@robbtyke132010 wrote:
I do not think there is anything to stop anyone putting on a first class large letter stamp to pay second class postage. Am I correct in this?
Absolutely! I do this myself. A bit of advice from personal experience:
1 - Some PO counter staff struggle with the concept. They shouldn't, as it's totally above board, and is a basic fact of postage rules that they ought to know from their training, but I've had to explain it on more than one occasion. Maybe I'm just unlucky; there used to be a main PO in my town, but it closed years ago, and now my nearest PO is in a back corner of WH Smith. The staff are actually employees of WH Smith, not the PO, so it's more like a franchise - and perhaps the training is less thorough.
2 - As an added precaution, write the service used (including class, obviously) somewhere prominent on the package. This shouldn't be necessary if a barcode sticker is produced, as the barcode will include the service paid for. There are at least two scenarios in which a barcode isn't produced.
The least likely, but one that I very recently encountered, is one in which the counter staff don't know how to do it. The lady in question is quite friendly, but quite scatty, and prone to getting confused and flustered. I had to remind her at least once during the transaction that I was sending the item 2nd Class, even though I'd clearly stated this at the start. As she didn't know how to do the label, she insisted I stick extra stamps on the package (the combined value of these extra stamps being the difference between the value of the 1st class stamp I already had and the cost of 2nd class postage for the item). I would have made more of an issue, but I'd already been waiting for a while, and there was a large queue behind me. I did later speak to another member of staff, politely pointing out that this lady needed some extra training, mentioning that I rarely have space on a package to place a load of additional stamps, and that this shouldn't be necessary in the first place.
The more common scenario is if you just put a stamp on the package, then pop it in the postbox (although, obviously, you won't get a Certificate of Posting that way). If you don't clearly write "[x service] 2nd Class", then your package (or, rather, chosen service) may well be deemed to be underpaid 1st Class, rather than correctly-paid 2nd Class.
There are possibly other scenarios, too. I hope you didn't find this reply too long-winded and/or condescending. Since you were asking for confirmation, I thought I'd answer you, but also thrown in those (hopefully useful) caveats. Obviously, no seller wants a buyer to be landed with a charge for underpaid postage - especially when the seller has actually paid the correct amount (for 2nd Class).
