Royal Mail - Track & Trace

This should mean exactly what it says to my mind. Not to Royal Mail seemingly.

They seem to have lost my Sat Nav. It was logged in to their system on the 9th October & I still haven't received it 9 working days later.

I have sent emails asking where it is. This is the response - "Royal Mail Signed For mail travels with ordinary mail and is only tracked once delivery has been attempted so I regret that I am unable to confirm the whereabouts of your item at this time".So what is the point of me having a "tracking number"? Apparently my parcel "has not yet been confirmed as being delivered". I had worked that out for myself.

My point is that anyone paying for this level of service would expect what the private companies do deliver, (excuse the pun. I am not really amused at all). You are given a tracking number & they can tell you exactly where the item is in their system. It's not rocket science - in any sense of the phrase.

I have to wait for 10 working days after the due delivery date, which is 3 days after posting. Then "if your item still hasn't been delivered ....you may wish to consider submitting a claim for the loss of the item". But what proof can I provide, I didn't post it. It's not a new Sat Nav, it had been repaired, so was as good as new. Will they pay for a replacement? Apparently not. I haven't got a clue what it's actually worth, except that it's worth a new one to me & that's what I'll have to pay for. Plus paying for the repair & postage.

The whole thing is very frustrating & a huge waste of my time & effort. How do they manage to lose items within their system? I've tried to find how many items are lost per year, but been unable to do so. No wonder the private companies are doing so well at Royal Mail's expense.

PS
My postie tried to deliver it yesterday, 14 days after posting, but I was out. According to the Track & Trace info it had been to Heathrow & then Swindon. I wonder why. The sender said Royal mail know there is a problem at Ipswich & he had had more parcels lost and delayed recently than in years.

PPS
It's just arrived. Royal mail have offered me a book of 6 first class stamps as compensation for taking 2 weeks to get a parcel from Suffolk to Oxfordshire.