Post Office not accepting prepaid letters

topcat105

I went into my local PO this morning with a number of 2nd class large letters to send. They had more than enough postage on them with stamps that I need to use up.
The girl said the system had been updated and it wasn't letting her put prepaid as a method of payment.
I ended up having to go to the next village who accepted them no problem at all.
Is this a new thing or did she just not know what she was doing ?
I have loads of picture stamps so if this is a system update I will be very unimpressed 😒 

Misslayed

Is there a reason why you can't just put them in a post box?

elsien

Wanting proof of postage?
Wanting to send things tracked or special delivery?
That’s when I’d be handing them over at the counter rather than using the post box. 

soolin

Misslayed said:

Is there a reason why you can't just put them in a post box?

As has been said proof of posting is the obvious one. I will put the odd large letter or two direct into a post box, but if I have more then I prefer to have proof of posting for peace of mind. 

topcat105

Misslayed said:

Is there a reason why you can't just put them in a post box?

Yes sorry forgot to mention I was sending them signed for

martindow

topcat105 said:

Misslayed said:

Is there a reason why you can't just put them in a post box?

Yes sorry forgot to mention I was sending them signed for

A bit off topic, but there is really no reason to send signed for any more.  The level of compensation is £20, the same as the ordinary service.  If the item has a higher value it is better to use Tracked 48 or 24 to be sure it is covered.

soolin

martindow said:

topcat105 said:

Misslayed said:

Is there a reason why you can't just put them in a post box?

Yes sorry forgot to mention I was sending them signed for

A bit off topic, but there is really no reason to send signed for any more.  The level of compensation is £20, the same as the ordinary service.  If the item has a higher value it is better to use Tracked 48 or 24 to be sure it is covered.

I second that,  Tracked 48 is an absolutely brilliant service, although I'm not sure you can use it using stamps.

Money_Grabber13579

soolin said:

martindow said:

topcat105 said:

Misslayed said:

Is there a reason why you can't just put them in a post box?

Yes sorry forgot to mention I was sending them signed for

A bit off topic, but there is really no reason to send signed for any more.  The level of compensation is £20, the same as the ordinary service.  If the item has a higher value it is better to use Tracked 48 or 24 to be sure it is covered.

I second that,  Tracked 48 is an absolutely brilliant service, although I'm not sure you can use it using stamps.

This is something I was thinking about the other day. If sending, say, a small parcel with a Royal Mail collection, could you buy a Tracked 48 label for a letter and then top up the balance with stamps? In theory it should work but practice can be very different!

misterthrifty

topcat105 said:

I went into my local PO this morning with a number of 2nd class large letters to send. They had more than enough postage on them with stamps that I need to use up.
The girl said the system had been updated and it wasn't letting her put prepaid as a method of payment.
I ended up having to go to the next village who accepted them no problem at all.
Is this a new thing or did she just not know what she was doing ?
I have loads of picture stamps so if this is a system update I will be very unimpressed 😒 

I think this is more to do with the staff not understanding the system and the recent changes, there is no reason for them to not accept stamped letters. You can contact the PO direct with details of the branch and I'm sure they will correct the staff. The local PO also gets a small credit for handling your letters.