a friend wrote a letter and posted it to me. this has been three weeks now, but to date it has not reach me here in Jamaica. if that same letter was posted from the US, i would have gotten it by the third day. or from the UK five.
why does the mail take so long to move from africa? my postman told me that mail from Africa takes a long time to reach us here.
Its pot luck Jammin. Some of our post from the UK never arrives, some takes four days,most is a month or more, and alot of it is opened or the corners of the envelopes cut off so they can see inside. Be patient it will probably turn up!!
does that mean i should rethink sending a package to gambia by post? i was to send a parcel by post, but was thinking of using fedex, but you are now saying that there is a possibility of it being opened. is there a way to guarantee that what i post reach the addressee without things being remove. i am aware that this is a problem of most postal system throughout the world including ours.
does that mean i should rethink sending a package to gambia by post? i was to send a parcel by post, but was thinking of using fedex, but you are now saying that there is a possibility of it being opened. is there a way to guarantee that what i post reach the addressee without things being remove. i am aware that this is a problem of most postal system throughout the world including ours.
What are you doing in jaimica? just joking. i will advice you to use dhl. DHL is more effective for the gambia.
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22 "And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
as Santanfara put it DHL or Fedex will be the best idea.
quote:Originally posted by jammin
does that mean i should rethink sending a package to gambia by post? i was to send a parcel by post, but was thinking of using fedex, but you are now saying that there is a possibility of it being opened. is there a way to guarantee that what i post reach the addressee without things being remove. i am aware that this is a problem of most postal system throughout the world including ours.
To send through DHL or Fedex will probably be the safest way and absolutely quickest but also expensive. To send by post is not necessarily a problem, I don´t post regulary but now and then, it has failed only once. Ten years ago I sent an envelope with photos which he never recieved. All letters from Gambia to Sweden are received mostly within 5 days. Last summer I sent a registered letter/package to a person which didn´t reach him. I sent a complaint to my postoffice and the answer from Gambian authorities was that the package had been waiting for him to get it for two months now. The package was at the post office, safe and unopened. Sometimes it´s better to go and ask for it.
quote:Originally posted by kiwi01 The package was at the post office, safe and unopened. Sometimes it´s better to go and ask for it.
i agree. it is not true that its 'pot luck'. i have recieved several mails from the Post Office without a scratch. i also subscribe to a few magazines which i recieve monthly without a problem. i accept there are isolated cases but its just that isolated.
my friend's brother sent three mobiles by post and i recieved it for his family from the post office, paid the customs tax and walked out without any hassle.
GOT my letter this morning!!!!! i am happy. heard the postman ringing his bell. went out to investigate, and WAllA... my letter.
thanks for the responses. well DHL is a bit cheaper here i think i will go with that.
You got mobiles through the post? amazing. ok. let me tell you what i'm up to. i have been doing a little shopping for my friend and intend to send a gift package. so i want to ensure that the stuff i send reaches. i will follow your advice and hope for the best. thanks.
I havent found any problem recieving post from Gambia at all. It arrives ok. But when I send things to Gambia it either takes AGES or doesnt arrive at all. So at the Gambian end as things come INTO the country there is a problem. I would think from UK to ANYWHERE in Gambia it should be possible for the post to arrive within 2 weeks when sent airmail.
Obviously we all have different experiences. I have lately sent two letters to Gambia, both posted on Mondays. The first one was there on Thursday, the second one on Friday!
i think its fair to say the system is more or less an honest one and things have improved considerably. what we must understand is that the postal service is a small one without its own aircraft etc. it relies on flights coming to the gambia and so mails take different routes, sometimes transiting through a third country.
but if we do what we do will all posts, keep valuables/money out otherwise register or insure it then its relatively a good system.
several thousand students use it to fill applications for colleges abroad and it works.
Post from The Gambia can take any amount of time to get to me here in rural South West England. At the moment I am STILL waiting for a letter posted on 2nd November. A few months ago I received three letters in three days which had been posted weeks apart. One parcel arrived with no stamps (or other postage paid marks) attached despite the fact my b/f assured me he had paid the postage in person at Banjul post office).
My b/f has even more probs with the stuff I send him. One parcel never turned up (same goes for another parcel sent to another friend). Also, I sent him some battery powered emergency phone chargers for himself, his family, and friends and he was charged import duty as the people at the post office decided they were 'commercial' items. This despite the fact that my customs declaration clearly stated they were presents. Since then the post office seem to have decided that my b/f is somehow trying to con them and they are always asking for 'a token of appreciation.'
It definately does help to register and/or insure items (at least then the people at the post office have to hand my parcels over as it would be hard to explain how they weren't delivered and signed for). However, the UK post office no longer insures mobile phones or cash over £100 to Africa as so much has 'gone missing.' Also, in order to avoid the excessive postal costs brought about by changes to the way post is now charged for in the UK (by weight AND size), I tend to send smaller flatter parcels.
I haven't really investigated other ways of sending things as I like the convenience and sponteneity of being able to just take things to the local post office. I must say, however, that 'the system,' both from the UK and Gambian end has left me fuming and/or in tears at times.
Hmm njucks I take your word for it that the system seems 'now more or less an honest one' but dread to think how things used to be.
@santanfara i am in jamaica, because i am jamaican.
GOOD BROTHER. I LIKE JAIMAICA .I NEVER BEEN THERE BUT I WILL PLAN TO GO THERE GOD WILLING. I HAVE A FRIEND WHO WAS A FORMER MUSICIAN .
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22 "And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
Topic Locked
Posted - 27 Nov 2006 : 18:58:09
