Royal Mail. Are they Business Friendly?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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Royal Mail claim to be champions of small business but lately I’ve found their services to be royally lacking.

Take the bizarre problem I encountered recently with a redirection order.

I run my business from home so choose to use a PO Box address for my business post. Redirecting my personal mail was fairly straightforward although you are obliged pay per name rather than for the address so, as I use both my maiden and married name it cost me twice as much.

Nevertheless, it’s a useful service and it seems Royal Mail are happy to carry on with it for as long as I am willing to pay for it. However, when it came to redirecting the PO Box post I was told I could only do this for six months. Why? Because we have moved to a different postcode area Royal Mail consider it a ‘security risk’ to redirect PO Box post outside of the original PO Box postcode area. I was told however that if I provided them with another address within the original postcode area (an address of a friend for example) that I could have my PO box post redirected there. Surely this is less secure than simply sending it to me directly especially considering I had only moved six miles away?!

As I’m sure most people can appreciate, it can take a long time to ensure that all your customers, suppliers and business partners have updated your contact details. Certainly longer than six months and particularly when your business is a local magazine and your address had been widely published and used for all sorts of correspondence ranging from crossword entries to submission of artwork. However diligently you ensure that all your stationary is updated and advise people, some will still fail to update their records.

Sure enough, six months after our move I was duly advised by Royal Mail that my PO Box post could no longer be redirected to me. I was not confident that all my contacts would have updated their details so pressed for an extension with Royal Mail.

Frustratingly, it was not possible to do this by telephone or by email and I was told to write to the redirection centre (at least it was a Freepost address!). I was not given a named contact to write to so when I did not receive a reply it was impossible to follow up. I was told that as I had not heard I should assume that the extension had been granted.

Do many people run their businesses based on assumptions? I certainly don’t and would not want to ‘assume’ that all my vital business post, including cheques, was going to continue to arrive safely.

To follow up my original letter I was therefore obliged to write again although I was told I could fax a letter as my enquiry was urgent (somewhat ironic I agree). Unfortunately, I was not able to send the fax. Much to my annoyance after trying several times, rechecking the fax number and arranging with other people to try to send the fax for me, it became clear there was a problem.

After making yet another 0845 telephone call to Royal Mail and following the lengthy series of irritating number pressing instructions whilst listening to a recorded message telling me that the best way to do everything is on line (how very modern) I was told the fax machine had probably run out of paper (not so modern then).

Should I send a carrier pigeon I wondered? Finally, the following day someone must have topped up the paper tray and my fax was sent successfully. A day or so later a letter arrived from Royal Mail advising me that yes I could extend my redirection of my PO Box mail but only for another three months.

What a saga and still only a temporary reprieve. The redirection has since ended and yes cheques have gone missing. Thanks a lot Royal Mail if there was a choice I would take my business away.

[Biker Mouse]

She could always go and collect it from her local callers office!

[barbario]

Royal Mail's aim is to adopt the TNT model,which means deliveries maybe only two or three times a week.