Franked parcels rejected by post office

BartyBoy

Hi all

While I am still waiting for an explanation from Royal Mail, I thought perhaps I could ask the same question here to see if anyone knows an answer.

I took two franked parcels to a local post office on Saturday morning. Both parcels were going to overseas, I was asked to fill in a customs form at the counter. While I was completing the forms, the girl behind the counter asked me if the franks had Saturday's date on. I told her no. I explained the parcels were initially franked on the day before (Friday), but I couldn't make it to post office before it shut, so I brought them in on Saturday morning.

The girl then told me she would not accept the parcels with a different date on the franks. I asked her why, she said it was an instruction from her manager. I then explained I didn't work on Saturday, so it was impossible for me to frank the parcel again in that morning. She still said no to me. I had no option but took the parcels with me and left the post office.

I thought it was just that post office being difficult, so I took the two parcels to a main post office. Once again, the staff at the main post office would not accept the parcels too. They told me I would need to re-frank the parcels then claim for a refund on the un-used franks. I simply cannot understand the theory of post office cannot accept my out-dated franked parcels.

When I got back home, I decided to write to Royal Mail to ask the question. I received a reply from the Business Info and Advice Centre saying,

'I am sorry that the Post Office correctly refused to handle the Franked mail with an incorrect date on the franking. If this situation occurs you can re frank the item across the bottom with a zero value. This will then ensure the mail is posted with a Frank for that date and postage paid from the previous Franking impression.'

I still don't understand why I need to produce a second frank for my parcels. The postage on the first frank hasn't changed. So I responded to the Business Info and Advice Centre and asked for an explanation of why an out-dated franked parcel cannot be dropped off to post office. Until this minute, I still haven't heard from the centre.

Many thanks in advance!

sjbrun

Its in the terms of royal mail that you send franked items on the same day as its shown on the package. When you signed the contract for the franking machine you agreed to those terms.

You could always advance the franking date on the machine to show it when your actually going to post it that way you wont have this problem, or just pay at the post office if you dont know when you will post.

Buzby

I'm assuming this was a genuine franked impression - not a SmartStamp or similar? The latter offers some flexibility, but if a franked label - the staff are correct. You need to use a new label with the correct date and seek a rebate for the wasted impression.

it's not hard to see why - mail by the bulk operators can take up to a week to arrive, whereas RM like to ensure mail they handle correctly shows the posting date as if reflects better on them.

BartyBoy

sjbrun wrote: »

Its in the terms of royal mail that you send franked items on the same day as its shown on the package. When you signed the contract for the franking machine you agreed to those terms.

Thanks for your comment.

I think what I am asking here is, instead of just saying it's the T&Cs or the manager's instruction, what is the real reason for not allowing out-dated franked mails to be dropped off to post office?

If Royal Mail says the postage on the franks are cheaper on Friday therefore I cannot post the parcels on Saturday. Then I can fully understand the restriction.

sjbrun wrote: »

You could always advance the franking date on the machine to show it when your actually going to post it that way you wont have this problem

I didn't plan to post the parcels next day, I was only running behind with jobs at work, as a result I missed post office on Friday. Besides, I went straight back to post office next day to drop off the parcels. It's not like I left it for a week then feel like to go to post office.

Both Royal Mail and Post Office argue the frank must show the actual date of posting. Like the Business Centre says I could stick a blank value frank with a new date below the old frank. If that is the case, the postage must still be valid on the old frank.

Azari

BartyBoy wrote: »

Thanks for your comment.

I think what I am asking here is, instead of just saying it's the T&Cs or the manager's instruction, what is the real reason for not allowing out-dated franked mails to be dropped off to post office?

If Royal Mail says the postage on the franks are cheaper on Friday therefore I cannot post the parcels on Saturday. Then I can fully understand the restriction.



I didn't plan to post the parcels next day, I was only running behind with jobs at work, as a result I missed post office on Friday. Besides, I went straight back to post office next day to drop off the parcels. It's not like I left it for a week then feel like to go to post office.

Both Royal Mail and Post Office argue the frank must show the actual date of posting. Like the Business Centre says I could stick a blank value frank with a new date below the old frank. If that is the case, the postage must still be valid on the old frank.

The point of their objection is that the want correct evidence of the posting date.

The whys and wherefores of why you were a day late are neither here nor there. They were not suggesting any kind of fraud or improper payment, just that they wanted the correct date.

You would have a similar reaction if you tried to make a payment into a bank with the incorrect date on the payment slip (assuming the clerk was paying attention) - although in that case simply adding the correct date and initialling it would have sufficed. But they would want the correct date present.

