Author Topic: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?  (Read 14603 times)

Wombat

  • Is it supposed to hurt this much?
Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« on: 05 May, 2017, 08:31:29 am »
A bit of a weird one, but hey, its me...

If you live in a home with an address which doesn't really tell anyone very much, how do you cope with deliveries?  I am in the process of buying a home in Wales, and its address has the house name, the village, and the postcode.  That's it (no street, because its a linear one-street village) so how do delivery folk find the house?  Presumably the postie has learnt them (so changing the house name, which is Welsh and doesn't exactly trip off my Hampshire born tongue easily, is not a good idea).

Presumably some folk here must have similarly uninformative addresses, so is it an issue for you?

I'm still recovering from the shock of finding its council tax band is an F!  Ouch, that hurt, my current home is a C, and this one only has one more bedroom,so how did it get that far up the ladder?  It is also detached, not semi, and has a garage, so maybe those both count.
Wombat

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #1 on: 05 May, 2017, 08:49:38 am »
Seems to work as well as a normal address.

I've had *very* odd addresses - I lived on a mooring and my postal address was 'Willow, fulford reach moorings, postcode'. I put a postbox on a post and had parcels delivered to work.  Intercepted the postie one morning and told him where the postbox was. No problem. Oh and had something delivered to back of boat once, should have gone to work but they actually drove down to the mooring, walked onto the pontoon and put it on the back of the boat. Bet that made the delivery driver's day.
The other postal address was on a farm with about 6 houses and I lived on a mooring. Post and parcels for some of the houses was put in an archway leading through to a courtyard. Delivery drivers coped.

I think it is easy enough on a one-street village because a delivery driver can ask a neighbour. Putting a prominent sign up with the name of your house helps.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #2 on: 05 May, 2017, 09:13:47 am »
We have no real problem. Our village has no road name (so in some cases we us a fictitiuos one - "Main road" - as some online forms demand a road name.  Of the 30 or 40 houses only 8 have numbers (a terrace of cottaages, of which ours is one) so our usual address is "8, Buckland" plus postcode.  The only time we have a problem is when delivery people think they know where they're going, and don't use the postcodes!  We have, within a mile, "8 Buckland Road, Buckland", "8 Wharf Row, Buckland" and "8 Buckland Wharf, London Road". All with totally different postcodes to ours.

EDIT:  Re council tax band - check with your neighbours. When we moved in we we told ours was an "F" too - but in conversation with neighbours a year later, we found out another in the same terrace, a larger property than ours, was a "D", so we appealed, got re-graded and got a rebate.
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Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #3 on: 05 May, 2017, 09:22:21 am »
Of the 30 or 40 houses only 8 have numbers
In my far off couriering days, the only addresses that caused problems were the opposite to this; when one house in a numbered street had done away with its number and used a name instead (because it was occupied by a business and wanted to be known as Xyz Ltd, Xyz House, Suchandsuch Street).
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Basil

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Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #4 on: 05 May, 2017, 09:34:25 am »
No problem here either.  We have only a house name, but I guess that the couriers who work the area get to be pretty good at this sort of thing.
Do NOT change the name of your house.  Ours is quite a large village, but some of the older or longer termed residents know all the house names in their immediate area.
The only people who have needed help are national carriers.  Currys, firewood which comes up from Swansea etc.  I just make sure they've got my mobile number so that if they need help, I can guide them in, even if I'm not actually in the house at the time.

If you've got a local pub or shop, you might want to introduce yourself.
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Wombat

  • Is it supposed to hurt this much?
Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #5 on: 05 May, 2017, 10:48:44 am »
I didn't fancy changing the house name, as a) its not exactly how to fit in as a new English resident in Wales, and b) it seems a bit like the "its bad luck to change the name of a ship" sort of thing.  I'll just keep practising it till I get it right.  I'll be fine with the neighbours, only one of which is visible.  I was slightly amused to note that the big house that is sort of next door, and is at least twice the size of "our" bungalow, is a G council tax banding, and most others are F or E.  I've had a look at the listings on Gov.uk, and of course because they are names not numbers, I can't tell which is next door (the only other similar property in the village (actually I suppose its a hamlet), and which has a simply massive conservatory which Kew would be proud of (gardens, not steam museum).  I'm not going back to look, as its a 400 mile round trip from here.

