Swindon PO Boxes

[Terryk]

Sorry this will bore the pants off anyone not in Swindon.

I have a PO BOX based at the Hawksworth Delivery Office. It has an SN2 9 postcode, which I suspect is one of those new PO BOX only type postcode sectors as the address where the postcode is registered is in SN1.

The problem I have is quite a bit of the mail I get has "Not Dorcan" or "Hawksworth" handwritten on it - and judging by the postmarks are taking an extra day to arrive.

How do PO Boxes work? It seems my mail is going to the wrong delivery office and then being sent on as a mis-sort. (I am assuming there is a delivery office attached to the Thames Valley Mail Centre).

I have had PO Boxes in other parts of the country but never one within a dedicated PO BOX Postcode Sector - they have obviously had their own code but it has always been based on the registered address. Anyone have any idea why my mail is going via the wrong delivery office before it reaches me.

To make matters worse I have a redirect in place from an old address and you've guessed it... they lose a day on the redirect and then another when they go via Dorcan.

[Lounge Lizard]

Sorry this will bore the pants off anyone not in Swindon.

I have a PO BOX based at the Hawksworth Delivery Office. It has an SN2 9 postcode, which I suspect is one of those new PO BOX only type postcode sectors as the address where the postcode is registered is in SN1.

The problem I have is quite a bit of the mail I get has "Not Dorcan" or "Hawksworth" handwritten on it - and judging by the postmarks are taking an extra day to arrive.

How do PO Boxes work? It seems my mail is going to the wrong delivery office and then being sent on as a mis-sort. (I am assuming there is a delivery office attached to the Thames Valley Mail Centre).

I have had PO Boxes in other parts of the country but never one within a dedicated PO BOX Postcode Sector - they have obviously had their own code but it has always been based on the registered address. Anyone have any idea why my mail is going via the wrong delivery office before it reaches me.

To make matters worse I have a redirect in place from an old address and you've guessed it... they lose a day on the redirect and then another when they go via Dorcan.

There is a considerable overlap of SN1, SN2 and SN3 postcodes between the Hawksworth and Dorcan Delivery Offices, as listed below, so that's not really the issue.
You're probably aware that every P O Box number has its unique postcode to hide the idenity of the actual address.
I find that mail for the P O Boxes I deliver to is usually mechanically sorted correctly but is often hand sorted wrongly, most posties knowing where each village or street is but sometines guessing with the P O Boxes.
Also is there another P O Box with the same number some distance from you but within the SN area ? Such an anomoly causes delay with some of the mail for one of mine.
SN1 1-5
DORCAN PDO
SN1 2-5
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN2 1-2
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN2 1-2
DORCAN PDO
SN2 5-5
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN2 7-8
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN2 7-8
DORCAN PDO
SN2 9-9
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN03 1-3
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN3 4-6
DORCAN PDO

[Terryk]

SN1 1-5
DORCAN PDO
SN1 2-5
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN2 1-2
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN2 1-2
DORCAN PDO
SN2 5-5
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN2 7-8
HAWKSWORTH DO
SN2 7-8
DORCAN PDO
SN2 9-9
HAWKSWORTH DO

Gosh, there is an overlap isnt there - it must be unusual to have two different addresses in the same sector (ie SN1 2) which could be either Dorcan or Hawksworth. No wonder things get mixed up.

I've done a search on google and I cannot find my number is shared with anyone else in SN so hopefully that rules that out. Hopefully as SN2 9 only goes to Hawksworth it might sort itself out if the postie in Dorcan (it is always the same writing) gets fed up redirecting it and speaks to someone who can speak to someone else who can stop it going to the wrong office.

[Terryk]

Sorry still having problems with this. The last two Saturdays the only mail I have had has been Saturday Guaranteed Specials. Last week on the Tuesday (after the bank holiday) I had a stack of mail postmarked the Friday - which I would have expected at least some to have come on Saturday. How do PO Boxes work? I have posted test letters to both the PO Box and my street address and the PO Box ones have always come a day later. I mentioned at Hawksworth about some items being marked "not Dorcan" and was told "everything comes via Dorcan" - I'm not sure if that was refering to the Thames Valley Mail Centre or the delivery office on the same site. I appreciate some items sent first class miss out next day - but this is much more than the 10% or so the figures would suggest. Even Swindon to Swindon doesnt seem to make it.

Just want to understand before I either sit back and accept it or see if something can be done.

[Lounge Lizard]

Sorry still having problems with this. The last two Saturdays the only mail I have had has been Saturday Guaranteed Specials. Last week on the Tuesday (after the bank holiday) I had a stack of mail postmarked the Friday - which I would have expected at least some to have come on Saturday. How do PO Boxes work? I have posted test letters to both the PO Box and my street address and the PO Box ones have always come a day later. I mentioned at Hawksworth about some items being marked "not Dorcan" and was told "everything comes via Dorcan" - I'm not sure if that was refering to the Thames Valley Mail Centre or the delivery office on the same site. I appreciate some items sent first class miss out next day - but this is much more than the 10% or so the figures would suggest. Even Swindon to Swindon doesnt seem to make it.

Just want to understand before I either sit back and accept it or see if something can be done.

Have a look at that PO Box mail that arrives a day late and see if it has the lines of tiny orange bar-code dots indicating mechanised sorting. This might not help, and it might be different in your area, but my experience of PO Box mail in a village delivery office is that such mail sorted to the correct walk is not delayed whereas that hand sorted first at the town delivery office is often missorted because whereas they know every village, hamlet and large roads they will not know every PO Box number and, in haste, guess rather than checking. Also is there another PO Box of the same number within the SN area ?