BartyBoy

Buzby wrote: »

it's not hard to see why - mail by the bulk operators can take up to a week to arrive, whereas RM like to ensure mail they handle correctly shows the posting date as if reflects better on them.

Thank you for your comment too.

This is the other thing I don't understand and I know it's now off my original topic/question.

Royal Mail can only be working on aim days for 1st class and 2nd class deliveries. I was told by the RM customer service once that 1st class mail can take up to 5 working days to be delivered. If this is what Royal Mail aims to do, then their service already seems 'poo' to me.

I did think about if it was to do with the delayed mail compensation. But any lost or delayed mail claims must be provided with a certificate of posting. The certificate can only be issued by post office, not the franking machine. So let's say my parcels were franked a week ago and I only drop them off to post office today. The certificate of posting would only contain today's date, not the date when I franked the parcels a week ago.

BartyBoy

Azari wrote: »

The point of their objection is that the want correct evidence of the posting date.

Thanks for making the point, much appreciate it!

As I mentioned on the other reply, the certificate of posting is a physical evidence to prove an item is accepted by Royal Mail. This certificate can only be issued by post office on the actual posting date.

Besides, I have just discovered that there are some red letter boxes on the street especially designed for franked mails and parcels. These letter boxes accept franked mails at anytime 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If I knew/saw them on Saturday, I would have just dropped the parcels to the letter box instead.

BartyBoy

Just received a reply from Royal Mail via email, so I thought I should share the contents of the reply here.

Royal Mail (Business Info and Advice Centre) argues, 'all Franked mail must be posted on the date it was Franked. This is part of the presentation requirements for this service.'

Furthermore, Royal Mail also added that, for the Franking Mail Boxes, senders should only post mail in those boxes on the day the mail was Franked, or the senders may incur a surcharge.

So basically, all these restrictions of posting franked mails are because of this presentation requirements. It's nothing to do with Royal Mail trying to measure their quality of service targets, or to offer compensation for delayed items, etc. etc..

It is all just a show! I think I know what Royal Mail mean when they say that...

custardy

BartyBoy wrote: »

Thank you for your comment too.

This is the other thing I don't understand and I know it's now off my original topic/question.

Royal Mail can only be working on aim days for 1st class and 2nd class deliveries. I was told by the RM customer service once that 1st class mail can take up to 5 working days to be delivered. If this is what Royal Mail aims to do, then their service already seems 'poo' to me.

I did think about if it was to do with the delayed mail compensation. But any lost or delayed mail claims must be provided with a certificate of posting. The certificate can only be issued by post office, not the franking machine. So let's say my parcels were franked a week ago and I only drop them off to post office today. The certificate of posting would only contain today's date, not the date when I franked the parcels a week ago.

BartyBoy wrote: »

Just received a reply from Royal Mail via email, so I thought I should share the contents of the reply here.

Royal Mail (Business Info and Advice Centre) argues, 'all Franked mail must be posted on the date it was Franked. This is part of the presentation requirements for this service.'

Furthermore, Royal Mail also added that, for the Franking Mail Boxes, senders should only post mail in those boxes on the day the mail was Franked, or the senders may incur a surcharge.

So basically, all these restrictions of posting franked mails are because of this presentation requirements. It's nothing to do with Royal Mail trying to measure their quality of service targets, or to offer compensation for delayed items, etc. etc..

It is all just a show! I think I know what Royal Mail mean when they say that...

So you want RM to not bother about posting dates/QOS.
However you also want to snipe that 1st class doesn't offer sufficient QOS for you?

You are also aware RM & POC are separate companies?
So there are financial implications on both sides for failing standards.

browneyedbazzi

BartyBoy wrote: »

Just received a reply from Royal Mail via email, so I thought I should share the contents of the reply here.

Royal Mail (Business Info and Advice Centre) argues, 'all Franked mail must be posted on the date it was Franked. This is part of the presentation requirements for this service.'

Furthermore, Royal Mail also added that, for the Franking Mail Boxes, senders should only post mail in those boxes on the day the mail was Franked, or the senders may incur a surcharge.

So basically, all these restrictions of posting franked mails are because of this presentation requirements. It's nothing to do with Royal Mail trying to measure their quality of service targets, or to offer compensation for delayed items, etc. etc..

It is all just a show! I think I know what Royal Mail mean when they say that...

Did you stop to ask 'why do they have these presentation requirements?' They don't just make this stuff up for no reason.

d123

It makes sense to me as a RM user, I can't see why the OP is being so obtuse.

The rule is post on the dated day, why? So they can conform to QOS.

OP, stop blaming the PO and RM for your tardiness...

You were the one who ran late.