Extremely slow post from UK to Thailand.

[OneeyedJohn]

I have now received letters from the UK some 3 months after they were posted, the second occurrence yesterday.

Annoyingly both times they contained letters that required a reply within a certain timeframe. The first time it didn't matter too much but this second time is slightly more important.

Date on letter 8th August 2020, received yesterday.

 

How do I know if when I reply that the same thing won't happen.

It is all very well the post office saying it will take two weeks to get to UK.

[robblok]

Depends a bit where you live the more you live in the sticks the worse delivery can get. I live in BKK and get my UK post (from ebay) usually in 2 weeks.

[phetphet]

Maybe you should specify  "By Airmail" for return if it is a letter.

 

I think price comes into with most people sending  things long distance. So if the sender chose a cheaper option it might even have come by boat.

I have had some  things take three months. Others, and these were boxes, not letters, I have specifically asked for "tracked and signed for" at the UK Post Office, and have been given  the options of delivery within either 5 or 10 business days.

But these are not cheap.

[Eindhoven]

49 minutes ago, OneeyedJohn said:

I have now received letters from the UK some 3 months after they were posted, the second occurrence yesterday.

Annoyingly both times they contained letters that required a reply within a certain timeframe. The first time it didn't matter too much but this second time is slightly more important.

Date on letter 8th August 2020, received yesterday.

 

How do I know if when I reply that the same thing won't happen.

It is all very well the post office saying it will take two weeks to get to UK.

 

They told me four to six weeks to the U.K.....it arrived in less than two.

[Saltire]

I just last week sent an A4 document to Scotland and it got there in 7 days.

 

I had asked the post office here (very rural, very small) for EMS but it seems they didn't understand me and sent it regular mail at a cost of 37 Baht, which I haven't paid yet as they couldn't tell me how much.

 

I think luck more than plays a part with mail anywhere now.

[OneeyedJohn]

The girl showed me the big red R for registered  post labels, so I said how much and she wrote out on a piece of paper, 800 baht for 1 week, or 180 baht for two weeks, so I just said normal, which cost 48 baht for two identical letters.

 

I had to explain that Great Britain was the UK.

 

By boat - u have to be kidding.

[OneeyedJohn]

14 hours ago, Saltire said:

I just last week sent an A4 document to Scotland and it got there in 7 days.

 

Yeah, but did u fold it up ?

[CharlieH]

I had one recently, from UK address to me in the North, exactly 10 days.

[Saltire]

2 minutes ago, OneeyedJohn said:

Yeah, but did u fold it up ?

No, sent A4

 

[OneeyedJohn]

I wouldn't call Chiang Rai , where I live in the sticks, so what is going on.

[CharlieH]

3 minutes ago, OneeyedJohn said:

I wouldn't call Chiang Rai , where I live in the sticks, so what is going on.

Thats an easy one, Thailand, where consistency is rare and luck of the draw is the norm ????

[Tropicalevo]

I requested a new debit card from the UK. M-I-L sent it registered post. (I had asked her to courier it.) After three weeks I requested another one. S-I-L sent it by courier. It arrived on Samui four days later. The posted one arrived after 6 weeks.

A lot of problems with the post from the UK is a shortage of flights.

[worgeordie]

Had a parcel sent by Royal Mail came in 10 days, sent a 

birthday card to UK, arrived 7 days later,the first PO I went

to wanted to charge 200 THB, as they said no normal post

to anywhere,don't know if they were trying to con me,or just

did not know,so went to the PO i normally use 24 THB,

regards worgeordie

[AlfHuy]

46 minutes ago, phetphet said:

Maybe you should specify  "By Airmail" for return if it is a letter.

 

I think price comes into with most people sending  things long distance. So if the sender chose a cheaper option it might even have come by boat.

I have had some  things take three months. Others, and these were boxes, not letters, I have specifically asked for "tracked and signed for" at the UK Post Office, and have been given  the options of delivery within either 5 or 10 business days.

But these are not cheap.

Update from Royal Mail England.

James, the local donkey post delivery agent was stuck and post could not be delivered on time.

Please accept our sincere apologies.

[scubascuba3]

If it's important mail then you should send International Tracked, it's about £7 for an envelope. I got a sim sent to me for £7 arrived in 7 days

[OneeyedJohn]

14 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

If it's important mail then you should send International Tracked, it's about £7 for an envelope. I got a sim sent to me for £7 arrived in 7 days

I'm not sending, I am receiving, that's what this thread is about.

