'Item Underpaid' wrongly claimed on package

slb2008

We recently received a card from Royal Mail informing us that a fee was due on an item that had been sent to us.

On paying a fee of £3 we were given the package, which has a 2nd Large stamp on it.

After getting home I checked the size and weight of the package and it is within the limits stated by http://www.royalmail.com/business/services/sending/letters-uk/second-class-letters

The charge is admittedly a small one but it is unpleasant to be overcharged for a service. Moreover the whole system seems designed to prevent people from exercising their rights since you cannot examine the parcel until you have paid the charge.

Any suggestions?

hollydays

Is it to do with the thickness?
When I take items to my local post office , they push it through the letterbox gauge to see if it fits but sometimes it's a grey area as to whether it goes through the slot smoothly, and they charge me the lower price.
If someone the other end decides otherwise it can get tricky.
Was it from a company?
You could go back to the parcel office and ask them?

wealdroam

slb2008 wrote: »

We recently received a card from Royal Mail informing us that a fee was due on an item that had been sent to us.

On paying a fee of £3 we were given the package, which has a 2nd Large stamp on it.

After getting home I checked the size and weight of the package and it is within the limits stated by http://www.royalmail.com/business/services/sending/letters-uk/second-class-letters

The charge is admittedly a small one but it is unpleasant to be overcharged for a service. Moreover the whole system seems designed to prevent people from exercising their rights since you cannot examine the parcel until you have paid the charge.

Any suggestions?

The only weight limit in the link you have quoted is a maximum weight of 750gms.

There are in fact four price bands for the Large Letter rate, as shown in Royal Mail's leaflet:

Was the correct price paid for the actual weight of the package?

pinkshoes

Is the item floppy?? Our local post office insists on everything slightly floppy being a parcel rather than a large letter!

Hermia

I have had this happen twice. On one occasion I went to pick up the parcel from the depot and immediately noticed that the postage paid seemed right for the size/weight. The guy weighed the item in front of me and agreed so I did not have to pay the charge. The second time the parcel was from a company. The company refunded me the money and then complained to the RM about it. Luckily I had taken photos of the parcel before I opened it so I was able to email these to the company.

shaun_from_Africa

If the item was an underpaid large letter then there should have been a fee of £1.50 to pay. (This fee is fixed regardless of the amount of underpayment).


However, if the package measured or weighed enough to qualify as a small parcel but only had a Large letter stamp, the amount to pay on delivery would be £3.