Changes to compensation limited on RM signed for

Pollycat

Pollycat said:

soolin said:

Pollycat said:

THanks, soolin.
As I said, it didn't sound right.

I asked if I could buy RM Tracked 48 at a sub-post office and was told no (although it sounds like it will be possible from 1st April), I could only drop parcels off.

Yes that's right, at the moment we can only drop off at a PO, at some date (sorry can't remember exact one) it will be possible to buy it at a PO. No doubt it will be more expensive than online, inline with the difference between standard parcels online and at the counter. 

According to your link, it will be 2nd April 2024.

Royal Mail Tracked 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48 available at Post Offices

From 2 April 2024, Royal Mail will add Royal Mail Tracked 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48 to the range of services available to buy at Post Offices. These services will include an optional signature and redelivery options. Customers will also be able to opt for Safeplace which will be accessible online.

OK.
So today is 2nd April.
Went to a largish post office (in WHS) ready to post 4 items Tracked 48.
They can't offer this service as their system hasn't been updated.
So had to rethink and ended up sending 3 parcels 2nd class small parcel not signed for and 1 special delivery.
Small parcel has gone up from £3.49 to £3.69.
So they can update their system to charge more but not update it to offer a service they promised would start today.
Nice bit of prioritising (not). 

topcat105

So they can update their system to charge more but not update it to offer a service they promised would start today.
Nice bit of prioritising (not). 

Yes my thoughts exactly.
Same thing happened to me in my local Post Office 

soolin

Pollycat said:

Pollycat said:

soolin said:

Pollycat said:

THanks, soolin.
As I said, it didn't sound right.

I asked if I could buy RM Tracked 48 at a sub-post office and was told no (although it sounds like it will be possible from 1st April), I could only drop parcels off.

Yes that's right, at the moment we can only drop off at a PO, at some date (sorry can't remember exact one) it will be possible to buy it at a PO. No doubt it will be more expensive than online, inline with the difference between standard parcels online and at the counter. 

According to your link, it will be 2nd April 2024.

Royal Mail Tracked 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48 available at Post Offices

From 2 April 2024, Royal Mail will add Royal Mail Tracked 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48 to the range of services available to buy at Post Offices. These services will include an optional signature and redelivery options. Customers will also be able to opt for Safeplace which will be accessible online.

OK.
So today is 2nd April.
Went to a largish post office (in WHS) ready to post 4 items Tracked 48.
They can't offer this service as their system hasn't been updated.
So had to rethink and ended up sending 3 parcels 2nd class small parcel not signed for and 1 special delivery.
Small parcel has gone up from £3.49 to £3.69.
So they can update their system to charge more but not update it to offer a service they promised would start today.
Nice bit of prioritising (not). 

They seem determined to keep that price difference between RM and the PO. My small parcels bought online are now £3.19 which I thought was bad enough, my RM48 packages are remaining at £3.39 online.

Pollycat

OK.
Called in at a post office (in WHS) this afternoon to post paPollycat said:

Pollycat said:

soolin said:

Pollycat said:

THanks, soolin.
As I said, it didn't sound right.

I asked if I could buy RM Tracked 48 at a sub-post office and was told no (although it sounds like it will be possible from 1st April), I could only drop parcels off.

Yes that's right, at the moment we can only drop off at a PO, at some date (sorry can't remember exact one) it will be possible to buy it at a PO. No doubt it will be more expensive than online, inline with the difference between standard parcels online and at the counter. 

According to your link, it will be 2nd April 2024.

Royal Mail Tracked 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48 available at Post Offices

From 2 April 2024, Royal Mail will add Royal Mail Tracked 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48 to the range of services available to buy at Post Offices. These services will include an optional signature and redelivery options. Customers will also be able to opt for Safeplace which will be accessible online.

OK.
So today is 2nd April.
Went to a largish post office (in WHS) ready to post 4 items Tracked 48.
They can't offer this service as their system hasn't been updated.
So had to rethink and ended up sending 3 parcels 2nd class small parcel not signed for and 1 special delivery.
Small parcel has gone up from £3.49 to £3.69.
So they can update their system to charge more but not update it to offer a service they promised would start today.
Nice bit of prioritising (not). 

OK.
Called in at the same post office this afternoon and asked if they now do RM Tracked 48 (RM blurb said this service would be available over the counter wef 2/4/24.
The manager said she'd contacted RM and was told 'it's been postponed'.
No explanation.
No revised date.
Shocking service from Royal Mail.

24febstarter

I can remember a time when the Royal Mail was more of a public service, rather than the complete opposite of one.

I have items to sell online which would have been posted using the Signed For service. That's before they cynically reduced the cover by 60% (£50 to 20) for an extra 10% charge (small parcel rate is now £5.09 and a complete waste of money).

Can we assume that if the new so-called 'service' has been indefinitely postponed then their deliberate reduction in compensation has also been?
Sadly, I have several hundred pounds worth of postage stamps to use up before I start going Tracked.

topcat105

I wanted to send a parcel Tracked 24 today.

I've got stamps I want to use rather than paying online. (Will start to do that asap)

The post office staff said it will be at least a month before the system is updated.

Ended up having to pay nearly £8 more for Special Delivery as £20 compensation is not nearly enough.

A total rip off. I have emailed a complaint to RM. Not that I expect it will do any good...

