Meter mail in boxes......infuriating!!!

[2791dean]

As I've already said in a previous post I've worked for the company for 15+ years, another issue I have that makes my blood boil when out on collect is the amount of Meter and PPI mail appearing in post boxes!! I thought that people who had Meter and PPI contract were under contract to make sure this mail was correctly pouched and taken to the nearest post office not dumped in the nearest post box taking up space that the general public use to post there mail in which in fact they pay more to send!! cost of 1st class meter for a company 44p cost of stamp to general public 60p!! surely these Meter and PPI contracts need enforcing properly as I assume the reason they get cheaper rates is to help us out by making sure they take the mail where it should go!!

I've reported several of these companies myself but they plainly think this is an idel threat and continue posting and were not talking a handful of letters in most occasions were talking half a box full of 1st,2nd and even recorded and special deliveries!!

The publics mail needs treating better on this side of things considering were paying a lot more to post than businesses are (and don't say it's because of the amount they post because I have several customers with PPI and Meter accounts who post only a handful of letters a day!)

Royal Mail needs to get it's act together and enforce these contracts because I'm sure it's not only me this is happening to!!!

Steve

[mr ford]

a meter customer will pay about 7 quid on top of postage to top up and 15 quid a month to rent the franking machine so in effect its not cheaper franking machines unless you are a BIG VOLUME sender

[demon]

at the end of the day its mail and it payed for they can post it in whatever way they want and its our job to empty the boxes if the box is closer than the post office i no were i would put it plus post offices are not as easy to find for most people now they have closed them all down

[Lateagainpostie]

Some customers do this all the time, they are getting away without paying for a collection which is another extra charge, about £500 a year I think, we also get people handing in metered pouches at Post Office counters.

[somerset]

Some customers do this all the time, they are getting away without paying for a collection which is another extra charge, about £500 a year I think, we also get people handing in metered pouches at Post Office counters.

Taking metered pouches to a post office is the correct thing to do ?

[postie222]

collection £750 + vat or free if they spend 15k.

[2791dean]

at the end of the day its mail and it payed for they can post it in whatever way they want and its our job to empty the boxes if the box is closer than the post office i no were i would put it plus post offices are not as easy to find for most people now they have closed them all down

Not so I'm afraid, when they sign up for a meter contract it's part of the agreement that they either have a collection, take the meter mail to a proper business box or take it to the nearest post office if they can't follow these rules then maybe they should have checked the agreement first!! the firms that do it in my area are no more than a few hundred yards from the post office.....it's just laziness on there part because the post box is closer, one firm that does it has been approached several times by management and still insist on doing it!!!

[mr ford]

at the end of the day its mail and it payed for they can post it in whatever way they want and its our job to empty the boxes if the box is closer than the post office i no were i would put it plus post offices are not as easy to find for most people now they have closed them all down

Not so I'm afraid, when they sign up for a meter contract it's part of the agreement that they either have a collection, take the meter mail to a proper business box or take it to the nearest post office if they can't follow these rules then maybe they should have checked the agreement first!! the firms that do it in my area are no more than a few hundred yards from the post office.....it's just laziness on there part because the post box is closer, one firm that does it has been approached several times by management and still insist on doing it!!!

do you have a copy of the agreement ?

[2791dean]

Not to hand, but this is what I was told by a transport manager when I confronted him about the issue!?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Where and how can I post franked mail? http://www.royalmail.com/discounts-paym ... king#Where" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and how can I post franked mail?

We will supply you with pouches, trays or mailbags to help you with the correct presentation of your mail. These can be obtained free of charge once your franking machine has been set up.

Franked mail can be handed in at your local Post Office or Mail Centre or it can be posted in a franked mailbox. Franked mail must not be posted in a regular post box, unless you are using low volume posting envelopes. These low volume posting envelopes can be obtained from your machine supplier but can only be used to post up to thirty items of mail per day.

Alternatively you can arrange for Royal Mail to come and collect your outgoing mail from your premises each day. Please call 08457 950 950 or visit the customer collections page for more details on this service.

Go to the Franking help centre for more detailed advice on how and where to post your franked mail http://www.royalmail.com/discounts-paym ... re#Prepare" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for posting

[TrueBlueTerrier]

ROYAL MAIL SCHEME FOR FRANKING LETTERS AND PARCELS

http://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/ ... r_2011.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

13. POSTING FRANKED LETTERS

13.1 Franked Letters may only be posted in the area designated by the Franking Mark, unless otherwise permitted by Royal Mail.
13.2 Franked Letters must be posted on the date shown in the Franking Mark.
13.3 Franked Letters must be presented for posting in trays, bags, pouches and envelopes of a type specified by Royal Mail, according to the following
requirements:
13.3.1 In trays, segregated by class and service, facing and orientated the same way. These may be posted by depositing at a designated Royal Mail office (or where this has been arranged and any collection Fees due to Royal Mail is paid) by being collected by Royal Mail, or an agent authorised to act on Royal Mail’s behalf; or
13.3.2 In bags (each labelled with the class and service paid for), segregated by class and service, in bundles of Letters facing and orientated the
same way. These may be posted by depositing at a designated post office or Royal Mail office, (or where this has been arranged and any fee due to Royal Mail is paid) by being collected by Royal Mail, or an agent authorised to act on Royal Mail’s behalf; or
13.3.3 In pouches, segregated by class and service, in bundles of Letters facing and orientated the same way. These may be posted by depositing at a
designated post office or Royal Mail office, in a Business Posting Box (or where this has been arranged and any fee due to Royal Mail is paid) by being collected by a Post Office employee, or agent authorised to act on Royal Mail’s behalf; or
13.3.4 In Low Volume Posting Envelopes (a maximum of two per day) and each such envelope must be clearly marked on the outside as such, and;
13.3.4.1 Sealed so it does not disgorge its contents;
13.3.4.2 Be of a size so it does not interfere with the processing of other mail, and;
13.3.4.3 Contain no more than 30 Letters; or
13.3.5 In Late Posting Envelopes (a maximum of one per day) posted after the last collection from the User for that day and where possible letters should be impressed with the following day’s date and may be posted in any post box.
13.4 Variations to these conditions for presenting and posting Franked Letters may be authorised at Royal Mail’s discretion.
13.5 Letters that Royal Mail are unable to deliver may be destroyed if they do not bear a return address within the United Kingdom.

[2791dean]

Thanks for that, makes sense now......trouble I'm have is 2 particular companies posting meter mail in normal post boxes, loose, and virtually a third to half a box of mail this includes, first, second, recorded and even packets!! Wouldn't mind if there we're no post offices in the area but they are between two post offices a couple of hundred yards from the boxes where they are posting! Some have actually stuck it in the post box right outside the post office!!!!

[Postal Postie II]

Put simply as said above they aren't allowed to by contract.

However when we've complained to management they do nothing about it. They are supposed to phone the company and warn them not to do it or they will be charged the FULL rate.

[2791dean]

Maybe it's time Royal Mail do what post om do to us and fine customers who breech the terms of their contract?? Would go to getting some of the lost revenue for the ppi rip offs and losses Total mail has suffered over the past year!

Steve

[PhilthyPhil]

Who are you reporting this to? Probably a manager in a DO hence why nothing is being done about it. DO managers are good at that. You need to ensure that it is reported to whoever deals with meter irregularities in your MC. You send them the die number of the firms concerned and they will send out a letter. They will keep a record of who is found to be breaking the rules. If sending the letter doesn't work, someone should go and visit the firm and if that still doesn't work they can revoke their franking licence. This is rare but has happened to few of our firms who seemed to have no intention of ever doing things properly.