Now, to engage a remover who can cope with my lathe and milling machine, which are inconveniently in the workshop at the end of my 33m long garden with steps in!  (Pickfords can't apparently, despite all those massive Pickfords low loaders we used to see hauling boilers and the like).
Wombat

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #6 on: 05 May, 2017, 10:49:56 am »
There was a case a few years back of one householder in a street finding out his house was in a higher band than all his neighbours. He appealed and the result was all the other houses joined him in the higher band! The street was up in arms and baying for blood.

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #7 on: 05 May, 2017, 11:23:19 am »
I'd agree with Basil - it's generally not a problem.  Regular delivery drivers will know the names.  Big companies (e.g. Curry, DFS etc.) will probably phone in advance to ask where you are. 

Definitely agree that you shouldn't change the name. (a) regular delivery drivers will know the old name, (b) residents that someone might stop to ask will know the old name (or possibly as 'the Roberts house' or something, regardless of how long ago the Roberts' moved out!), (c) in certain parts of Wales changing from a Welsh name to an English name will make you very unpopular indeed, (d) your house name might mean something.

An example of the latter is a house slightly up the hill from us.  There are two houses - Dragon Isaf and Dragon Uchaf.  I had wondered why it wasn't Draig Isaf and Draig Uchaf (Draig meaning Dragon, Isaf and Uchaf are lower and upper).  Turns out that Dragon doesn't mean the fire-breathing beastie at all.  It's a reference to being on the top of a massive hill - in a horse-pulled coach, it's the location where you would put the drag brake on in either direction.  If you know this, it's really obvious in the village where the houses would be.

Kim

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Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #8 on: 05 May, 2017, 11:34:56 am »
Life would be so much simpler if we could put ICBM addresses on forms, rather than relying on secret squirrels local knowledge, or encouraging people to make phone calls while driving.

fuaran

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Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #9 on: 05 May, 2017, 11:43:46 am »
Putting a prominent sign up with the name of your house helps.
+1 for that. Make sure it is at the end of the drive, clearly visible from either direction. And actually legible, not some fancy font or colours.
Around here there seems to a lot of houses without any sort of sign for the name/number. I'm not sure how they get stuff delivered. Or how will the emergency services find them in a hurry.

And you could make sure your house is mapped on OpenStreetMap, with the name/number/postcode.

PaulF

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Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #10 on: 05 May, 2017, 11:46:54 am »
Not a problem for us either. House only has a name but we just say "first thatched cottage on the left after the pub."

ian

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #11 on: 05 May, 2017, 01:32:34 pm »
Local Indian takeaway charges £2 delivery for houses without numbers. I avoid that problem by not getting takeways. My street is simple, because there's only two houses on it, and typing the house name works in Google. I do sympathise with the next town over though, since none of the streets have numbered houses, hence – I suppose – the surcharge. They're too posh for tawdry house numbers.

I do get a lot of deliver drivers knocking on the door looking for addresses on the street above ours. I'm never sure why it's not obvious on the grounds (a) that it's different street name and (b) from the end of our drive the name of the street they're looking for is clearly visible on a handy roadsign sign.

LEE

  • "Shut Up Jens" - Legs.
Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #12 on: 05 May, 2017, 01:50:16 pm »
Buy a House number, 17 for example, put it on your gate.

Now you can have things delivered to No.17
Some people say I'm self-obsessed but that's enough about them.

IJL

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #13 on: 05 May, 2017, 01:58:38 pm »
Not a delivery driver but I spent 5 years working night shifts for the GP out of hours service and rapidly grew to hate house names. Searching a road miles long for a name that's almost invisible at night.  In urban areas the post code/ GPS will do the trick but  in more rural places it was a bloody nightmare. 

frankly frankie

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Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #14 on: 05 May, 2017, 05:43:29 pm »
I don't hate house names but I do hate the occupants owners of said houses  :demon:
when you're dead you're done, so let the good times roll

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #15 on: 05 May, 2017, 05:46:34 pm »
Most of the houses in our village have names not numbers and the postcodes are all scewed up as well. Doesnt seem to cause any issues with post or deliveries.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #16 on: 05 May, 2017, 06:41:25 pm »
My parents' house isn't even in a village really, but the house name + postcode seems to be sufficient (their house name in Welsh means "at the top of a bastard big hill", or something, which is a fairly good description of the location!).

