Hi, I’m Vikkie and welcome to my Post Office rant. For those who don’t know me, I’m a full time ebay business seller based near Coventry and take great solace in offering frugal fashion & interior tips as a hobby in my blog and YouTube Channel.
My business predominantly sells unique vintage and preowned clothing and with most online retailers, the backbone to the service you offer is delivering your sold goods. I generally prefer to use Royal Mail as it’s more accessible, I don’t need print off labels and can pop in to one of many Post Offices up and down the country to pay and leave. However, since I set up in 2012, I’ve discovered it’s not been as straightforward as I hoped regarding parcel sizes and have been looking for clarity ever since. I’ve finally got my answer from Royal Mail’s head office, but it doesn’t seem to be understood by all branches nationwide.
In 2013, the guidelines for what was classified as a Large Letter and Small Parcel changed to the following in order to check their thickness and size:
“…the item of mail must be able to go through the slot of the template by pushing it through with your fingertips and then pulling it through from the other side.”
However, I find entering an unfamiliar Post Office is a very sticky experience as sometimes it comes at a price more than I bargained for, all stemming from the method in which one checks your parcel. Others have even eyed up a packet without checking and it’s all down to the staff’s discretion, so I’ve been told.
I have my own template at home so I can charge postage appropriately; if it doesn’t fit through the 25mm slot (typically costing around £1.51), then I must charge the customer £2.80 as a Small Parcel. I also like to carry a letter with me from their head office stating the rules as some workers are adamant that a parcel needs to drop through on its own accord. The reason I still need this letter three years on, is that it still doesn’t seem to be understood across the board. Unfortunately, I recently misplaced my letter and had to ring up for a new one (which by the way is now laminated with several copies).
But now it’s 2016 and I am still experiencing the same problems on a rules that only seems word of mouth. You won’t find an answer on google, or on their website and even if you call both head offices of the Post Office and Royal Mail as I did last week, both have conflicting ideas. But I’m not just moaning for the sake of a £1.29 loss; if I were to lose out on every Large Letter being upgraded, I could potentially lose up to £1677 a year. That’s the equivalent of 25 packages for 52 weeks and it becomes no laughing matter when you’re small time. It’s bad business sense if I sat back and let it happen.
I’ve even asked people on money saving Facebook groups and I am in no way the only one (see people’s comments below). I’m then left with some lingering questions: Why is charging people differently still happening? And why should they insist that prices go up each year on March 29th?
It’s vital that all online retailers know where they stand to pass on the correct service charge as part of the transaction. And in 2014 when UK Distant Selling Regulations came in to action, sellers had to then legally issue a full refund including shipping if someone changed their mind and wanted to return something. Also, if you price your shipping too high, it may be a deal breaker or even effect an ebayer’s star rating.
But if you contest someone trying to charge you for a Small Parcel if it needs a bit of a pull through a Large Letter slot, it’s very easy to look like a “moaning member of the general public”. Surely if there’s a reoccurring discrepancies, then this could be fixed by training all staff accordingly? Nevertheless, I now find it much easier to drive out of my way to a reliable Post Office because I need business to be uncomplicated and profitable.
And the most common reason I’ve felt pressured to upgrade is the fear of a recipient possibly getting penalised for insufficient stamps, which can be extremely uncomfortable when there’s a queue behind me However, I’ve only ever had one incident when I’ve had to compensate someone and that was because the stamp had completely peeled off.
Now we are in March 2016, I’ve had to make another Post Office my regular as my closest had shut for good. The member of staff insisted that because she had to pull my Large Letter (which I thought fed through with ease), it needed to go as a Small Parcel.
This resulted in me asking for it back and unprepared to hand over the other 14 I had in my sack and drove on further in the start of snow with my blood boiling. Once I parked up, I immediately filmed myself venting on my camera phone for my frugal YouTube Channel which is soon to be uploaded soon and hopefully put this problem to bed forever.
Here is my more recent letter I received on Saturday for which I am truly thankful for their cooperation. Yes, I could take my business elsewhere but would much rather attempt to resolve the confusion as I find Royal Mail service generally more consistent and reliable than others.
If you’ve had similar experiences or also feel strongly about it, I would appreciate it if you could leave me a comment below and share with this post with any one it may help. I just hope I never have to face this awkwardness again.
Demystifying Royal Mail’s Large Letter Vs Small Parcel Hi, I'm Vikkie and welcome to my Post Office rant. For those who don't know me, I'm a full time ebay business seller based near Coventry and take great solace in offering frugal fashion & interior tips as a hobby in my…
