Getting 'Proof of Postage' at the post office

Yellowstone2

I sometimes send small parcels to my daughter at Uni, and automatically get given a 'proof of posting' receipt with the post code of the destination on it when the parcel is weighed for postage.

Last week I needed to send something as a 'large letter' as the contents made it too thick for a normal letter. 

As it had something in it (not megga valuable or I would have asked for tracking) I asked if I could have proof of postage just in case it got lost in the post. But I was told that they don't issue proof of postage for large letters with items in, only for parcels. 

They also said that proof of postage is worthless, because if anything did go missing, all I can claim back is the cost of the stamp, and I don't need a proof of purchase receipt to do that.

Does anyone know if this is totally correct?

DullGreyGuy

1st class post is covered for up to £20 if you have evidence of the value of the contents, if the contents has no intrinsic value or you cannot prove it then you are limited to claiming postage

https://www.royalmail.com/retail-compensation-policy-loss 

Yellowstone2

Thanks, so there isn't any point in doing a proof of postage then? I'm not sure how I would prove what was in the envelope anyway, (Its worth was about £9, so I thought with proof of postage it would have a bit more protection if something went wrong.  

Yellowstone2

Jacob_Jones said:

For anything larger than a letter, I find DPD or Hermes much better than Royal Mail. 

I think i'll consider that for anything in the future, I'll look at the prices. But for smallish value items where a RM large letter would cover it (size wise) paying the cost of a parcel really bumps up the price.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

The Post Office is incorrect, they do give COP for large letters and you'd use this to claim the item value (up to the compensation limit) if it went missing, either the staff member is ill informed or couldn't be bothered... 

You can buy postage online, cheaper than the PO, various options for getting the mail in the system (collection, DO, PO, post box) and a wider range of services (Tracked). 

https://send.royalmail.com/

Jacob_Jones said:

For anything larger than a letter, I find DPD or Hermes much better than Royal Mail. 

Carrier pigeon would be better than Hermes, DPD are unlikely to beat Royal Mail on price, RM Tracked is reliable and currently very reasonably priced, drop off to door is £6.47 on DPD's site, until the end of the year that could be as low as £2.85 (small parcel 2kg) or a medium parcel up to 10kg for £5.95 both RM Tracked 48.

DPD does have the advantage of accepting a slightly bigger parcel, 60x60x60 compared to RM 46x46x61 (as medium parcel).

soolin

The post from lunatic is correct, the PO can easily give you POP on a LL although I too have come across some PO that pretend they can’t. the last time I was told that I asked for the managers name and explained I would be complaining to Post Office counters - the manager arrived and told the clerk that of course I could have a receipt for my LL!  I had half a dozen LLs to go this morning and have POPs on all of them.

soolin

Jacob_Jones said:

For anything larger than a letter, I find DPD or Hermes much better than Royal Mail. 

Really? I find quite the opposite . Sent a large unwieldy parcel this morning 4kg which just got into the size dimensions for a medium parcel - sent RM tracked 48 with £100 compensation for £5.95. Evri would be £8.80 for the same service and as many buyers won’t buy from sellers using Evri I would also have limited my sale market . DOD would be £9.47. 

As for large letters I can’t see any service that beats my often used 2nd class LL up to 100g for £1.05. That comes with £20 standard compensation. 

km1500

"They also said that proof of postage is worthless, because if anything did go missing, all I can claim back is the cost of the stamp, and I don't need a proof of purchase receipt to do that."

 They are wrong - your large letter 2nd class is covered for up to 20 pounds or the value whichever is less, provided of course you have proof postage which they should have issued when you gave it to them.

Jenni_D

The equally (if not more) important aspect is this ... a certificate of posting gives proof that you sent something to a given address on a given date. That something is deemed delivered 2 working days later (if sent first class) unless the opposite can be proven.*

This can give you some protection where sending something on time is of particular importance.

* And proving non-delivery can be difficult. That's why people who are served NIPs can find it difficult to prove that it was served late. The David Beckham case was a rare scenario where the lease company (to whom the first NIP was served) date-stamp all incoming mail ... it was found that the NIP arrived a day late and meant that DB got "off" his speeding charge; because the first NIP was late it them meant that any subsequent charge had no legal foundation.

sheramber

I have had many proofs of postage for an ordinary letter.

these were entries for  dog shows and I needed proof of postage in case an entry form didn't turn or was received after the closing date.

Yellowstone2

Thanks for all your replies.
So POP/COP can be given  for large letters, does give some sort of 'added protection' in the event of something going missing, but maybe staff try to avoid the faff of having to do it?

So in theory, if I sent an item as a large letter with POP and it didn't arrive, what other 'proof' would I need to be able to make a claim for the value of the item, rather than the value of just the stamps?

Even taking a photo of the envelope before posting doesn't really prove it's contents. 

It either seems to be a service that doesn't really give you any extra protection as it's difficult to prove what was in the envelope, even if you have proof an envelope was sent, or it's a service that could be abused by many fake claims.