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #17 on: 05 May, 2017, 07:44:51 pm »
I live in the middle of nowhere, rural Ireland and my house has no number, the lane it's on has no name, and there's even a lot of contention about what the area it's in is called.

However I still get my post simply because the postie knows everybody, but we always have problems if something is being delivered by a courier. More often than not I arrange to meet them somewhere nearby just to avoid trying to give directions "turn right at the old pump, over the hump back bridge, 200 yards further on... etc etc".




Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #18 on: 05 May, 2017, 07:54:42 pm »
In rural France the posties get to know who live where quite fast.  However there is now a drive to put numbers on houses and someone is going round fixing them on official-like.

On cycle rides in the middle of nowhere houses are few and far between.  It's remarkable how many houses are number 1 or 2 but not many with number 3 or more.
Move Faster and Bake Things

rr

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #19 on: 05 May, 2017, 09:41:32 pm »
Royal mail have a database with every delivery point, its address and exact location, including it the post box is on a post or whatever. As long as it is on address finder you'll be fine.

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Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #20 on: 08 May, 2017, 09:28:40 am »
I sympathise Wombat - we live on the outskirts of a fairly dispersed "hamlet" of about 17 houses, the majority of which are located off down a farm track, which is where SatNav or Google Maps always takes delivery drivers.  We generally get found in the end - and it's better now we've improved signage by our front gate.  However, this is the solution when trying to guide visitors:
https://what3words.com/
This bunch has divided the planet up into 3m x 3m grid squares and assigned 3 words to each square.  Accordingly, you can pinpoint your front door, not just your house or street.  I've used it to guide deliveries to the gate entrance to our sheep field which is in a mile long road with few obvious landmarks.
If people know how to use what3words then you can just give them a location like "curls.stewing.pirate"
Apparently Mongolia has adopted this for their postal service.

C

Kim

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Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #21 on: 08 May, 2017, 09:35:35 am »
Royal mail have a database with every delivery point, its address and exact location, including it the post box is on a post or whatever. As long as it is on address finder you'll be fine.

Royal Mail will cope, sure.  It's the random couriers who only pay attention to what their satnav spits out in response to a 4-digit postcode who will struggle.

Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #22 on: 08 May, 2017, 09:38:27 am »
I sympathise Wombat - we live on the outskirts of a fairly dispersed "hamlet" of about 17 houses, the majority of which are located off down a farm track, which is where SatNav or Google Maps always takes delivery drivers.  We generally get found in the end - and it's better now we've improved signage by our front gate.  However, this is the solution when trying to guide visitors:
https://what3words.com/
This bunch has divided the planet up into 3m x 3m grid squares and assigned 3 words to each square.  Accordingly, you can pinpoint your front door, not just your house or street.  I've used it to guide deliveries to the gate entrance to our sheep field which is in a mile long road with few obvious landmarks.
If people know how to use what3words then you can just give them a location like "curls.stewing.pirate"
Apparently Mongolia has adopted this for their postal service.

C
Apart from it being a bit harder to remember numbers, wtf is wrong with lat long?

what3words has the fundamental massive problem that given a pair of three words you have no idea how far apart they are.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #23 on: 08 May, 2017, 09:40:31 am »
In rural France the posties get to know who live where quite fast.  However there is now a drive to put numbers on houses and someone is going round fixing them on official-like.

On cycle rides in the middle of nowhere houses are few and far between.  It's remarkable how many houses are number 1 or 2 but not many with number 3 or more.
Whereas in Poland the numbers go into the hundreds as the whole village is numbered  in one sequence rather than street by street, so the address is $Village #Number.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Unhelpful addresses, how do folk cope?
« Reply #24 on: 08 May, 2017, 09:42:38 am »
An example of the latter is a house slightly up the hill from us.  There are two houses - Dragon Isaf and Dragon Uchaf.  I had wondered why it wasn't Draig Isaf and Draig Uchaf (Draig meaning Dragon, Isaf and Uchaf are lower and upper).  Turns out that Dragon doesn't mean the fire-breathing beastie at all.  It's a reference to being on the top of a massive hill - in a horse-pulled coach, it's the location where you would put the drag brake on in either direction.  If you know this, it's really obvious in the village where the houses would be.
I'm not sure I get this. Dragon Uchaf is obvious, but is Dragon Isaf the peak of a similar but smaller hill or is it the point at the bottom of the hill where you would release the drag?
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.