Are solicitors nice? | The Coffeehouse

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

I ordered some things from eBay last week and this week and had them shipped to a Mailboxes Etc address I'm renting until I move into my new student-digs house in Birmingham (since it's the holiday I'm currently residing in my parents' home in Cheshire).

Only problem is I gave the sellers (3 of them) the wrong address. I made a mistake when writing down the address MBE gave me and put "23" rather than "27". As it so happens building 23 on that street is a Solicitor's Chambers.

To make matters worse: they're all international deliveries being sent by USPS, so presumably Royal Mail will deliver them, and I'm going abroad for two weeks from next Monday until the 12th September.

My plan is to go down to Birmingham tomorrow and go to this solicitor's office, explain the situation, and see if they can assist me by just taking the parcels as they arrive down to the Mailboxes location 4 buildings down the road. But is that asking too much? What if they say no? Shipping for these items has cost me over $250USD already, I don't want to have to go through re-sending them all again.

Argh Smiley

Advice/suggestions?

I know Royal Mail have this "keepsafe" system where they withold mail for up to 2 months but it has a 5-day setup period, and the first delivery looks like it'll be made tomorrow. But since it was sent to an address I don't actually live at can Royal Mail do their keepsafe thing for it?

kettch

Who knows, the receptionist might be nice. That's probably who'd be the one to help you out. I'd just explain the situation, and offer to leave a copy of your ID and a note explaining things. Maybe talk to MBE see if the people at the legal office can just call down to them and MBE can have somebody come and pick it up. That would mean you wouldn't have to inconvenience anybody at building 23. Make sure that you have everything cleared with MBE and/or Royal Mail first. A clear plan for eliminating as much inconvenience as possible will help you out when you are trying to get somebody to help you out.

A shave, haircut and presentable clothes will help too. Tongue Out

Bas
It finds lightbulbs.

Just go down there and explain the situation. Chances are slim that they're evil sadists. If you explain what happened and can predict exactly what will arrive, and show some correspondence/receipts/whatever, I'm sure they'll be willing to help.

kettch

In reply to Bas

#Sep 3rd @ 10:31 AM

Lawyers aren't evil sadists, they're soulless mercenaries.

RLO

You would probably be better off asking the receptionist, if the mail carrier can deliver those packages to the proper address, as they probably have a friendship with the delivery person, and it's the delivery person's job in the first place. In lieu of that, asking if they would hold the packages until you return.

Asking someone whose job it it to answer phones and make appointments to haul your packages (probably on their personal time) is a little bold.

Let us know how it goes.

vesuvius
Das Glasperlenspiel

It's a licensed business, and 9 times out of 10, most business will readily help you, if you explain the situation clearly and politely to them.

I think the best thing is to first establish verbal communication via a phone call before you repair to their office. It may just be that they will redirect the goods for you, and not land on their doorstep in a desparate might I say "expectant" state.

Do ensure you tell them that you are a student, and the predicament of moving to a new house and address.

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

In reply to vesuvius

#Sep 3rd @ 12:03 PM

I tried phoning them as soon as I found out, at 1710h tonight, which was 10 minutes past their closing time. I'll be sure to phone them asap tomorrow morning. I tried phoning MBE too, but no-one answered.

Thanks for the advice guys.

CplCarrot
Dust Puppy

Are solicitors nice?

Yes but I couldn't eat a whole one! Boom Boom

<hangs head in shame> Sorry I could not help myself. It had to be done</hangs head in shame>

Sabot
My name is Dave Oliver. I'm a Technical Architect.

I find that people, for the most part, can be very helpful if it's a genuine mistake. Obviously the trick is not to do it too many times again, if at all.

Solicitors are also handy people to get to know. So if being a company owner and webpages should come up naturally in conversation I'm sure they will find you a handy person to know! .... but be subtle! No one likes a 'brick in the face' type sell.

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

I've just double-checked with all of the sellers, it turns out the address on my eBay profile was correct, but my PayPal address was wrong. All of the sellers report using the correct address, so I may not need to contact the solicitors in the first place (good thing I didn't leave them any voicemail yet!).

According to the USPS tracking service one of the items left UK customs on the morning of the 3rd, so it may be delivered today. I'll phone MBE to find out if it's been delivered there.

Maddus Mattus
Do, or do not. There is no try. - Yoda

In reply to W3bbo

#Sep 3rd @ 6:27 PM

Now I'm curious, what's in the package?

New bionic legs?

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

In reply to Maddus Mattus

#Sep 4th @ 12:27 AM

Nah, I got mine last June and they're still working fine, in fact I got my mum to upgrade them for me a few weeks ago.

I just phoned MBE right now, they report two packages having been successfully delivered and will keep them for me for free too until I get back in mid-SeptembeR).