View Full Version : Royal Mail Rip Off
Stargazer
16-Dec-08, 17:18
Watch out if you are sending any fancy Christmas cards. I've just paid £1.15 for an underpaid delivery that turned out to be a '3-D' card that was just over the 5mm thickness for ordinary post. :mad:
I'm sure some post office jobsworth could have pushed a bit harder.
Did the sender get it sized or just stick a stamp on it?
If the sender did not pay enough Postage the you will get charged for the extra + £1.00 for the admin fee. So if the item was underpaid by £0.15 then you would be charged £1.15 including the Admin fee.
This is NOT a Royal Mail Rip Off as they explain their Prices clearly and if this had been posted from a Post Office they would have been asked to try and fit through the plastic slot. So I think in this case it was the fault of the sender and Royal Mail only implimented their the correct price for this item.
is there anywhere that you can get a sizing guide from?
Yes, the post office, I don't send anything without checking first nowadays.
Bad Manners
16-Dec-08, 18:03
I would hardly call it a rip off as the item was underpaid. If anything it is the fault of the sender. Most of these items are checked by machine and if the item does not correspond to the size and weight a penalty charge is imposed unfortunatly it is the recipient that has to pay not the sender.
I had two identical cards at the Post Office to be checked for size and weight. They were stamped at different rates, and the only difference I could see was one envelope had 3 lines of address, the other six, so we joked it was the weight of the ink.
Another person in the queue that day had brought one of her "funny sized cards" and asked for another 32 stamps for the rest of the same cards still at home. Personally I would have waited until I had them all ready to send if they were a funny size and have them all checked out. Granted I wouldn`t want to be behind her in the queue when she had a huge bundle of cards, but if the PO want to make stamping and sending cards difficult, then that is what has to be done to save the recipient having to pay excess postage.
E-cards are the way to go :D
Stargazer
16-Dec-08, 19:56
Oh Boy, thanks for your support against the corporate big boys at the Royal Mail. This was a bog standard card with a bit of sticking up decoration, probably millions of them on the go right now being sent in all innocence by aunts uncles grandmothers etc. A little light pressure reduced the card thickness to the required 5mm. But a bit of common sense and seasonal goodwill wont boost the soon to be privatised Royal Mail share price.
Welcomefamily
16-Dec-08, 20:15
At least you got it, on a number of occasions around this time of year we dont recieve letters that were sent. In fact the family has got so use to it that they ring and tell us when they send anything.
Personally I think that ever since Royal Mail introduced their new pricing, it's caused nothing but chaos, confusion and delay. I'm sure it causes them no harm to post a letter if it has not fully been meausred for every millimeter in size. Surley if it fits through the letterbox, a single stamp is enough. It's hardly costing them anymore to deliver a letter which is maybe a few millimeters over the size below.
teenybash
16-Dec-08, 20:29
Wa caught out with this too....it's a rip off plain and simple. Having to measure greetings cards is downright nonsense......is it any wonder the Royal Mail is in difficulties.........who is it anyway that comes up with all the crazy ideas swamping this country?[evil]
Tom Cornwall
16-Dec-08, 20:34
Watch out if you are sending any fancy Christmas cards. I've just paid £1.15 for an underpaid delivery that turned out to be a '3-D' card that was just over the 5mm thickness for ordinary post. :mad:
I'm sure some post office jobsworth could have pushed a bit harder.
I almost had to do that for a card which measured 3 inches by 3 inches but had a little bit of decoration stuck on the front of the card. I said to the bloke in the Post Office "you're having a laugh" and told him to keep the card. He got out the measuring slots and just pushed the card through, although it was slightly tight. He then handed me the card.
and I didn't pay it. Whoever decided that it was too thick probably never tried to push it through, but felt the decoration and just made the wrong decision.
.........who is it anyway that comes up with all the crazy ideas swamping this country?[evil]
'e government! ;)
pfft I have given up on the royal mail. I sent my parents xmas card to them Friday 5/12 (big 1st class stamp, just in case) Mum sent me our card on the same day, 2nd class. We both got our xmas cards the following Friday. I just can't believe it!
I hand deliver any cards I want to give out . I then put a donation to charity and explain to other folk I dont send out cards to everyone I know at christmas time. The money being given to charity is a far better way to show some Christmas spirit than wasting it on stamps.
forevera123
17-Dec-08, 21:06
it is safer that you weigh the cards in the post office before you send them off.
Watch out if you are sending any fancy Christmas cards. I've just paid £1.15 for an underpaid delivery that turned out to be a '3-D' card that was just over the 5mm thickness for ordinary post. :mad:
I'm sure some post office jobsworth could have pushed a bit harder.
I had trouble with this for years but I've got a sizing chart, weight guide and price list I printed off from website and it's pretty acurate how to calculate.
pfft I have given up on the royal mail. I sent my parents xmas card to them Friday 5/12 (big 1st class stamp, just in case) Mum sent me our card on the same day, 2nd class. We both got our xmas cards the following Friday. I just can't believe it!
There is a very simple reason for this. We are in the fortunate position in Caithness that all mail is usually delivered as First Class. Ohter places down South do not get this and any 2nd class mail is delivered after the First which could be next day.
So if you are sending mail down South it is still worth sending 1st Class. If someone is sending mail to caithness then 2nd class nearly always arrives as fast as First class Mail.
K
Not always thought Kodiak, I also sent a card to my gran, who only lives down the road. She got hers on the Tuesday!
Not always thought Kodiak, I also sent a card to my gran, who only lives down the road. She got hers on the Tuesday!
Well if she only lives down the road, why didn't you just post it by hand then:confused
down the road from my parents lol
down the road from my parents lol
Ahhh right i thought it was a bit funny that you sent it by post lol:lol:
Im confused by the sizing/weight restrictions now so I am one of the infuriating people that get all their cards checked at the P.O. before getting them to put the stamps on and post them..... so im sorry to anyone behind me in the queue but I have been stung for the extra postage charges for cards for me and dont want the recipients of mine to pay!
brokencross
20-Dec-08, 07:45
I used a piece of stiff card to make my own 5mm slot to check width of mail, then I use a ruler for the length and breadth measurements and digital kitchen scales for the weight.
I keep a selection of large and normal stamps. If width or weight is borderline I always err on the greater postage. Sounds a chore but it certainly beats having to go to the P.O. every time I want to post an unusual size letter.
The Royal Mail are getting a bit of stick about this in today's "Daily Record"
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/12/20/exclusive-royal-mail-bosses-charge-for-mail-just-1mm-over-size-limit-86908-20983918/
As far as I can see, they are not doing themselves any favours by alienating customers in this way, at a time when their business has problems.
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