Royal Mail !! What can I say??

jackieb

buddy143 wrote: »

many thanks for all the replies guys.
The thing I couldnt understand is that its only 2 A4 pages I sent in a small envelope. I did put 1st class stamp.
Did the price of the stamps/any regulations changed around 2nd wk of feb??

pinkteapot wrote: »

Ah, presumably in an A4 envelope? Had exactly the same documents been folded in half and put in an A5 envelope, your first class stamp would have been fine.

A couple of years ago they started distinguishing between Letter and Large Letter. So now the dimensions matter, not just the weight. A first class stamp covers up to 100g in weight but max size A5 and with a max thickness of 5mm. You need a Large Letter stamp for up to A4 and again, with a certain max. thickness. A Large Letter stamp costs the 10p more and also covers up to 100g. We had to put them on our wedding invites which were A6 but thick.

It was a stupid change that catches lots of people out. I had a couple of birthday cards this year that I had to go and pay £1.10 to retrieve because they were too large for Letter stamps. On the back of greetings cards it usually says Letter or Large Letter now to try and make people use the correct stamp.

As others have said, no-one you can complain to/claim off.

I don't think an A4 envelope would be classed as a small.

jackieb

I went to the post office yesterday. I sold some dvd's on eBay. To post the single dvd's cost 75p. To post a boxset of 3 dvd's cost £3.60. The single dvd's fitted in the large letter slot, so why wasn't I just charged the large letter rate for the single dvd's, and why did it cost almost 5 times more to post 2 extra discs?

cepheus

I wonder if it might be cheaper and more convenient to base the postage on size rather than weight, assuming the package is flexible and supposedly composed mainly of paper? That is if it fits into the envelope there is a standard charge for that size of envelope. Problem is every time you have a borderline package you have to go down to the post office to weigh it.

johnmoney05

malik999 wrote: »

It must cost more in administration.
There are queues at my post office where people are getting letters weighed and measured because they have no idea what value of stamps are needed. The woman being the counter pushing the envelops though a plastic measuring device to see how thick they are to calculate the cost!

They must have staff there. You must post your letter. So what more cost will add on?

N1AK

malik999 wrote: »

the deliver to the whole of the UK,do they charge the same amount?
### No not the same amount, read the p2g website. Are you being thick on purpose.

He's pointing out that with P2G you need to look up where you are sending it (an extra calculation) which RM doesn't have. Which makes a mockery of your initial claim that P2G etc are simpler.

malik999 wrote: »

### Not that Amount vs Weight, but yes in principal that is exactly what im saying. Flat fees. You final got it.

Even with 'flat' fees, you will still need different bands for letters, small parcels and large packages. Unless you intend to charge the same amount of a A6 letter as a boxed microwave. Banding then effectively over-charges those who send smaller items, and discounts those who send larger items.

Most people are perfectly capable of measuring and weighing a package. If your not, it's your shortcoming; not RM's.

buddy143

jackieb wrote: »

I don't think an A4 envelope would be classed as a small.

I used A5 envelope. I folded the A4 papers into half and put it in. This is exactly why I dont understand 1 1st class stamp isnt enough.

alanq

If the letter was more than 5mm thick then it needed a Large Letter stamp. If you still have the returned letter try going to a Post Office and try sticking it through the Standard Letter slot in the Size Guide Template. If you fail you were in the wrong. If you succeed the Post Office may have questions to answer.

BBC Watchdog on this issue.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/10/royal_mail.html

IronWolf

The Royal Mail is just a joke. They make the charges ridiculously complicated so people will pay more "just in case"

custardy

buddy143 wrote: »

I used A5 envelope. I folded the A4 papers into half and put it in. This is exactly why I dont understand 1 1st class stamp isnt enough.

what dont you understand?
it falls outwith the size of a standard envelop,so it goes into the next pricing structure,large letter

custardy

IronWolf wrote: »

The Royal Mail is just a joke. They make the charges ridiculously complicated so people will pay more "just in case"

wheres the complication?
if your item exceeds the limits on one postal method,then you move to the next

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2?catId=400105&mediaId=47500706&campaignid=pip