Royal Mail

custardy

you dont have to pay anything
just ignore it
as you say its the senders responsibility
so if its a card and you dont get it then harp on at anyone who didnt send a card
perhaps add a £1 fee to be included in a replacement card for you trouble

LittleTinker

You are blinkered because you work for them and cannot even see how the system is flawed.

How many places do you know of that will say to you, "We have got something here for you. It might be really good and contain good news or a windfall.....but......you cant have it, Nah na na na nah!"

There arent many that do that other than RM.

And RM know full well that by saying that, the majority of people will part with their money to get it even though it isnt their bill to pay....and it is wrong.

custardy

beg to differ,the bulk of charge items are not collected
the largest amount of charges are to businesses
you cant have it both ways
you say its down to the sender (fine let it be returned) but you want the item (well pay for it and take it up with the sender)
how would you do it if it was your business absorbing those losses?
FYI im not exempt to charges but i just bin any charge cards i get bar customs duty

TurkishDelight

Torby wrote: »

if its from a firm who should know better....write back to them to complain and dont put ANY stamps on the letter....if you can stuff it with heavy paper...that works even better....at the end of the day....it isn't Royal Mail's fault....

Give them some dead batteries to deal with too- nice and heavy

3plus1

My sorting office is on an industrial estate and I don't drive, so there is no easy way for me to drop around and ask what the letter is before deciding whether or not it's worth paying for.

I think it would be much more helpful if RM got their posties to write the sender's address on the card (if given) - that way we would be able to tell if it was junk or not without paying out any money.

custardy

3plus1 wrote: »

My sorting office is on an industrial estate and I don't drive, so there is no easy way for me to drop around and ask what the letter is before deciding whether or not it's worth paying for.

I think it would be much more helpful if RM got their posties to write the sender's address on the card (if given) - that way we would be able to tell if it was junk or not without paying out any money.

the cards are written by machine in 99% of cases
so reading a return address isnt so easy given theres no real standard for placement unlike most addresses

Takoda

I've only skim read most of the posts on this thread but I thought I'd just add my 2p's worth.

I was talking to someone last week who had been doing 'mystery shopper' type work for the Post Office. This person had been taking 'borderline' letters/packages into Post Offices to get stamps for them.

In many of the transactions (really can't remember the exact figures - sorry but IIRC it might have been as much as a third) the amounts charged for the SAME package varied widely. Some were way out. When challenged on it the staff were often apparently quite hostile.

The reason I'm posting this is that obviously even Post Office staff themselves are not completely clear about the pricing rules. If the system were straightforward then surely the amount of errors made would have been fewer? So if PO staff themselves can't manage the system efficiently - what hope is there for poor saps like us? And these packages were taken into a Post Office for accurate measurement!

Whenever I've had to collect stuff from the sorting office (because there was duty to pay on goods from the States or whatever) the staff always seem a bit grumpy and fed up.

Just my 2p's worth.

mazza111

Remember that Royal Mail are dealing with 2 sets of customers here, the sender and the recipient.
Who pays the staff to write the cards for underpaid items?
Who pays the postage for the postcards to go out for underpaid items (remember these are sent out the same day/next day as underpaid items come into the office) ?

Royal Mail are in a no win situation here. This is what they are told to do with underpaid items. Why should they absorb the cost of these items, it's up to the recipient to take it up with the sender. Remember you can always claim the costs back from companies who send you underpaid mail. Ask for a receipt at the delivery office!

AJ73

mazza111 wrote: »

, it's up to the recipient to take it up with the sender.

Rubbish, the recipient has done nothing wrong, the Royal Mail should take it up with the sender.

custardy

AJ73 wrote: »

Rubbish, the recipient has done nothing wrong, the Royal Mail should take it up with the sender.

they will do on return
so you are not required to do anything but are given the option