things really are the fault of the postal services in question BUT
A) of customs authorities who sit on packages for minimal reasons (had to investigate such stuff several times)
B) the airlines carrying the postal bags (all grey) and possibly sending them to some wrong places (Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Mumbai come to my mind !). The stuff will turn up again within 6 years for sure
--- reminds me of the old saying about air-luggage :
breakfast in Zurich, dinner in New York and your luggage in Sao Paulo