Latest Royal Mail money making scam

[Spun Cuppa]

A quick query re: business reply envelopes. I needed to send something back via one of these free post envelopes, but was told I'd have to pay an extra 40p, as it was overweight? I thought these envelopes were charged to the licence holder, irrespective of weight?

 

[pastafarian]

Got some clothes delivered from Australia last week. Value about £30.

You paid £30 for a brightly coloured vest?

 

[Arkwright]

I think you have me confused with someone who doesn't work for Royal Mail Group. I'm on your side but I was making the point that in the past there were more Post Office staff and more Post Offices to help the public with queries about odd sized letters. One more thing I'd like to add is that since Royal Mail Group became more business orientated they created things like 'Pricing in Proportion'; which in turn has caused this problem.

Sadly on the Post Office front it will only get worse with more cut backs looming. Like so many public service jobs one of the problems is a lack of information and training. We do our best on limited resources and can fully understand why High Street Post Offices have such a bad reputation, luckily I'm based in a small village and have the time to offer a service but when queues are out of the door it must be a tough job.

 

[Arkwright]

A quick query re: business reply envelopes. I needed to send something back via one of these free post envelopes, but was told I'd have to pay an extra 40p, as it was overweight? I thought these envelopes were charged to the licence holder, irrespective of weight?

I thought the same as you, is the envelope marked with a weight restriction?

 

[Mo Gosfield]

In the days before the Royal Mail Group I work for became a business you had plenty of helpful staff across the thousand of Post Offices around the country who would've ensured you had the correct postage on the item you were posting.

That's progress for you...

Ah...thats Mr Adam Crozier for you. Encouraged by the offer of a massive profit related bonus, he decided that hundreds of sub-post offices all over the country would be shut overnight, making thousands of people redundant. The local, personal service that so many people relied on, disappeared, leaving them with no option but to head for the nearest town and join the queues,
He subsequently hiked the cost of postage to such a level, that many individuals and businesses have now decided that standard postage is a thing of the past and now no longer use the service. I know a number of people who have now stopped sending Christmas cards because of the cost.
Defenders of the cause will argue that it is now a leaner, fitter business and that postage is still relatively cheap for the service it provides. I argue that the service the Royal Mail offered was built around local people having local access to use the facility and in many places, that has disappeared.
Never forget...this was the individual that went out and head-hunted Sven GE to be England Football Manager, paying him a vast salary, well in excess of any previous manager and then ensuring that his severance pay lasted years beyond his departure.
That alone, calls his judgement into account, let alone the shenanagins he was up to at Asda.

 

[drew]

2nd class parcels are also a scam.
I sold an old set top box on eBay for 99p

Unfortunately, it was just over 2kg, which for normal 2nd class parcels meant a jump from £8 to £13.35.
But Parcel Force 48, for up to 5kg, which also provides tracking and sign-for, is only £12.92
And all for an item of 99p in value

The old boy in the post office told me that Royal Mail want to phase out the 2nd class service ....

I messaged the guy to explain, and rightly he did not want to pay £13 quid, so I chucked it in the bin ....

In all fairness to RM, I don't think they could give a stuff about how much the item cost. If you had sold a diamond for a couple of thousand but it fit into a standard size envelope (ignoring insurance) and were proposing to post it ordinary post (stupid I know but this is hypothetical!) would you be disappointed if RM said they are going to charge you a percentage of the value even though there was no exacerbated delivery cost to them? Had someone bid £13 for your item would that have made you feel better?

 

[Superphil]

Who on earth sanctioned. The appointment of Crozier to Royal Mail ? Anyone could have seen that he would be only interested in radically altering it to ensure huge profits, massive bonuses for senior staff, and to hell with the quality of service and impact on the general public.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I work for Royal Mail and I know that a Christmas card four inches square would not be classed as a large letter as it is too small. What may have happened is the card did not have the correct 1st or 2nd class stamp on it.

Judge for yourself...

 

[Superphil]

Judge for yourself...

Too thick?

 

[The Large One]

Who on earth sanctioned. The appointment of Crozier to Royal Mail ? Anyone could have seen that he would be only interested in radically altering it to ensure huge profits, massive bonuses for senior staff, and to hell with the quality of service and impact on the general public.

I think that was the point...

 

[Indy]

Its the badge that did it.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Too thick?

There's no need to get personal Phil

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Its the badge that did it.

Indeed. And Clinton cards is full of cards with badges. And not a single warning anywhere that you'll be zapped with a 'processing fee' if you try and send one with a normal 1st or 2nd class stamp like you've done for all of your life up til now.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

In all fairness to RM, I don't think they could give a stuff about how much the item cost. If you had sold a diamond for a couple of thousand but it fit into a standard size envelope (ignoring insurance) and were proposing to post it ordinary post (stupid I know but this is hypothetical!) would you be disappointed if RM said they are going to charge you a percentage of the value even though there was no exacerbated delivery cost to them? Had someone bid £13 for your item would that have made you feel better?

You've picked up the wrong end of the stick there fella ...

My point was aimed at the very high cost of using the most basic of 2nd class economy parcel service actually costing more than a decent tracked and signed for service. Fully agree that to RM the content is of little interest. But to the buyer, paying £13 postage for an item worth 99p destroyed any perception of a bargain he thought he was getting.

 

[Spun Cuppa]

My post was a birthday card thicker than 5mm, so became a Large Letter, and the 60p first class stamp became a 69p second class Large Letter item, hence the request for the 9p + £1 fee

Also, I recently put a first class stamp on an SAE, to get a memory stick back, so will expect another card due to (my) thickness

 

[Nibble]

Charges are a bit steep but I think the cost of postage is fair considering how far they have to take it. As Jack Dee said when he heard someone complaining about 35p cost of a stamp (at the time), "Well take it there yourself, see how far your 35p train ticket gets you".

 

[Superphil]

I think you have me confused with someone who doesn't work for Royal Mail Group. I'm on your side but I was making the point that in the past there were more Post Office staff and more Post Offices to help the public with queries about odd sized letters. One more thing I'd like to add is that since Royal Mail Group became more business orientated they created things like 'Pricing in Proportion'; which in turn has caused this problem.

Out of interest, how did people go about posting items before shops started selling stamps? Answer, you went to a post office. If you bought stamps from the post office it was your responsibility to make sure you used the correct stamps on the item. There was a time when you had to go to a post office, but now you have the option of buying your own stamps, therefore, you still have the responsibility to make sure you are using the correct stamp. If you don't fancy that responsibility, then go to the post office, like you always used to have to, and get them to help you.