Revenue protection

masterblaster · Post by **masterblaster** » 13 Nov 2018, 16:27

I had an aggrieved customer on to me today, her auntie had sent her an envelope and RM had made her pay for the stamp again + the £1.00 handling fee, The stamp was unused had been cut off a brown envelope and stuck on a white one with the brown paper showing. I have to agree with her, RM revenue protection are over-stepping the mark in assuming just because the stamp had previously been stuck on another envelope, it doesn't mean to say the stamp has been used. In fact if RM have failed to cancel the stamp then regardless of its history, it should be honoured even if it had been used. It maybe that the stamp had been stuck to a (brown) envelope but the item had to be transferred to a larger white one. She said she will write to her MP, I wished her all the best!

number one · Post by **number one** » 13 Nov 2018, 16:39

masterblaster wrote:I had an aggrieved customer on to me today, her auntie had sent her an envelope and RM had made her pay for the stamp again + the £1.00 handling fee, The stamp was unused had been cut off a brown envelope and stuck on a white one with the brown paper showing. I have to agree with her, RM revenue protection are over-stepping the mark in assuming just because the stamp had previously been stuck on another envelope, it doesn't mean to say the stamp has been used. In fact if RM have failed to cancel the stamp then regardless of its history, it should be honoured even if it had been used. It maybe that the stamp had been stuck to a (brown) envelope but the item had to be transferred to a larger white one. She said she will write to her MP, I wished her all the best!

Are you serious? If it looks like it’s been used before (which this one probably has) then tough, pay the surcharge. If you want people to send items for free then start looking for another job because the one you have won’t be around for long

masterblaster · Post by **masterblaster** » 13 Nov 2018, 16:44

That's not the point, RM can't say whether the stamp has been used if nobody can be bothered to cancel stamps. If that is the case then they should accept that SOME, NOT ALL, may have previously been used.

yellowbelly · Post by **yellowbelly** » 13 Nov 2018, 17:02

Then on the other hand I've had two SD letters for same address that were business franked at £0.59 and manager just said deliver them.

I've also had numerous letters that come through without stamps but without RM revenue staff at our rural offices the PO staff aren't
allowed to surcharge them.

number one · Post by **number one** » 13 Nov 2018, 17:07

yellowbelly wrote:Then on the other hand I've had two SD letters for same address that were business franked at £0.59 and manager just said deliver them.

I've also had numerous letters that come through without stamps but without RM revenue staff at our rural offices the PO staff aren't
allowed to surcharge them.

If there’s no stamp then you can just give it to the PHG to surcharge.

crimson king · Post by **crimson king** » 13 Nov 2018, 17:08

I used to religiously strike through any unfranked stamps with a pen, to protect the revenue. Then I read a very smug, arrogant article in the Courier boasting about the wonderful technology in New stamps that alert mail centres if it has been through the system before and how people can't get away with it anymore.

So I don't bother now. They wrote and fed me the hype. I swallowed it.

yellowbelly · Post by **yellowbelly** » 13 Nov 2018, 17:10

number one wrote:
yellowbelly wrote:Then on the other hand I've had two SD letters for same address that were business franked at £0.59 and manager just said deliver them.

I've also had numerous letters that come through without stamps but without RM revenue staff at our rural offices the PO staff aren't
allowed to surcharge them.
If there’s no stamp then you can just give it to the PHG to surcharge.

No PHG's - just bog standard postie's without the training, knowledge or authority to do this......

rubberbond · Post by **rubberbond** » 13 Nov 2018, 17:11

masterblaster wrote:That's not the point, RM can't say whether the stamp has been used if nobody can be bothered to cancel stamps. If that is the case then they should accept that SOME, NOT ALL, may have previously been used.

That is impossible, how on earth are you going to check every single stamp? For once I agree with RM's stand on something.

Dorset Plodder · Post by **Dorset Plodder** » 13 Nov 2018, 17:24

I believe Revenue Protection should be taken seriously. Otherwise your basically delivering a letter for bugger all.

This has the knock on effect that we get less income, and therefore there's less money for payrises etc.

In your example MB that stamp may well have been transferred without being used.... but I'll bet it had been through the system and not been Franked. My Argument is: .... While expecting Posties to help with Revenue Protection why are so many letters coming through unfranked in the first place ? I counted one Christmas and I was Manually Cancelling (with the Little Stamp) up to 200 stamps a day.

And I know most of the Posties can't be arsed to do it so God Knows how much Revenue they're losing.

TBH there's really no excuse for delivering unfranked mail (apart from idleness). You get several bites at the cherry..... 1st on IPS.....2nd When Throwing Off.....3rd On your Doorstep Check. I'll agree that RM should work harder to resolve the problem instead of relying on Posties, but what's new? One indication of their commitment is when the little Red Stamps run out of ink...... they never bought any refill pads, or bottles of ink, to refill them!

Post by **SpacePhoenix** » 13 Nov 2018, 19:57

Dorset Plodder wrote:I counted one Christmas and I was Manually Cancelling (with the Little Stamp) up to 200 stamps a day. And I know most of the Posties can't be arsed to do it so God Knows how much Revenue they're losing.

It's down to time, so many hours have been taken out that it's a choice between spending the time cancelling the stamps and potentially having to fail work (and then RM gets fined) or just sort them through and hopefully clear the work

Dorset Plodder · Post by **Dorset Plodder** » 14 Nov 2018, 16:46

SpacePhoenix wrote:
Dorset Plodder wrote:I counted one Christmas and I was Manually Cancelling (with the Little Stamp) up to 200 stamps a day. And I know most of the Posties can't be arsed to do it so God Knows how much Revenue they're losing.
It's down to time, so many hours have been taken out that it's a choice between spending the time cancelling the stamps and potentially having to fail work (and then RM gets fined) or just sort them through and hopefully clear the work

I realise the time associated with Manually Cancelling Stamps, I wouldn't expect the mail centre guys to be sitting there doing it by hand..... But how come so many are coming through with the Mech Mail?..... Doesn't this machine actually Frank mail anymore? Even before the Christmas rush our 2nd batch of mech (which contains most of the stamped addressed mail we'll be delivering for the day) normally doesn't have most of the stamps Franked.

Post by **SpacePhoenix** » 14 Nov 2018, 19:46

Dorset Plodder wrote:
SpacePhoenix wrote:
Dorset Plodder wrote:I counted one Christmas and I was Manually Cancelling (with the Little Stamp) up to 200 stamps a day. And I know most of the Posties can't be arsed to do it so God Knows how much Revenue they're losing.
It's down to time, so many hours have been taken out that it's a choice between spending the time cancelling the stamps and potentially having to fail work (and then RM gets fined) or just sort them through and hopefully clear the work
I realise the time associated with Manually Cancelling Stamps, I wouldn't expect the mail centre guys to be sitting there doing it by hand..... But how come so many are coming through with the Mech Mail?..... Doesn't this machine actually Frank mail anymore? Even before the Christmas rush our 2nd batch of mech (which contains most of the stamped addressed mail we'll be delivering for the day) normally doesn't have most of the stamps Franked.

Probably run on a mailstream that doesn't use the stamp cancelling printer, either that or the ink's run out and no one has refilled the ink tank