Royal Mail Large Letter now up to 1kg - but no one told Royal Mail this?

[leafletmaker]

We sent a large letter to a customer recently, that weighed in just over 800g. Dimensions were within Large Letter and we were expecting it to be a parcel because it was over 750g, but we discovered that Royal Mail have recently upgraded their Tracked 24 and 48 service to allow Large Letters to be up to 1kg now, instead of 750g... when postage is purchased online through Click & Drop. We don't use a RM account so we do purchase all of our post via Click & Drop.

The buyer just contacted us to say they had to pay a £3.50 fee, which they paid (we told them to refuse but they had already done so and said they didn't know what the item was until they paid it... even though they would have seen the tracking info on their eBay account prior to this, but I digress...). In their photo (attached and redacted) the yellow sticker clearly indicates that someone at Royal Mail has identified the item as being 802g, has circled "weight", and clearly thinks it should have been paid for as a parcel due to it being over 750g. So has no one told Royal Mail that Large Letters sent via Tracked 24/48 can now be up to 1kg?

We would have paid the surcharge on behalf of the customer (directly to Royal Mail) or sent a replacement, if the buyer had informed us first, and then we would have taken the issue up with Royal Mail, but as they have paid it already, I don't see there being a way for us to claim the fee back - I think they'd now be the only one who could do this? Anyway, left with very little choice we have refunded their order in full as it was a low value order and not worth any hassle.

It irks me (but does not surprise me) that Royal Mail don't know what Royal Mail is doing and how to Royal Mail, and I wondered if this is happening to anyone else? We feel that we need to add yet another sticker to the package along the lines of:

NOTICE TO ROYAL MAIL

Large Letters can now be sent up to 1kg via
Tracked 24/48 when postage is purchased
online via Click & Drop. Please DO NOT
assume that the limit is still 750g and claim
that insufficient postage has been paid.

Don't know if that would make any difference... we did have a Royal Mail account but stopped using it because of the ridiculous surcharges and reasons for them, like "unreadable barcode" and similar, but it looks like Royal Mail need educating on Royal Mail.

[susapric-68]

Yes LL can go up to 1KG as long as tracked 24/48. I would contact RM and get your surcharge back

[leafletmaker]

The problem is I didn't pay the surcharge, the buyer did. Royal Mail will try to wriggle out of anything unless you can provide absolute evidence of weight, payment, etc., and the buyer (unfortunately) is very ignorant and isn't interested in my explanation of why this happened or in helping me any further than sending the photo. I would most likely need a photo of the item on a set of scales which I don't have (and buyer won't be prepared to send me - they made that very clear!), would need a copy of the payment receipt or transaction, and to be honest, I cannot be bothered with Royal Mail. It would cost more in time than it's worth.

[edwardian-dreams]

Did the post office not weigh it..would the weight be on the postage receipt  

id at least kick up a stink out of principle 

[susapric-68]

Can't let RM get away with it. I use a business account and many time they have tried to charge me for an over weight item that i have proof is correct. Postage label shows 1kg tracked and that's is now correct as they go up to 1kg LL, so they have to show to show you proof its not correct. Not being picky but you should have refunded the surcharge to the buyer as it is not their fault (as well as yours) and claimed it back from RM. Not sure if a mod will delete this but customer service number for RM is 03457 740740

[leafletmaker]

We either drop off at our local depot or book collection so no Post Office involvement, but the weight isn't the issue directly. The issue is that whoever has flagged it as underpaid does not know that their employer has increased Tracked Large Letter to 1kg, has identified the weight as 802g and thinks that because it's over the (old) 750g limit that we've not paid enough postage. We'd make an effort to complain but I think we would be wasting our time trying to get RM to admit they've made a mistake.

[edwardian-dreams]

Ok fair enough

i would (because I have time to waste) as they’ve taken money off someone they had no right to …you could Twitter them , they’ll respond quicker there

[susapric-68]

Looks like my replay got removed because i put in a phone number. You should refund the surcharge to the buyer because it is not their fault (along with yours) and challenge it with RM. The photo does shows 1kg and that is correct now and RM will try and get away with it if they can. There's a phone number you can phone (can't put it in as they remove my reply) and explain everything to them

[rainbowtrax]

Submit your complaint here: Contact Royal Mail. You have the photos and that's evidence enough. Over the years, I've used that every time Royal Mail have wrongly charged me or a buyer. It happens as they don't seem to train their staff in any updates like this change from 750g to 1kg - but slapping on a fee if they think they can get away with it they've got down to a tee. They only ever compensate in books of stamps, you'll never get any actual money out of them. But as long as the stamps are worth more than the illegal charge then that's good enough. If you point out exactly what they've done, why they're wrong, and how much they owe you then they should admit it and send you stamps.