Warning - Royal Mail Recorded Delivery Letters

RodA_2

I sent a Recorded Delivery letter by Royal Mail on the 14th December 2012, I used Recorded Delivery because I was in dispute with the organisation and wanted to make sure they couldn’t say they didn’t receive my letter.
I received no reply to my letter so I therefore asked Royal Mail for written confirmation they had delivered it on the 10th April 2013.
Royal Mail told me they had no record of delivering the letter and there must have been an ‘error’ in them not recording the delivery. I therefore asked them for a refund of the recorded delivery charges.
They have written back saying they will not refund my payment because "I didn’t inform them that they hadn’t delivered my letter within 80 days".
I could not believe this reply, "I didn’t tell them they had not delivered it" ?
I’ve escalated my complaint through their Customer Service Centre, Escalated Customer Resolution Team and Postal Review Panel and they are all sticking to their statement that it’s my job to tell them they haven’t delivered by Recorded Delivery letter within 80 days of posting.
I find this unbelievable, I’m almost speechless. It follows that customers must contact Royal Mail within 80 days of posting a Recorded Delivery letter to confirm that Royal Mail have actually done what you’ve already paid them for !! After that they can keep your money for NOT providing the service you’ve paid then for.

custardy

RodA wrote: »

I sent a Recorded Delivery letter by Royal Mail on the 14th December 2012, I used Recorded Delivery because I was in dispute with the organisation and wanted to make sure they couldn’t say they didn’t receive my letter.
I received no reply to my letter so I therefore asked Royal Mail for written confirmation they had delivered it on the 10th April 2013.
Royal Mail told me they had no record of delivering the letter and there must have been an ‘error’ in them not recording the delivery. I therefore asked them for a refund of the recorded delivery charges.
They have written back saying they will not refund my payment because "I didn’t inform them that they hadn’t delivered my letter within 80 days".
I could not believe this reply, "I didn’t tell them they had not delivered it" ?
I’ve escalated my complaint through their Customer Service Centre, Escalated Customer Resolution Team and Postal Review Panel and they are all sticking to their statement that it’s my job to tell them they haven’t delivered by Recorded Delivery letter within 80 days of posting.
I find this unbelievable, I’m almost speechless. It follows that customers must contact Royal Mail within 80 days of posting a Recorded Delivery letter to confirm that Royal Mail have actually done what you’ve already paid them for !! After that they can keep your money for NOT providing the service you’ve paid then for.

its fairly simple
you used a service that requires claims to be filed in a set time period

Dogger69

If you sent a letter on 14th December, surely you would check within a week, two at most, that it had been delivered?

Dr_Cuckoo3

They enjoy immunity from civil claims for quite a few of their products unfortunately

Though you can contact the Postal Redress Service thingys - http://www.postrs.org.uk/ which mentions 9 months somewhere for something

They share the bed with the Post Office though

SpammyTheSpammer

about a few years ago. It used to be a one year timeframe for claims but that was reduced to 80 days. I think one of the reasons was that it enabled RM to cop out of the claims process as, frankly, 80 days is not that much. They, RM, take something like 30 days to examine any claims.

At the end of the day, it is all about making RM look profitable so that the Government can sell it off and heaven help us after that happens - I live in the country and can see deliveries ceasing to my village. We will probably have to drive 20 miles to a MAIL CENTER (as in the USA) to collect post weekly.

SpammyTheSpammer

I had one claim refused last year as it was 81 days after the item was posted. I, too, claimed all the way to the top and they stuck to the 80 day rule all the way up

Squoozy

The issue I have with recorded delivery items is that the postman very often just puts them through the door and signs for them himself. I had one only a few days ago, and I was in. A couple of years ago a man from a compltely different street knocked at the door and handed me a recorded delivery letter (containing our holiday documents) that had been put through his door by mistake and signed for by the postman. Had he not come round with the letter I presume Royal Mail would have claimed they had delivered the item.

custardy

Squoozy wrote: »

The issue I have with recorded delivery items is that the postman very often just puts them through the door and signs for them himself. I had one only a few days ago, and I was in. A couple of years ago a man from a compltely different street knocked at the door and handed me a recorded delivery letter (containing our holiday documents) that had been put through his door by mistake and signed for by the postman. Had he not come round with the letter I presume Royal Mail would have claimed they had delivered the item.

Then complain

keyser666

With recorded IIRC it doesn't always come up to say delviered even if it has been. I never use recorded

meritaten

in three years of selling on ebay I used 'signed for' and only had one dispute - perhaps I was lucky? oh and the dispute was resolved as a neighbour was waiting for the recipient to pick up the small parcel under the delusion the buyer would have been told where it was left!

shaun_from_Africa

SpammyTheSpammer wrote: »

as, frankly, 80 days is not that much. They, RM, take something like 30 days to examine any claims.

Not that much?
80 days means that you have about 2 months from when the letter should have been delivered to start a claim. (RM state that it's not considered undelivered until 15 working days from posting)
The time taken for the claim to be examined is irrelevant as you only have to submit the claim within 80 days of posting so however long the investigation takes has no bearing on the time to claim.