Postage stamp question?

larmy16

If you sent a book for eg. and put on a combination of 1st class stamps and 2nd class stamps, but the amount covered the cost for 1st class, would it be considered 1st class by the Post Office?

Or if you put only 1st class, but in error only put enough on for it to go 2nd class, would they automatically charge the person at the other end for 1st or would they let it go 2nd?

Sorry for long winded, round the houses explanation, but this happened to me the other day and it was only as it plopped into the box I thought :eek: there are not enough stamps for it to go 1st!!! I had sold a book on Amazon, so was worrrying the person the other end would have to pay and I would get neg feedback........................................... :rolleyes:

shelly

Forgive me if I've misunderstood your post. Are you saying you put a book in the post box with not enough stamps on it? Surely books need to be weighed inside the PO as they cost more than a first class stamp to send. From personal experience if you haven't put enough stamps on it the PO won't deliver it.Your buyer should get a note in their door saying they have a parcel that needs postage paying on it and it usually works out quite a bit more than than it would have cost in the first place.

HTH

Philb

As long as the face value of the stamps covered the 2nd class postage then the recipient would not have had anything to pay. In cases of insufficient postage the recipient is charged the difference to 2nd class unless it was obvious another service was used, eg. recorded.

Just to add that if there is insufficient postage then the Royal Mail will charge the recipient an additional £1 fee as well!

apprentice_tycoon

Hi Larmy - I think that you're OK with this I assume that it's the value of the stamps that counts not the fact that they say '1st class' on them, so if you put 3 'first class' stamps on your book thats 90 pence but the weight of the book is over first class at say 94 pence then it will go second class. Interesting point though....

cheekymole

Yes that's fine, I've done many a time, weighed the parcel at home and put enough 1st/2nd class stamps on to cover it. Nodody has ever complained so I assume they've all been received.

Just one point though, you will have no proof of postage if the parcel goes astray so sometimes it's worth going to the extra effort of queueing in the PO.

soolin

WIth the way my post is at the moment I wouldn't trust anything without a COP, although I do accept that other people may have a more positive experience than me with the postal service.

Soo

martindow

Another problem is that unless PO workers stop to do some mental arithmetic it is not obvious whether vit is first or second class and it may be sent as though it was second class even if there were enough stamps to cover first class. As has already been mentioned if you don't get a COP you are taking a risk if the envelope goes astray or the recipient claims non delivery.

larmy16

Thanks all for your replies. To the poster who asked did I mean a combination of stamps - I did. I know I made it sound confusing, sorry. I do not normally do it that way, get a COP but because the PO closes round here Wednesday afternoons, and I was rushing in my lunch hour, I put book in box, then realised I had not sent enough to cover first class, but it was enough for second.

The woman must have thought I was crazy as I sent her an email explaining and then 2 complimentary first class stamps!! It cost me more in the end....there you go! She did receive the book ok though, no mention of having to pay extra.

HOLsale

martindow wrote:

Another problem is that unless PO workers stop to do some mental arithmetic it is not obvious whether vit is first or second class and it may be sent as though it was second class even if there were enough stamps to cover first class.

whenever i send something first class using anything other than a single first class stamp i always write 'FIRST CLASS' next to the stamps... you have to help the people in the sorting office, they aren't paid to think :cool:

HOLsale

actually following on from that i now put, in big letters 'SEND TO' on the front along with the name and address then put my address really small with only the first half of the postcode and 'FROM' on the back because one week i had 3 packages sent back to me because the eejits at the post office can't read!

they took the tiny return address label, stuck on the back at a weird angle in a wonky place over the ENORMOUS label on the front, in the right place on the side with the stamps! :mad:

you really DO need to help them :mad:

mah_jong

I have to offer some defense for the counter staff at the PO..... I heard the other day .....1st class please.....

ok.....label is printed..... that will be 46p please.....
as the label was stuck on , I heard, but this is to Dublin ....

woman...yes of course it is, why should that make any difference!!!!!!!

Answer to that is, yes it does!

They are not perfect but then neither are 100% of customers!


I quite often send Amazon parcels using stamps but I also write out a COP and get it stamped at the time of posting.