My husband posted a parcel yesterday for me. I had measured It beforehand and it was a medium parcel size and need extra insurance. The price should have been £27 for special delivery by 1pm. He phoned me to say they are charging him over £40 to post it. I phoned up the post office, which is in a local shop and they said they are only going by the scales. The item weighed just over 6kg.
I advised them it was definitely a medium parcel not a large one but they wouldn’t budge.
Anyway expecting my husband to bring the parcel back home I was surprised when he said the post office overrode the till but warned him the recipient may have to pay underpaid postage. Why would the scales be telling them the wrong details?
My other problem is the item is £700. They charged hubby £26 now and said we are insured up to £5000 so he paid it. The price we have now paid is only for £500 insurance so they got that wrong too. If the item gets lost or damaged we will have to pay an extra £200.
I’m not happy with this whole situation and I am concerned the parcel won’t get there. Do I have any rights here if something does happen to it so it isn’t delivered?
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Sub Post office tried to overcharge me
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purpleparrotuk
- Posts: 7
- Joined: 12 Sep 2016, 21:23
- Gender: Female
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Snaggletooth
- EX POST OFFICE
- Posts: 2226
- Joined: 13 Sep 2011, 20:17
- Gender: Male
Re: Sub Post office tried to overcharge me
Although very rare, it is possible for the scales to go wrong. They have mechanical parts.
The price you paid is correct for the weight you stated, so if you got that correct then there is no issue with underpayment.
You should make a complaint to the PO, there is lots that is wrong here. They shouldn't be overriding the scales, for one thing.
I would advise not using the phrases 'medium parcel' and 'large parcel' in any correspondence. This will cause confusion. Special Delivery is priced by weight, not size.
The price you paid is correct for the weight you stated, so if you got that correct then there is no issue with underpayment.
You should make a complaint to the PO, there is lots that is wrong here. They shouldn't be overriding the scales, for one thing.
I would advise not using the phrases 'medium parcel' and 'large parcel' in any correspondence. This will cause confusion. Special Delivery is priced by weight, not size.
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purpleparrotuk
- Posts: 7
- Joined: 12 Sep 2016, 21:23
- Gender: Female
Re: Sub Post office tried to overcharge me
Thanks for the reply. There does appear to be a size limit even on special delivery. Its says all over the internet. Otherwise people would be sending parcels the size of an elephant :-) It’s 61cm by 46cm by 46cm. But my parcel was under this. Is the compensation I’m bothered about too telling us £5000.
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rgj
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 16 Dec 2020, 12:59
- Gender: Female
Re: Sub Post office tried to overcharge me
Size does matter with SD, you are correct.
I wonder if there has been some miscommunication RE insurance as special delivery can only cover up to £2500 anyway. Ordinary special delivery has insurance of £500 but can be enhanced up to £2500 for a couple of extra pounds. Perhaps the Post Office worker accidentally said £5000 instead of £500? Also, from my experience, masks really get in the way when you work in a post office! I’ve been misheard and I’ve misheard customers more times in the last couple of months than the three years I’ve worked there combined. Perhaps this added to any possible miscommunication.
I also wonder if they tried to charge your husband for a Parcelforce express service rather than special delivery. In my experience, the only way to “override” scales is to place an incorrect weight into the Horizon system which the Post Office really shouldn’t do. My first instinct when reading this post was that they tried to up-sell with ParcelForce but weren’t being transparent about it, and therefore tried to back peddle by making it out like they were doing you a favour.
I also don’t think you can even send ‘large parcels’ with Royal Mail SD, I think it automatically switches to ParcelForce. I could be wrong about that without my Horizon screen in front of me, though.
Either which way, I think this behaviour is unacceptable and gives the Post Office a bad name!
Unfortunately as I work for the Post Office and not Royal Mail, I don’t fully know what your rights would be (once parcels have left the PO, they are no longer our responsibility). Post Offices do have forms for Royal Mail lost/damaged items but i’m not 100% sure if that would help you given the insurance problem. I would encourage you to get in touch with both Post Office and Royal Mail to see what your options are. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful RE that section of your post!
I hope this is resolved for you soon :)
I wonder if there has been some miscommunication RE insurance as special delivery can only cover up to £2500 anyway. Ordinary special delivery has insurance of £500 but can be enhanced up to £2500 for a couple of extra pounds. Perhaps the Post Office worker accidentally said £5000 instead of £500? Also, from my experience, masks really get in the way when you work in a post office! I’ve been misheard and I’ve misheard customers more times in the last couple of months than the three years I’ve worked there combined. Perhaps this added to any possible miscommunication.
I also wonder if they tried to charge your husband for a Parcelforce express service rather than special delivery. In my experience, the only way to “override” scales is to place an incorrect weight into the Horizon system which the Post Office really shouldn’t do. My first instinct when reading this post was that they tried to up-sell with ParcelForce but weren’t being transparent about it, and therefore tried to back peddle by making it out like they were doing you a favour.
I also don’t think you can even send ‘large parcels’ with Royal Mail SD, I think it automatically switches to ParcelForce. I could be wrong about that without my Horizon screen in front of me, though.
Either which way, I think this behaviour is unacceptable and gives the Post Office a bad name!
Unfortunately as I work for the Post Office and not Royal Mail, I don’t fully know what your rights would be (once parcels have left the PO, they are no longer our responsibility). Post Offices do have forms for Royal Mail lost/damaged items but i’m not 100% sure if that would help you given the insurance problem. I would encourage you to get in touch with both Post Office and Royal Mail to see what your options are. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful RE that section of your post!
I hope this is resolved for you soon :)