Royal Mail Online Business Account thread

Strapped

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

The red cross (if it's a little cardboard tag similar to the ones you are all ready putting on the bag) means revenue protection will check the mail.

The collections driver should be scanning the barcode on the paperwork printed off from the OBA, no barcode to scan = red crossed.

Whether they just check everything left at the Post Office or the Post Office don't know what they are doing who knows?

I had read that that's what a red cross meant, and did query it with the postmistress (in a jokey don't-you-trust-me sort of a way) but she is adamant that that is what she's been told to do. So maybe they do check all PO PPI mail? Makes no difference to me as I'm not planning on cheating the system!

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Strapped wrote: »

I had read that that's what a red cross meant, and did query it with the postmistress (in a jokey don't-you-trust-me sort of a way) but she is adamant that that is what she's been told to do. So maybe they do check all PO PPI mail? Makes no difference to me as I'm not planning on cheating the system!

Last year they figured out people weren't being honest (who'd have thought it eh?) and claimed they were losing 90 million through PPI abuse (not sure how companies figure such things out) so they changed meaning you had to have paperwork. The local delivery office said one company hadn't been paying for their mail at all and recently they were checking bags of someone who often put too many parcels in compared to the docket. They must be checking the stuff dropped at POs as it's likely to be newer and smaller sellers, such as those on eBay, to make sure there's no mistakes and equally no one is on the fiddle!

Just to update the above post, the fuel surcharge on packetpost is 2.5% of the net vale of the service charge, so for a £1.80 second class packet you'd pay a 4 and half pence fuel surcharge and then the VAT on the rounded up £1.85 is 37pence making the parcel £2.22 in total if you aren't VAT registered.

soolin

The parcel sizes I have been given are:

Size options and weight limits

· Parcel format for items smaller than 610mm x 460mm x 460mm

· Large letter format for items smaller than 353mm x 250mm x 25mm

Parcels- For Royal Mail 24™, the weight limit is 20kg, For Royal Mail 48™, the weight limit is 2kg.

I am being quoted for RM24 and RM 48 but the prices I mentioned are for RM 48 as that best matches my current 2nd class arrangement.
Large Letters -For Royal Mail 24™ and Royal Mail 48™ the weight limit is 750gm

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

I'm not sure where the advisor got 54p from as it's 56p on up to 100g, 80p for 101-250, 1.02 for 251-500 and 1.38 for 501-750 but BPL will be much cheaper for your Large Letters if you aren't VAT registered (unless averaging really benefits you).

You can use both packetpost and BPL on the same docket. For packets, if you can make the most of averaging or need to avoid the whole small/large packet thing they brought in this year there are some good savings to be made.

Strapped

DaiTheBook wrote: »

Dropping off as my waistline needs the excercise!!!

All Post Offices should take them, they can refuse to take them on H&S if their secure area fills up but hopefully shouldnt be a problem around us except for Christmas? Will play it by ear but hoping it will be OK. Guessing town could get busy but theres a few small ones, saw hubby in one on Monday.

Theres a small PO just up the road from your new digs, nice and quiet?

I've been quite lucky, account set up and running in less than 10 days, enquiry to first posting today, the person who took my order didnt add Airmail so having to wait for that to be added to the account which is a pain otherwise all good, RM staff advising the call centres are less frantic so guessing its mellowed a bit.

Did pick up on this forum and a few others about waiting for mail sacks so called the local sorting office in anticipation and they dropped them off within two hours.

You up and running?

I don't seem to have been set up with Airmail either. What's the OBA product code for it, please?

alx2013

Strapped wrote: »

I don't seem to have been set up with Airmail either. What's the OBA product code for it, please?

Overseas is OLA

theonlywayisup

alx2013 wrote: »

Overseas is OLA

OLA is probably the most common. But depending on what you need/volume you may want to enquire about:

IE1 - International Zone Sort Priority.
MP1 Airsure
MP5 ISF

They are probably the basic ones we use.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

theonlywayisup wrote: »

OLA is probably the most common. But depending on what you need/volume you may want to enquire about:

IE1 - International Zone Sort Priority.
MP1 Airsure
MP5 ISF

They are probably the basic ones we use.

MP5 is a contract rate for International Signed For, IE1 is also contract rate (not sure about MP1 as I don't use Airsure) but you need to spend 5K a year on international services to qualify for these and are charged x amount per kilio plus x amount per parcel.

There's also several other contract Airmail codes with varying charges.

theonlywayisup

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head wrote: »

MP5 is a contract rate for International Signed For, IE1 is also contract rate (not sure about MP1 as I don't use Airsure) but you need to spend 5K a year on international services to qualify for these and are charged x amount per kilio plus x amount per parcel.

There's also several other contract Airmail codes with varying charges.

Such a long time since we had them I can't recall what the volumes were, hence the 'but depending' comment.

We use DMO now so I haven't manually input the codes for some time. I know it's the usual bag of codes I see floating around the PS boards when people can't recall the specifics, so assumed they are widely used.

Strapped

Thanks, yes OLA seems to be the one. Appears I do have airmail, hoorah. (Shame they didn't tell me in the welcome here-are-your-codes letter).

Oh, and re. the red cross thing - had another conversation with the post mistress this morning who was at pains to show me her shiny instructions from Royal Mail pinned up in full technicolour glory, which did indeed say "attach a red cross to each bag and mark the one with the paperwork with a P" for customer-sealed PPI mail. Guess they're checking all PO mail.

Also - really silly Q - but DAK is it OK to do more than one confirmed sales order per day? eg drop one lot in the morning, and drop one off at different PO in afternoon?