Royal Mail: When does a letter become a small packet when posting outside uk?

tajima1

International letter dimensions


The above link makes it clear that a letter cannot exceed 5mm depth in the business service description? It says the following:

A letter is…

Over the size of 140mm x 90mm.
Under 245mm x 165mm.
No more than 5mm thick.
Less than 100g.

For personal customers the leaflet in the PO describes letter rates up to 100g and small packet rates of 100g or below (all at one cost for small packets). I can't find any specific description which defines the letter versus the small packet for personal customers in terms of size. Very confusing!!

Contains_Mild_Peril

I sent 2 prints, each a single sheet of paper in an A4 size envelope (which would be large letter size in the UK) one to Italy and one to America, and the assistant at the PO asked what was in the envelopes and insisted they would need to be sent at the Printed Papers rate because they weren't actual letters. That was a different PO from my local one, which will usually send anything that looks like a letter at the letter rate.

red-boxer

Recent rules introduced mean that to send as an overseas letter, the package must contain some form of correspondence, otherwise it has to go as a packet.

redmower3

@redboxer...

in spite of all the so called authorative advise (and erroneous!)earlier in this thread you are on the right track. The rules you mention have been in place for many years!

The definitions for post within the UK (letter,large letter, packet) are very different to post send abroad.

Abroad, a letter is a letter as long as it contains personal correspondance. It does not matter whether it is sent in an envelope or a large lead box.

If you happen to send an item (ie an ebay sale) together with the letter it is still a letter and if this item is sent beyond the EU then a customs label would be required.

This is particularly relevant to items under 100g weight where letter rate is lower than packet rate.

There has been much misinformation on this thread since I asked the original question but thanks to a thread on the ebay boards I was at last able to find a link to the actual rules on the Royal Mail website.

Obviously, I rid myself of this link a few days ago, but I will endeavour to find it and post it here later

Have a good evening

Mick

redmower3

here's the link...

http://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/Overseas%20Letter%20Post%20Scheme%20April%202012.pdf

page 8 defines a letter as..

"letter" includes any communication in the nature of current and personal correspondence, and also includes a packet transmitted at the letter rate of postage and containing goods or articles of merchandise

page 41 defines the max size of a letter...

max weight 2kg
max Length, breadth and depth: Combined900 mm Length600 mm Breadth600 mm Depth600 mm


hope this helps

cheers Mick

Pembroke

One of the Post Offices I use insists that you should write on the outside what type of rate you're using. So every time I send abroad he writes 'Small Packet' on the outside. If you're having trouble with your post office not sending at the rate you want maybe you could do it for them. He insists that it's a requirement but the other office I use doesn't bother. This is especially relevant if you're sending a packet as a letter, or printed paper.

martindow

My local sub PO has recently received information that they must use small packet rate for anything other than letters. Previously they had offered whatever was cheapest.

They also mentioned that some people who had sent light items at the cheaper letter rate had them returned because of insufficient postage.

macfly

redmower3 wrote: »

here's the link...

http://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/Overseas%20Letter%20Post%20Scheme%20April%202012.pdf

page 8 defines a letter as..

"letter" includes any communication in the nature of current and personal correspondence, and also includes a packet transmitted at the letter rate of postage and containing goods or articles of merchandise

page 41 defines the max size of a letter...

max weight 2kg
max Length, breadth and depth: Combined900 mm Length600 mm Breadth600 mm Depth600 mm


hope this helps

cheers Mick

Doesn't really help Mick. You are interpreting it wrongly.

redmower3

@macfly

perhaps you could advise where my interpretation is incorrect?

i believe the cause of problems is that post office staff see anything that is not an envelope as a packet.

the document i refer to makes it quite clear that a letter can be any size (within certain guidelines) and is a letter as long as it contains correspondance.

i take a copy of the document i have linked to earlier with me when i visit the post office

it works for me and I have never had any comeback

redmower3

no reply from macfly