Exclusive: Royal Mail bosses charge for mail just 1mm over

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Exclusive: Royal Mail bosses charge for mail just 1mm over size limit

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scott ... -20983918/

SCROOGE Royal Mail bosses are raking in tens of thousands of pounds by demanding "ransom" payments for Christmas cards they claim are too big.

Families and pensioners across Scotland are having to trek to delivery offices and stand in long queues for the privilege of paying more than £1 a time for their festive greetings.

And thousands of cards are being kept under lock and key until the Royal Mail, who are owned by the taxpayer, get their extra cash.

One fed-up customer told the Record last night: "It's like a ransom situation. It's a rip-off and an absolute disgrace."

Another added: "The £1 fee seems cruel. I can't believe they're making us pay it."

The victims of the scandal are being caught out by rules which charge extra postage for larger letters and cards.

Many Christmas cards are just small enough - 16.5cm across - to be sent with a normal stamp. But when they are put in envelopes, they go over the limit by one or two millimetres.

Thousands of kids' cards also fall foul of the rules because they play music or include badges, making them too thick.

And as well as having to foot the bill for the extra postage, the people who receive the cards are stung with a £1 "handling fee" for every card that's too large.

Insiders say bosses used to take pity on their customers by relaxing the regulations.

But they claim the cash-strapped Royal Mail are cracking down this Christmas, with "revenue protection teams" patrolling sorting offices to weed out all the cards that are too big.

One source told us: "Thousands upon thousands of cards have been held back this year in Scotland. The figure is far higher than last year's.

"When the size rules came in in 2006, there was a long period of goodwill from bosses when letters and Christmas cards weren't held back.

"Posties used to be able to sneak post through but now there's no room for discretion.

"If a card to your 80-year-old granny is a few pence short on postage, she'll get a payment demand through her door. And if she doesn't pay, she'll never see it.

"The public are angry but so are a lot of staff.

"The posties often get flak after they put the surcharge cards through doors and the guys behind the counters in the delivery offices have the worst job in the Royal Mail.

"They have to take the money off people and they get loads of abuse."

Queues built up at delivery offices around Scotland this week as busy customers were forced to take time out of their Christmas preparations to shell out for their cards.

Although the senders have made the mistakes, the recipients have to pay.

And some customers claim they've been surcharged even though their cards were the right size, sparking fears that the Royal Mail sorting process isn't working properly.

Posties are being given piles of grey cards to put through through doors, telling customers that senders have not paid enough postage.

Charlie McAleer, 61, from Linwood, Renfrewshire, was one of many to fall victim to the surcharge scheme.

He said: "I went up to the delivery office with the notice that came through the door. I thought it was for a parcel but it was a Christmas card - just a normal-sized one.

"It's unbelievable - an absolute rip-off.

"My son's wife posted her cards from Newcastle. She put them through the letter size guide at the Post Office and they said they would be fine with second-class stamps.

"Something's gone wrong. The Royal Mail needs to do some explaining."

The Record also spoke to a 76-year-old who went to a Glasgow delivery office to collect a card sent by a relative. She had to pay 15p extra postage on top of the £1 "handling fee".

The old lady said: "I can't believe it. It just looked like a normal Christmas card.

"This is a lot of money for pensioners to have to pay. It's really not fair.

"But you feel obliged. The card could have a note in it or it could be from a relative, someone you haven't seen for years."

Royal Mail last night denied ripping off the public at Christmas. A spokesman said: "Surcharging customers is the last thing we want to do. We would urge people sending mail to ensure they use the correct postage."

The spokesman also defended the £1 fee, saying: "It helps cover the extra cost of handling items that have been underpaid.

"We always seek to apply any surcharges sensibly. We want to avoid a situation where those who underpay end up being subsidised by customers who pay the correct price.

"If customers are in any doubt about the correct price for an item of mail, they should ask at their local post office, check online at www.royalmail.com or call our customer helpline on 08457 740 740."

The spokesman refused to say how many Christmas cards had fallen foul of the surcharge rules. He urged anyone who felt they had been wrongly charged to contact Royal Mail customer services.

