Sun do anti Postie story without checking facts

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Jobsworth postie rejects postcard because it's the 'wrong shape'

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... tcard.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

AN angry mum was forced to shell out £1.09 to pick up a postcard from her daughter - after her picky postie decided it was the wrong shape for her letter box.

Hillary Ruffles from Sudbury, Suffolk had to drive miles to pick up the seaside souvenir from an out-of-town sorting office and pay an excess postage fee.

When she finally got her hands on the postcard she was stunned to discover her jobsworth postman could easily have popped it through her box - by just turning it around.

Fuming ... the mum from Sudbury had to drive miles and pay a fee to pick up the seaside souvenir


Hillary said: "I was shocked when I was told I couldn't have it unless I paid £1.09.

"It is a long thin postcard and I was told it was the wrong shape to go through a letterbox sideways on.

"However, when I looked at the letter gauge issued by Royal Mail, there appeared to be no reason why the postman couldn't simply turn it around and post it lengthways to get it through the box."

She added: "It only measures about 4 inches across, which is very slim it's absolutely ridiculous."

To add insult to injury her daughter Helen had only sent her the card from Southwold, Suffolk - just 53 miles away.

Incredibly the Royal Mail insisted Hillary's postman was right to refuse to post her card - if it was bigger than a standard letter.

Spokesman Nick Martens said: "Since August 2006, UK postage prices have been based on the size of an item as well as its weight.

"The vast majority of cards are classed as a letter but slightly thicker or larger ones may fall into the large letter category."

"If there are any cases where an error has been made at any point in our operation then we would, of course, refund to the customer the postage and administration costs involved."

But Hillary isn't happy with the explanation. She said: "It was a lovely gesture by my daughter which ended up backfiring because of ludicrous bureaucracy."

[Bahia Feliz]

Was it the postman who surcharged it?

[demon]

fook all to do with the postie

[clashcityrocker]

No it was the fault of the jobsworth postie.
Whenever I get a surcharge for a customer I always check the letter against the template to make sure no error has been made.
And if I don't have time to do that I pay the surcharge out of my own pocket and take it as an advance against my xmas tip.

[Lounge Lizard]

"It only measures about 4 inches across" - no, it's about 4 inches deep, within the 165mm limit, but it looks to be about 310mm long, some 30% above the 240mm length limit so she's no grounds for complaint. Anyone else would have praised Royal Mail for getting anything with the address that smudged to the correct destination.

[PhilthyPhil]

The thing that annoys me with these is people look at the 9p surcharge and think we are bring tight because it is only small underpayment when it is actually underpaid by 30p. Apparently we are only allowed to surcharge up to the second class price

[Lounge Lizard]

The thing that annoys me with these is people look at the 9p surcharge and think we are bring tight because it is only small underpayment when it is actually underpaid by 30p. Apparently we are only allowed to surcharge up to the second class price

No, all unpaid and underpaid mail is then treated as second class so that's what it's charged as.
Otherwise the likes of Hillary Ruffles might argue the sender knew it was a 'large letter', meant to put 69p second class on but in error was 9p short.

[PhilthyPhil]

No, all unpaid and underpaid mail is then treated as second class so that's what it's charged as.
Otherwise the likes of Hillary Ruffles might argue the sender knew it was a 'large letter', meant to put 69p second class on but in error was 9p short.

I know most surcharged mail is treated as 2c because of the delay that surcharging causes. But that is not our fault, it is the senders fault for underpaying in the first place. It seems that by putting a 1c stamp on there it is clear that the senders intention is to send it 1c and so they have underpaid by 30p. Apparently in order to surcharge the 1c price we have to be able deliver the surcharge card the day after the item is posted. Since that is never going to happen we charge 2c price, unless it is over 1kg of cause.

[Lounge Lizard]

No, all unpaid and underpaid mail is then treated as second class so that's what it's charged as.
Otherwise the likes of Hillary Ruffles might argue the sender knew it was a 'large letter', meant to put 69p second class on but in error was 9p short.

I know most surcharged mail is treated as 2c because of the delay that surcharging causes. But that is not our fault, it is the senders fault for underpaying in the first place. It seems that by putting a 1c stamp on there it is clear that the senders intention is to send it 1c and so they have underpaid by 30p. Apparently in order to surcharge the 1c price we have to be able deliver the surcharge card the day after the item is posted. Since that is never going to happen we charge 2c price, unless it is over 1kg of cause.

Yes, it might be treated as Second Class because of the delay, although the delay is surely the fault of the sender for not putting on sufficient postage, but it might also be treated as Second Class because sometimes there's uncertainty as to the sender's intention.
those paying £1.09 might complain but surely that's better than in some other countries wher unpaid items are returned to sender ( USA ? ), not always possible, or destroyed ( Italy ? ).

[somerset]

Whose bright idea was it it to come up with size , weight policy? It must be raking in RM millions of pounds with the surcharge.I work in the callers office and am gettting fed up of apoligising to custumers.Bring back the old days of 1st and 2nd class stamps on a letter . End off!

[glenfiddich]

No it was the fault of the jobsworth postie.
Whenever I get a surcharge for a customer I always check the letter against the template to make sure no error has been made.
And if I don't have time to do that I pay the surcharge out of my own pocket and take it as an advance against my xmas tip.

not always so we dont see the items just a surcharge card that we deliver all surcharge items are kept with specials in a secure room away from prying eyes

[Stormproof]

Sun do anti Postie story without checking facts

Does The Scum ever check the facts?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Daily Wail jumped on bandwagon http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... eways.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Stormproof]

Perhaps she's selling the story so she can save up for Botox injections. Might need a few more papers to get on board to get enough cash as she appears to have a face like a road map

[Lounge Lizard]

Sun do anti Postie story without checking facts

Does The Scum ever check the facts?

Hillsborough ?