Royal Mail Surcharge Rip-off

[osalk49]

I just received an email from Royal Mail and am shocked about their excessive surcharges.  They are getting more desperate and bringing in excessive fees. There is no alternative to the Royal Mail Large Letter service, and I have to continue to use it. I said that I could come and get my parcels back, but they refused and asked me to pay the fee. 

[thesmokingrunner]

To be honest the easiest way to avoid surgcharges is to make sure the postage is correct in the first place...

To have 7 RM24  items found to be Parcels by dimension when they were declared as Large Letters  and an RM48 parcel found to exceed the dimensions allowed for the postage paid suggests you were pushing the limits when you dispatched them.

Granted, it may be that you are sending 'soft' items which can bunch up and settle at one end of an envelope or plastic postage pouch, thereby turning what was within LL dimensions when it was dispatched (with a maximum thickness of 25mm) into a parcel, but the simple solution would be to sandwich the item between two pices of card to prevent that happening in transit.

As for the RM48 parcel exceeding the permitted dimensions, from the (limited) information available it looks as if you thought you were within the allowable limit, though very very close to it, but RM decided otherwise.

Surcharges are there for a reason - they're there to prevent people trying to 'play the system' and send something at a lower cost. The bottom line is if you paid the correct postage in the first place RM wouldn't issue a surcharge notice.

If in doubt, go a size up postage-wise in future.

[fargvs]

As well as the PO/RM guide, search excellent  ' seajay's home ' for accurate Domestic/ International size/weight postal rates.

[direct.gifts]

It looks like your mail has been checked by Revenue Protection and they have found these issues. The chances of overturning this is slim.

I would suggest that you download and read a copy of the how to present your mail guide from the RM website. Your most hefty surcharge appears to be that you mixed parcels and large letters in the same bag which you shouldn't do.

If you haven't got one already I would also suggest you buy a postage slot to check that your large letters are the correct height. As long as they go through the slot easily and you do not need to force it through you should be okay. Also check your length and width as well with a tape measure. 

If you present your post correctly you can avoid surcharges. Very occasionally you may get a unjustified surcharge due to a machine error but these are fairly rare abd xan normally be challenged.

Whilst the surcharges are high it is just not about making money for RM. It is also a deterrent to stop people bending the eules

[steberrill]

Royal Mail should have some Leaniancy, when i send large letters they are perfect and are below 25mm thickness. but once in transit we have no control on what will happen to the large letter and they absolutely know this. They must have 0 adjustment allowance and measure to the mm.  

[myriad*seller]

If they can and do change shape during transit then they aren't large letters

Tape them down inside the parcel so they cannot change shape

Large letters must remain the correct size for posting throughout their entire journey, not just when you flatten them at the PO counter. 

For example, I am posting something today that if the contents moved about would stop it being large letter. So I stapled each items bag next to each other onto a piece of card. So they cannot bunch up or move about. 

[dch2112011]

I believe that you can ask for the post to be returned for you to repackage and resort - this is a major hastle and will delay deliveries even more.

Your choice but basically cough up and learn the lesson from the advice already given 

I would explain that you had a new employee packing and has obviously been over enthusiastic with trying to force items into the wrong size packages - you have arranged for further supervision and training - RM can and will suspend your account if they believe it was a deliberate act to avoid postal fees

[moldosgifts]

Lets not forget that royal mail make mistakes,

Appeal every on of them.

I had a LL the weighed under 20g that royal mail claimed was a parcel weighing over 1kg

They sent a photo of the large letter i'd posted so i sent a photo of the exact same item on my scales showing the actual weight and declared wieght, ialways decalre an extra 2g.

They then wiped out the surcharge charge no aoplogy mind.

[savageoi]

they are a law unto themselves, just had a 22g large letter charged at a 705g parcel , filled their form in and they refunded THIS one but they have a new scam called "unreadable barcode" and they refuse point blank to refund these as they say everyone has faulty printers! Absolute rogues

[jonloveridge]

I am unsure why you so vehemently defend Royal Mail. They are unreasonable in their system and appeal system. How on earth am I supposed to tape measure each package I send when we are talking very small £. I take it to the post office and expect the employees to measure it correctly

i think they know when it’s eBay and they do these surcharges knowing no ability to appeal and make easy money

[itemclear]

Well " I take it to the post office and expect the employees to measure it correctly" No!

By the CRL codes you have a business account with RM giving you discounted prices. This means you have a contract with RM and if you read T & Cs you will find a great deal about your responsibility to PRESENT the mail in bags for each service you use and for each class of service.

 So it is up to you to measure and weigh each package and pre-sort it into appropriate Class and Type for RM.