Pizzawheel

Just completed the passport application for Micro-Wheel's new British passport. Went to the post office, found a nice stiff card mailing envelope, filled out the address, then decided to triple check it was his old UK passport I'd put in and not my own one (as I had both out on my desk).

The Canada post lady saw me and said you're not allowed to post passports internationally via Canada Post. I said I had to- the passport office needs it back- and then pointed out it had expired. But still no, so I ended up buying the envelope which I'd written the address on and now I have to go to a different Canada Post to actually mail the thing.

Bloody weird eh?

dbd33

Yes. I walked into the Post Office on Friday waving a passport and said I wanted to post it. They offered the $60+ option and the $30 option. I took the latter.

I am not surprised though, the post office ladies here are quite eccentric and arbitrary. If they were a little older and more belligerent they could work for Air Canada.

bats

Tosh and rot I say. I've even googled to find an answer and passports don't appear on the list

https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/m...-e.asp#1378224

I called into our little post office to collect a parcel but was told I couldn't as the computer was down and they couldn't do anything without it.

- Perhaps you could look in the shelves for it?
- Oh no there are too many to look through
- But you have nothing else to do while the computer is down
- it would take too long

BristolUK

Canada, eh?

Mind you, I'm not convinced that wouldn't happen in Blighty too.

Probably the best answer would be the computer would 'think' they still had it if they gave it to you and they can't make a note and do it later because a barcode has to be read.

Although, just like in the supermarket, they could input a number instead. Later.

Pizzawheel

That's what I thought. I'll just have to go to a different branch.

sharkus

The one that seriously annoys me is when I have a delivery attempt card left in my mailbox, and the CP app has the notification item, along with the barcode. They will scan it, go and fetch my parcel and have me write down my address. Apparently this is because I did not bring the card with me (it doesn't make sense to go home, grab the card, and come back, when the bloody barcode and other information is in the item in the app!) and they need the info for auditing purposes.

Pulaski

I wouldn't trust a passport, even an expired one, to the postal service in any country (outside the UK), because the tracking record can break at the hand-off to the Royal Mail in the UK, this doesn't always happen, but reports often say that tracking breaks at the hand-off. This means that you are in the dark, and if your packet goes missing the Royal Mail has no evidence they received it, and Canada Post will just tell you that the Royal Mail has it. All you can do is hope that it is delivered, but if it isn't you're probably sçrëwed.

I would use a courier such as DHL, FedEx, or UPS because they have seamless end-to-end tracking and don't cost much more than premium mail service.

jamesmc

I always use fedex when doing the passports ,,,,Canada Post are straight to the point worse than useless once out of the cities.The small rural post offices are now run by the cast of deliverance and for the contractors that deliver the mail to community village boxes ...the p.o box number is king it doesn't matter if its meant for a nearby village the number is the number!! no amount of telling them that "yes" its the right number but wrong village does not get through. ended up taking a box off invoices/cheques to the company in the next village.

Pizzawheel

As he has three passports there's some built in redundancy. And not so much money to manage the replacement of each...

Hurlabrick

I have to say our local Canada Post office is excellent. Very friendly and helpful!

I do however find the insistence on using a PO Box number annoying, but to be fair, I have had stuff sent to my address without quoting the PO Box number and it still arrived in my box.

Although one thing that does bug me is that there is no post code for our actual property, there is a postcode that goes up to a house 2 houses down and another postcode starts two houses the other side, so there are 4 houses in a gap in the postcodes (I have checked online). The postcode they want me to use for the PO Box of course takes anyone to the Canada Post office, but for courier deliveries, I have to use the nearest postcode to our physical location which at least gets them within 50 metres - but I have already had arguments with people who can't locate us on their software when they say 'your house doesn't exist - I come right back with 'oh good, then I won't have to pay local taxes then!'.

scrubbedexpat091

I don't even know where the closest actual Canada Post staffed office is, even if there are any left in Vancouver...lol

All the ones I know of are the contracted sort in 7-11, Shoppers, a slightly shady looking store front that appears to be nothing but a Canada Post counter and a wall of greeting cards.

I still don't understand why Canada Post sends our parcels to pick up to an outlet 5km away when there is one 1km away. No amount of asking gets an answer.

We live directly across the street from a CP processing center, and yet we cannot have parcels delivered to the door....

JamesM

The TTC is always interested in that skill set.

She bullshitted you son! I got my passport renewed by using Canada Post and sending mine before it expired.

JamesM

Yeah. I go to Shoppers.

We actually have a postbox in my building but I never have stamps or envelopes. If they were a little smarter they'd put a vending machine next to it with said items.

Twitcher1958

In our town, we have a proper Canada Post and one in Shoppers - the latter has far nicer helpful staff who always seem more efficient too.
A recent story about CP staff aptitude - a friend went to collect and pay for a camera he was buying privately. The seller had suggested CP Cash on Delivery but when my friend went in, clutching his delivery card, they would only accept the $38 insurance charge, and not the money owed for the camera, although he tried to pay them twice.
He immediately contacted the seller to inform him - the bottom line is that CP have now paid the seller the agreed $600 and my friend currently still has the camera for $38.

BristolUK

Some interesting experiences.

I wonder why nobody has dropped in to say "this is Canada and you should expect things to be different"