The surcharge scandal has broken as the Royal Mail face a cash crisis, with the rise of email eating into their profits and their pension fund facing a massive deficit.

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson caused fury this week by announcing plans to sell up to a third of the business to a private firm. Dutch company TNT, known for their ruthless cost-cutting, are favourites for the deal, which is backed by RoyalMail chief Adam Crozier.

Critics of the part-privatisation claim it could cost 50,000 posties their jobs and Labour MPs are lining up to rebel against the plan. But it's likely to become law as the Tories support it.

WHEN SIZE DOES MATTER

ROYAL MAIL'S rules on the size of letters have been confusing customers since 2006.

Bosses have decreed that a standard letter can be up to 240mm long, 165mm wide, 5mm thick and weigh up to 100g.

If Christmas cards are any bigger, they are classed as "large letters".

It costs 36p to send a standard letter first class and 27p for second class.

But for a large letter, a first-class stamp will cost you 52p and a second class stamp 42p.

If the Royal Mail decide that a card sent first class is too big, it is treated as second class.

And the person it is addressed to has to pay an extra 6p - the difference between a first class standard letter and a second class large letter, plus the £1 "handling fee".

If a second-class card falls foul of the rules, the recipient must pay £1.15 - the handling fee added to the 15p difference between the two second-class posting charges.

If you've got last-minute cards to send, use our size guide above to work out how much you need to pay.

[Stormproof]

"The posties often get flak after they put the surcharge cards through doors and the guys behind the counters in the delivery offices have the worst job in the Royal Mail.

At last someone publicly admitting this is the worst job

[kingtubby]

"The posties often get flak after they put the surcharge cards through doors and the guys behind the counters in the delivery offices have the worst job in the Royal Mail.

At last someone publicly admitting this is the worst job

Well it's better than the days when charges had to be collected on the doorstep. At least they've got some glass to protect them

[dvbuk55]

"The posties often get flak after they put the surcharge cards through doors and the guys behind the counters in the delivery offices have the worst job in the Royal Mail.

At last someone publicly admitting this is the worst job

Well it's better than the days when charges had to be collected on the doorstep. At least they've got some glass to protect them

I wouldn't collect it - I had been to so many houses where they came to the door with a fiver and the charge then I think was 0.20p - I asked the then DOM for a change float so that we could give change - he said no and so did I. It's only recently that there has been any sort of audit on surcharge money.

[Rowdy]

I measured one the other against our posting guide and it couldn't have been more than a couple of millimetres over. The guy who came in to collect it was OK about it but I didn't charge him for it anyway. Also an old women of 95 paid £3.50 to get a taxi down to our office the other day to collect a surcharged xmas card. How low can Royal Mail go. I've found that most of the customers who come in to collect surcharges are pretty good about it. You get the odd couple who are cheesed off and have a gripe and to be honest I don't blame them. It's like a license for Royal Mail to print their own money.

[Stormproof]

When I worked in Callers we were taking over £1000 per month in surcharges, I'm sure we took that in a week last xmas. Quite often I could'nt work out why Rev Pro had charged the item so would let the customer have it.

[kingtubby]

...so would let the customer have it.

that's a bit of an extreme reaction!

[Stormproof]

...so would let the customer have it.

that's a bit of an extreme reaction!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

...so would let the customer have it.

that's a bit of an extreme reaction!

[not me]

"The posties often get flak after they put the surcharge cards through doors and the guys behind the counters in the delivery offices have the worst job in the Royal Mail.

At last someone publicly admitting this is the worst job

Well it's better than the days when charges had to be collected on the doorstep. At least they've got some glass to protect them

no glass screen in our callers!
all open plan

[k979aaa]

I have heard royalmail have a new improved sizeing equipment if it passes though this you will not be charged!. IT'S ADAM'S :cfo ARSEHOLE SO TIGHT EVEN HIS TURD'S TURN TO DIAMOND'S!. Where there is muck there is the brassnecked :cfo little fu*ker shufleing sh*te for all his might!.

[fmrPOSTIE]

PiP should be scrapped immediately. At least people knew where they stood before the changes.