[scubascuba3]

5 minutes ago, OneeyedJohn said:

I'm not sending, I am receiving, that's what this thread is about.

I was receiving too

[OneeyedJohn]

14 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I was receiving too

What's the matter with you, I am not buying something and having the choice of how it is sent to me, I am talking about normal mail sent to me without my volition, and having it take up to three months.

 

[doctormann]

Mail deliveries here on Pattaya dark side are very hit and miss.  Not just from UK, where priority mail still takes upwards of a month to arrive, but local post as well.  Quite often, stuff such as phone bills just seems to get lost.  I think that this is probably a problem with the local postie.  It's been going on for some time and a visit to the local post office sometimes turns up 'lost' mail that the postie just couldn't be bothered to deliver.

 

As for sending mail TO the UK, I find that it's essential to at least register it and if you want it delivered within a reasonable time frame you need to use EMS.  Yes, it's expensive but it seems to work.  I believe that EMS more or less guarantees that the item will be on the first available flight out of Suvarnabhumi whereas registered (only) mail will maybe wait until a container of UK destined mail is full before actually leaving Thailand.

 

Of course, once in the UK, there is still the possibility that the item will disappear into the black hole of the Langley post centre at Heathrow.  It usually turns up eventually.

 

Another option for urgent stuff is to use DHL.  Also expensive but not too different to using EMS, cost-wise.

 

[OneeyedJohn]

£20 to post a letter, I don't think so.

[NanLaew]

1 minute ago, OneeyedJohn said:

£20 to post a letter, I don't think so.

Up to you.

 

If it is the ONLY way to get a time-sensitive document delivered in time, beyond buying a one-way ticket, leaving Thailand and delivering it yourself, what are your choices?

[OneeyedJohn]

14 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Up to you.

 

If it is the ONLY way to get a time-sensitive document delivered in time, beyond buying a one-way ticket, leaving Thailand and delivering it yourself, what are your choices?

 

Don't be so stupid.

[bunnydrops]

I've been pretty lucky getting my mail from the States (I know--not the UK) in 10 days. But one time it took over a month, I had it sent again because it was important. I got a tracing number. It got to Thailand in 5 days and then sat at a sorting facility north of Bangkok for another 5. The two posts came one day apart.

[3NUMBAS]

the letters page to the BKK post has had complaints about the terrible mail going back 30years or more..many never arrived due to pilfering or 6 months late

[Jack Hna]

8 days is standard transit for untracked mail uk to KK and it never fails. Address to a Thai person reduces any delays. That's based on anything upto 2g and with certain dims.

 

50 shipments and counting and zero failure rate. Had a couple of delays here and there but overall it's 8 days.

[Chris.B]

5 hours ago, OneeyedJohn said:

I have now received letters from the UK some 3 months after they were posted, the second occurrence yesterday.

Annoyingly both times they contained letters that required a reply within a certain timeframe. The first time it didn't matter too much but this second time is slightly more important.

Date on letter 8th August 2020, received yesterday.

 

How do I know if when I reply that the same thing won't happen.

It is all very well the post office saying it will take two weeks to get to UK.

 

In the UK you need to send International tracked and signed for.

 

Sending from Thailand best to send EMS (Express Mail Service).

 

[Speedo1968]

If it's post from the DWP or similar agency in the UK it does not always come from the UK but via Europe, e.g. the "Are you still alive" documents from the pensions agency.
Bank statements often take a month or more ( yes I check online too ).

[ignis]

My  Are you still alive" documents from the UK pensions agency, with a Post stamped July 2020 took 7 weeks to arrive..  sent back as normal Registered she put a Airmail sticker on it.. 148 baht. 

[Scouse123]

I got a tracked credit card in 12 days probably six weeks ago, and a tracked parcel in 8 days last month from UK to Kalasin.

 

Some of those waiting three months, maybe this is when the air mail was all over the place to and from Thailand with the covid19 and did their mail possibly take a circuitous route with a backlog ?

 

I remember also on here I sent important documents to Guernsey and they were returned from Bangkok. I was refunded in full. I then sent them and put ' UK '  at the bottom following advice on TVF and they went no problem.

[Rimmer]

I had two bank statements arrive yesterday one dated July 2020 and the other November 2019