Royal Mail !! What can I say??

buddy143

To cut the story short, I did post some documents by 1st class on the 10-02-11. Yesterday I received an envelope from royal mail, which has got my post in it. All it says is that my post hasnt been delivered because I didnt put the correct postage stamps ( I fell short by 10 pence !!!). Now i need to pay them 1.10 in total (£1 handling fee).
The big envelope they sent to me itself costs atleast 40p.
Because of this delay of nearly 7 weeks, i am at loss of £575 as my documentation didnt reach the destination intime.
Really frustrated. Why did they take 7 wks to send the post back to me? and who is responsible for my loss ??
Is there anything I can do?

The_Pixi

buddy143 wrote: »

To cut the story short, I did post some documents by 1st class on the 10-02-11. Yesterday I received an envelope from royal mail, which has got my post in it. All it says is that my post hasnt been delivered because I didnt put the correct postage stamps ( I fell short by 10 pence !!!). Now i need to pay them 1.10 in total (£1 handling fee).
The big envelope they sent to me itself costs atleast 40p.
Because of this delay of nearly 7 weeks, i am at loss of £575 as my documentation didnt reach the destination intime.
Really frustrated. Why did they take 7 wks to send the post back to me? and who is responsible for my loss ??
Is there anything I can do?

you are, put the correct stamps on next time.

buddy143

The_Pixi wrote: »

you are, put the correct stamps on next time.

Wonderful response THE PIXI. Thank you very much.:j
If they had posted it back to me straightaway, I would have paid the hefty £1.10

The_Pixi

buddy143 wrote: »

Wonderful response THE PIXI. Thank you very much.:j
If they had posted it back to me straightaway, I would have paid the hefty £1.10

Your question was who is responsible for your loss, that has been answered.

You're welcome.

epsilondraconis

From your posting it is clear that these documents were very important to you.

Had I been in your position, I would have sent them recorded delivery. It may be something to consider next time.

chris_m

It could well be that the recipient refused/declined to pay the shortfall so it didn't get sent back until after the time period for them to do so had expired.
I don't know if it happens with all mail now but I've seen cards delivered where the actual item was insufficiently posted and you have so long to go and collect (and pay), along similar lines to the "Sorry you were out" cards.

edinburgher

If I was sending something that was worth nearly £600, I'd use Special Delivery (which will cover you for consequential losses if they fail to deliver it in the guaranteed period), or at the very least check at a counter that I was using the right postage.

As the Pixi said, you're responsible and there isn't anyone who will compensate you. Also, while you might have picked up on it quicker if it had been sent back quicker, I can see it from Royal Mail's point of view - doubt they're in much of a rush to send back something where someone has opted to underpay in the first place (whether intentionally or accidentally).

jimjames

chris_m wrote: »

It could well be that the recipient refused/declined to pay the shortfall so it didn't get sent back until after the time period for them to do so had expired.
I don't know if it happens with all mail now but I've seen cards delivered where the actual item was insufficiently posted and you have so long to go and collect (and pay), along similar lines to the "Sorry you were out" cards.

I've had similar ones and there is a time delay allowed for the recipient to collect from post office before it gets returned. Presumably there is also a delay as it needs to be manually handled to re-address the envelope back to the sender.

On some I've actually gone to the post office, seen it was junk mail or unimportant and handed the letter back. Paying £1.10 to receive something you don't want seemed a bit crazy!

As mentioned above paying for special delivery for such important documents is well worth it as you are then covered for any loss if they do not arrive in 24 hours.

alanq

jimjames wrote: »

As mentioned above paying for special delivery for such important documents is well worth it as you are then covered for any loss if they do not arrive in 24 hours.

Special delivery will only refund postage if not delivered on time or pay compensation for items lost or damaged in transit. In this situation Special Delivery Next Day + Consequential Loss is what's required.

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?mediaId=22700554&catId=400026

edinburgher

alanq wrote: »

Special delivery will only refund postage if not delivered on time or pay compensation for items lost or damaged in transit. In this situation Special Delivery Next Day + Consequential Loss is what's required.

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?mediaId=22700554&catId=400026

I'd mentioned consequential loss, but hadn't realised it was an additional service :beer:

hcb42

I think you will have to take this £575 on the chin, OP.

I am a bit confused as to what it is though, given the gap in communication of seven weeks...I would have been following up with whoever I sent the paperwork to...:)