Question for franking machine users or posties: Confusion over posting method.

vacheron

I'm hoping someone can shed some light on posting franked mail for me please.

I have been selling a few small items recently which are just over 5mm thick, so despite just being standard 3 fold window envelope size, they have to go as a large letter.

We are able to use the office franking machine to save having to buy stamps and have an honesty tray to put money in for any personal postage. I have been franking the letters at work and then popping them in any one of the 3 postboxes on my way home and sometimes in the customer postbox inside my local Tesco store.

I've probably done this 10-12 times in the last few months and everything has arrived perfectly without fuss.

Now I come to read up about posting franked mail it appears that I should "not" be putting this in a post box without first placing it in a "low volume posting envelope" I have no idea why this is the case as all of my post has always arrived in the past without incident?

They say another option is to drop it at a post office branch. But when I have done that in the past I have watched them throw the letters in the same generic mailbag with all the stamped mail anyway!

Does anyone know what the disadvantage is of continuing to do what I'm currently doing? By dropping off my own mail it ensured that it would catch that day's collection, but I wouldn't want my actions to cause my company any problems or incur them any extra charges?

RFW

I drop franked mail in a post box, not had any complaints.

Strapped

You are supposed to use a special mailbox for franked mail. I used to often drop off late mail from work because I passed the industrial estate (where the franked mailbox was) on the way home. (There was another mailbox next to it for ordinary stamped mail).

Obviously_the_best

I don't think it makes a blind bit of difference really, they all go through the same system.

RFW

Strapped wrote: »

You are supposed to use a special mailbox for franked mail. I used to often drop off late mail from work because I passed the industrial estate (where the franked mailbox was) on the way home. (There was another mailbox next to it for ordinary stamped mail).

I think they have some special franked mail boxes in town centres/business districts they aren't everywhere. I've never been told that using a postbox would cause a problem. If anything franked mail gets sorted before other mail.

Strapped

RFW wrote: »

I think they have some special franked mail boxes in town centres/business districts they aren't everywhere. I've never been told that using a postbox would cause a problem. If anything franked mail gets sorted before other mail.

I think it's the other way - if you stick it in a normal postbox, without the special envelope, then it could slow delivery down. But it'll still get there.

RFW

Strapped wrote: »

I think it's the other way - if you stick it in a normal postbox, without the special envelope, then it could slow delivery down. But it'll still get there.

Still noticing second class arriving next day on franked, never happens with stamped mail, doesn't matter where I post it.

McKneff

When I worked we used to put the franked mail in a red (first) or green (second) and drop it into any mailbox. As long as it was in a bag as the above it was fine.

vacheron

Thanks everyone.

I noticed that the 'low volume posting envelopes', which RM imply is mandatory when franked mail is put in a normal postbox have 'open immediately" written on them so it may speed up sorting.

I don't really mind if 'not' being in one means delivery takes a bit longer, so long as it doesn't cause my company any trouble.