EMS delivery didnt arrive - what next ?

[fft100]

Hi,

On the 14th December, i sent a package using EMS to austria. Looking at the online checker on the 20th, it told me that it had arrived in australia (!) on the 16th, and that it was set for dispatch again on the 19th. Being far too optimistic, i assumed it would then go to austria, but no. Looking at the online checker on the 30th december, it told me it had arrived in BKK on the 30th (so 11 days of inactivity somewhere). Then on the 2nd, it told me that it was set for dispatch again. To austria ? No. Today (4th) it has arrived back in Hua Hin....

the address on the front of the package says austria, as does the receipt from the post office (they put the country on ems receipts).

I called 1545 the call centre, but no english option and when i spoke to them, they put the phone down.

So, anyone have any experience of what the compensation options are ? Presumably, they have to refund my postage, but how about the fact that presents to family in europe have not been delivered ?

And does anyone have an english number at EMS/Thai postal for me to persue this, or know how to to persue this.

Thanks

[richard]

All I know is that many Thais think Austria is Australia

[splitlid]

and many native english speakers think Thailand is Taiwan.

[richard]

fft

Are you still in Thailand? Are you in HH? did you post it from HH? f you are and did there is an English speaking guy at the post office at the back in the sorting department

[kendo]

I have sent a number of parcels to the U.K from Hua Hin post office always arrived within 5 days.
Kendo.

[Takiap]

You may be able to get a refund, but I can't see you getting any more than that. Just an unfortunate blunder, and the type of blunder that can happen in any country. Personally, I have found the Thai postal service to be better than the postal service in my own country (SA) and better than Royal Mail in the UK.

As Richard has pointed out, many Thais do in fact think Austria and Australia are one in the same country.


Good Luck

[PeteC]

They had all these problems because of the floods with over a million pieces of inbound and outbound mail warehoused somewhere. Part of the problem could be the rush to clear all of that. Maybe try addressing it to Oesterreich and see what happens, but then again they may think that means Ostrich and send it to Australia again. Pete

[dtaai-maai]

Maybe try addressing it to Oesterreich and see what happens, but then again they may think that means Ostrich and send it to Australia again. Pete

Actually, it's a good idea, but use Austria and Oesterreich together.
I'd also add Europe to the address.
Should be no need for the planet.

[barrys]

Just an unfortunate blunder, and the type of blunder that can happen in any country.

Yes - some years ago, a package clearly addressed to me in Ireland ended up being sent to Iceland by that supposed bastion of reliability, Deutsche Post - took over 2 months to reach me after the Icelandic mail service eventually forwarded it to the correct address

[fft100]

talked to someone at ems central. had to fax them the receipt etc.

just had a phone call back, where they said that it seemed to be there fault, and would start an internal investigation. This would take 2 weeks. When i said that someone should come and get the package and send it, i was told that this couldnt happen until the investigation was over. They wanted to talk to the destination country (eh ?), and the airline.

cue explosion, at which point i was told that they would make it urgent and i should hear something tomorrow. I also pointed out that it wasnt an airline problem as the EMS guys at suvarnabum airport had obviously put the package in the container for the wrong country. And then why did it sit in bkk for 11 days after it came back to bkk before anyone did anything with it (sending to HH), instead of being sent to the correct country ?

prcsct - The floods shouldnt be an excuse for EMS (or other mail) going overseas or coming south of bangkok. Packages from the UK and europe have been arriving in less than 2 weeks and other packages to the UK have been arriving in 4 days. Where did you see that 1m pieces of incoming and outgoing mail have been warehoused ?

[richard]

fft

It takes a long time to find someone else to blame and thereby save face in Thailand

Ask the correspondent for their bosses name and location might speed things up

[fft100]

We have his name and number. His boss apparently wasnt in today, but is in tomorrow.

a 2 page fax to ems cost 60 baht (plus the cost of the ink for my printer to scan/print what they wanted to enhance the copy to fax, plus the cost of diesel to get to CAT to fax it)

I was stunned when he said he couldnt send someone over to collect and send it. I had assumed that that would be the obvious first step, and then get into the who did what, and how much should they pay in compensation (obviously the whole amount).

[PeteC]

........prcsct - The floods shouldnt be an excuse for EMS (or other mail) going overseas or coming south of bangkok. Packages from the UK and europe have been arriving in less than 2 weeks and other packages to the UK have been arriving in 4 days. Where did you see that 1m pieces of incoming and outgoing mail have been warehoused ?

Somewhere in the Bangkok Post and The Nation news articles posted in our "2011 Flood" thread. If I recall correctly it was towards the end of November. Pete

EDIT: Here we go, a Google search is filled with commentary and complaints.

"About 1.5 million letters and packages could not be delivered after 38 of 1,200 post offices were submerged.

Thailand Post normally receives and delivers about 5 million parcels per day.

Piyawat Mahapauraya, senior executive vice president, said yesterday that the company continued to operate as usual.

However, in deeply flooded areas, postal carriers cannot make their rounds and many people are not at home. The parcels will be delivered when the flood subsides.

To serve private and state offices on Vibhavadi-Rangsit, Chaeng Wattana and other swamped Bangkok roads, large trucks are being used, Piyawat said. The company is providing transport for its employees to its head office on Chaeng Wattana and paying a daily allowance of Bt100 to those working during the flooding, he added.


-- The Nation 2011-11-16"

[hhfarang]

I said it on another thread but will repeat. The entire postal system has been f**ked since the beginning of the floods. We always got our monthly bills (3BB, TOT, Truevisions, etc) around the 10th of the month and they are all due between the 20th and the 25th. The first month of the (Bangkok) floods we got none of them. Subsequent months they've arrived towards the end of the month after the due dates. I'm hoping things will start to get back to normal this month as I have bought something from Ebay Hong Kong and am expecting it to arrive next week.

[Nereus]

Like a lot of other things here, there is no rhyme or reason to proceedings.

I ordered an item from Australia while the floods were still a problem: dispatched in Australia on the 19th November, received in my Condo in Bangkok on the 2nd of December. It appeared to have been opened along the way but nothing missing, and no import tax.