Post Office Charged for Evri Delivery

soolin · 17 February at 5:14PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888311#Comment_81888311

Ño, stamps aren’t legal tender. RM take cash or cards , I’m not even sure they take a bank transfer anymore .

Believe me if the PO would take stamps as currency I’m sure I could find something to buy from them that would be more use than all these stamps I have. Even better if the PO would take stamps as currency, I’d buy some sort of bond or saving stamp that could be converted to cash.

According to the RM site they take debit or credit cards or PayPal for unpaid or other charges.

https://www.royalmail.com/receiving-mail/pay-a-fee

soolin · 17 February at 5:20PM

RM confirm stamps are not legal tender, they can only be used to ‘pre pay’ postage

Are stamps legal UK tender?

No, stamps are not legal tender. They’re valid for prepaying UK postage but can’t be used to pay for goods or services like coins or banknotes can.

https://www.royalmail.com/sending/stamp-costs-and-faqs

molerat · 17 February at 5:23PM

Yours won't be the first or the last now PO are taking parcels from all and sundry as they no longer have an exclusive contract with RM with the obvious chance for them to screw it up. RM now even have their own branded shops on the high street which are not "post offices".

Spoonie_Turtle · 17 February at 5:44PM

According to the RM site they take debit or credit cards or PayPal for unpaid or other charges.

Slight diversion from the topic but those aren't legal tender either, legal tender is a very specific and narrow definition and I'm not entirely sure it's relevant here. https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender

"English banknotes are not legal tender in Scotland. Scottish notes are not legal tender in England or Scotland. Debit cards, cheques and contactless payments are not legal tender anywhere. …

A shop owner can choose what to accept. … . If your nearest corner shop decided to only accept payments in Pokémon cards, they would be within their rights to do so. But they would probably lose customers.

Legal tender has a narrow technical meaning that will rarely come up in everyday life. The law ensures that if you offer to fully pay off a debt to someone in a form that is considered legal tender – and there is no contract specifying another form of payment – that person cannot sue you for failing to repay."

So technically, paying mortgages, insurance, energy bills, internet, etc. via direct debit or bank transfer or cheque, none of us are using legal tender for those. And most of us aren't using legal tender to pay for our shopping either.

On the matter of repaying £5, two parties can come to whatever agreement they want to settle the debt. Legal tender would only be relevant if the debtor is offering to pay in anything other than physical cash, and the creditor won't agree to accept any of those alternatives.

For RM I think the postage contract does specify they can pay compensation / reimburse postage in the form of stamps, up to a certain amount. In this specific case though it is the Post Office at fault since you didn't enter into any contract with Royal Mail, as you didn't buy postage from them and nor did you engage them to deliver your parcel.

soolin · 17 February at 6:09PM

Apologies used legal tender as a way to avoid un necessary lengthy explanations. As you say in reality shops and institutions can insist on whatever payment methods they want to use, or not.

I have only had a cheque from RM when I’ve made a claim for a lost item, the only time I received books of stamps was many years ago when recorded delivery was an extra 75p and you could reclaim that if the tracking didn’t update. I , along with many regulars here, used to ensure we claimed for each and every one of them as the book of stamps far outweighed the 75p claimed.

Grumpy_chap · 17 February at 6:17PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888601#Comment_81888601

I did not say stamps are legal tender.

The OP was referencing a RM "fee to pay" delivery and whether that could be paid with stamps.

I confirmed that was possible.

I have a "fee to pay" card right in front of me and it offers:

- Pay online with Paypal, or a Credit or Debit Card.

- Pay with postage - add stamps overleaf for the Amount Due. Post this card and we'll deliver your item.

- Pay in person - bring this card and payment to the local sorting office. Please also bring proof of your identity.

I did not say that the PO would take stamps as currency.

I think it is also self-evident that RM cannot take stamps as payment online.

soolin · 17 February at 7:24PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888714#Comment_81888714

well then I apologise as that has not been my experience. The last card I had offered me the choice of paying by card online and having item redelivered, or going to my mail centre and paying by card.

As it turned out I did neither, the mail centre showed me the item and it was as I thought a piece of marketing from a company who had form for sending a huge wad of paperwork and a magazine with a single LL stamp. I declined to pay and they probably returned it to sender.

savergrant · 17 February at 10:05PM

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81888452#Comment_81888452

It always helps when you find you're complaining to the right people....I once made a lengthy complaint when my train was diverted to the wrong station for my lift home then someone very politely told me it was the red star parcels office and to try the station master next door. Then I had a walk home afterwards with all my luggage.