24febstarter

It makes you wonder whether Royal Mail will EVER get it fixed? It doesn't seem to be a priority for them. The reduction in compensation, which was never index-linked, is shocking. Possibly the best part of the wheeze may be that having sold all these soon-to-increase postage stamps previously it's better business for the RM to get everyone to keep those as obsolete mementos and pay for their postage online. Clever.

Otherwise, it is starting to look as if Special Delivery is the favoured option for pretty much all priority postage. It's the service that seems most frequently pushed by the Post Office. Got a birthday card to send? Want it guaranteed to arrive within 3 days? That'll be £7.95, thank you. You can't put a price on peace of mind.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

24febstarter said:

It makes you wonder whether Royal Mail will EVER get it fixed? It doesn't seem to be a priority for them. The reduction in compensation, which was never index-linked, is shocking. Possibly the best part of the wheeze may be that having sold all these soon-to-increase postage stamps previously it's better business for the RM to get everyone to keep those as obsolete mementos and pay for their postage online. Clever.

Every year there are articles on stamps going up and some places suggest you stock up to save when the prices go up but the online site has been around for a good couple of years now and I don't see much saving with lower priced stamps when you consider the investment, the limited options and the risks of services changing (unless you are just saving stamps for xms cards, etc). 

I would imagine the cost of a 2nd Class Signed For small parcel vs Tracked online has eaten up most of the savings on buying stamps in the past, it wasn't long ago RM cut the price of Tracked online and were only charging £2.70 for a 48 small parcel.  

Singed For is out dated, a squiggle in a box, usually done by the postman, doesn't really mean anything and I don't think Signed For (or Recorded as it used to be called) was ever meant for people sending parcels in the way we do now, really Royal Mail could have come out with Tracked a few years earlier.

For items worth maybe £30 including postage you are probably better off with 2nd Class and putting the Signed For fee in a jar to self insure, with delivery confirmation there is less risk of false claims and well packaged, clearly addressed parcels don't go missing that often. 

The reduction in compensation is probably to push people to Tracked, Royal Mail being late rolling it out to POs isn't a surprise but surely you are better off buying Tracked online than using £8.70 worth of stamps at the PO and saving stamps for items where you can send 2nd Class standard?

If I see something I want on eBay with RM Signed I usually pass if there are other sellers, either they are overcharging me for something that could go 2nd Class standard because the item is under £20 or they could pay less anyway for RMT48 and give me a tracking number that fully tracks including telling me in advance what day the parcel will arrive.  

24febstarter

To be fair, MSE was one of those places where you'll have heard it was a good idea to stock up on postage stamps before yet another 10 to 15% Royal Mail price hike - thanks, Martin! But then how was anyone to know that postage stamps seem to be getting being phased out?

As an Ebay seller I'd want to use a service that protected me in case a pricey item was 'lost' in the post. Aside from the obvious lack of index-linking Signed For did the job up to £50. That this was cut to £20 does look like a ploy to phasing out the service. But even then some basic tracked service available to buy over the P.O. counter would seem to be an essential requirement, bearing in mind not everyone sending an item must be online and even fewer can print off address labels.
 
We also have threads elsewhere by confused buyers attempting to check a photo to identify where on earth their 'delivered' parcel has ended up, often to an unrecognisable front door outside their neighbourhood.

Ultimately, if RM won't provide the service it seems likely that other couriers will end up picking up the business. 

soolin

24febstarter said:

To be fair, MSE was one of those places where you'll have heard it was a good idea to stock up on postage stamps before yet another 10 to 15% Royal Mail price hike - thanks, Martin! But then how was anyone to know that postage stamps seem to be getting being phased out?

As an Ebay seller I'd want to use a service that protected me in case a pricey item was 'lost' in the post. Aside from the obvious lack of index-linking Signed For did the job up to £50. That this was cut to £20 does look like a ploy to phasing out the service. But even then some basic tracked service available to buy over the P.O. counter would seem to be an essential requirement, bearing in mind not everyone sending an item must be online and even fewer can print off address labels.
 
We also have threads elsewhere by confused buyers attempting to check a photo to identify where on earth their 'delivered' parcel has ended up, often to an unrecognisable front door outside their neighbourhood.

Ultimately, if RM won't provide the service it seems likely that other couriers will end up picking up the business. 

I haven't used postage stamps on parcels for about 5 years now and I cannot be alone in that. So being able to make my own decisions on whether or not to stock up on stamps (and already holding hundreds of pounds worth) I chose the sensible option and didn't buy any - instead I use online postage as it is both cheaper and considerable less hassle. Yes I am a board guide on here, but that doesn't mean I have to do everything that Martin's team suggests, I am perfectly able to make my own decisions.

I accept that for people sending single items then it may be an issue having to pay for special delivery instead, but perhaps for a couple of times a year that isn't affecting a lot of packages, if someone sends personal items regularly, but doesn't use the internet or a smart phone then they may have to perhaps consider a simple smart phone or find a friend or relative that can assist in buying postage online and asking RM to collect. 

Royal mail signed for was always an inferior service, and there was very little point to using it once RM48 was bought in and then only for items not covered by the £20 standard post. I did use signed for on one single line I carried as the item was letter size and in a category that appealed to people that would often chance their arm with a false INR claim (most of these were not sold on ebay) . Luckily that item will finish very shortly so I will have no need for it any longer and if I did I would just upgrade to LLRM48 instead.

There are already other couriers that offer competition to RM for parcels, but my own personal experience is that they are no better and no cheaper than RM, but again it is personal choice which you choose to use.