Royal mail - can I complain about incorrect postage?

tyllwyd

I sent a large envelope to my mil the other week, and she has had a lot of hassle and been charged £1.70 because they said that it didn't have enough postage on it. I am really annoyed because I deliberately went out of my way to take it to a sub-post office and hand it over at the counter so that they would calculate the correct postage.

This wasn't my fault - I went to the post office, asked what the postage was and paid what they asked me to. Is there any way I can complain to the Royal Mail. They accepted my parcel, told me what I had to pay, I paid straight away - and they then turned round and told my mil that it wasn't enough and charged her a penalty for their mistake:mad: . Surely that isn't acceptable??

gt94sss2

Yes, the simplest way to complain is to send an email via the 'Customer Service' section of the relevant website.

Note that the Royal Mail/Post Office have separate websites - though if you complain to the wrong one, they will probably forward the complaint on.

Regards
Sunil

john_s_2

My brother's a postie - he always tells people to ring the National Customer Helpline. The managers at the sorting office sit up and take notice when those guys get on their backs. (The posties are the salt of the earth but don't have the authority to make refunds etc :-) Or that's what he tells me anyway!



08457 740 740

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump3;jsessionid=VS24OT0TZMAUUFB2IGFEQEQUHRAYUQ2K?catId=500185&mediaId=400144

Or 01752 387105 according to Say No to 0870:

http://www.saynoto0870.com/numbersearch.php?number=08457%20740%20740

I'll email my brother and ask him what he thinks.

john_s_2

Al_Mac wrote: »

Didn't they print a label and stick it on? Which I would have thought was proof. They do with mine.

Aha! Very good point. If your MiL hasn't chucked it away already ensure she doesn't.

tyllwyd

Thanks for your help folks.

Yes, she hasn't chucked it away ... but she lives 200 miles away and is too elderly to get to the post office under her own steam so she can't send it back to me without another huge fuss. I'm not sure if they stuck a label or stamps on it. I think it will have to wait until we go there next, so that I can see what the problem was. I'm annoyed with myself for not keeping the receipt at the time.

john_s_2

Hi, I asked my postie brother and he sent me the following comments (I also sent him the link and hoped he had registered and posted).

He sent the below over about three emails, so it is probably a bit rambling ;-)

Just a thought, maybe the stamps/ postage price label had come unattached so it looked like there was no postage.

£1 of the fee is a surcharge, leaving 70p. If that was the price he paid originally then that is probably what happened.

They often get ripped off because people don't stick them down properly.

70p would have to be an exact postage amount, I'd have to check it out.

I reckon his postage label fell off.

70p is an exact price for an A4 envelope over 100g.

But, as Royal Mail make them then it could be a design fault!!

> From the website:

Service Delivery Compensation Tracking Price First Class stamps* Delivery Aim 1 Day Up to £34 No £0.70

He should have got a proof of postage certificate as well when he posted it. They're free of charge.

tyllwyd

Thank you to your postie brother!!

There was some postage on the parcel but my mil was vague about exactly what - the woman behind the counter was a bit distracted, I remember, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if she didn't stick stamps down properly and they fell off.

Yes, I should have kept the proof of postage, but I didn't think of it because the parcel didn't have any value to speak of, it's just that the post office managed to screw up the postage and cause my poor mil stress!!

dzug

If £1.70 was the exact surcharge (and people can be very vague about these things) then as said £1 was the fee and 70p the unpaid postage.

70p is not an exact postage amount for second class post, which is what all underpaid mail goes and is charged at, regardless of what was intended. And I can't see any obvious differential that would mean that the post office undercharged by mistake - which means that SOME stamps falling off (or not being put on in the first place) is the only explanation.

The Post Office are not supposed to stick stamps on (yes I know they do in reality) - they are supposed to give them to you to stick on. That way it's your responsibility whether they stick or not. (They DO have to stick labels on though - you are not supposed to handle them)

Worth complaining I would have thought - but don't leave it too long.