So who's been ripped off by RM already?

[Salomina27]

Hmm, you are right there rokins and darklisruthven!
Thanks for all the helpful responses, and will go and get the free post gauge, and thats a good idea Pink. Thinking about it you were right, the guy at the post office didnt check 2 of my parcels which he should've and I was more worried abut holding people up behind me.
Im going to see what happens when I go to a different post office with same measurements and size as I will be listing a lot more like those 2 parcels I was referring to

[wgbps9]

'THIS IS BEING RIPPED OFF' A few month's ago i won some stamps on e-***,Three days later i get a note from R.M saying there's a under paid package for me at the post office i need to pay 9p + £1 handling (thats what the price of a stamp cover's surely). + i paid £1.50p parking in worthing for 15mins .what had happened was, the sender put them in the envelope loose, Someone at the sorting office picked it up by one end,all the stamps fell to the bottom,hence it became a 'large' letter.even the lady at the counter thought R.M are a bit bloody minded,

[Bohemian]

Last week, RM charged me an extra 41p, for a "Large letter" that was fractionally over the limit. As you might guess, I am not a great fan of Royal Mail.....

[Pink_Panther]

Last week, RM charged me an extra 41p, for a "Large letter" that was fractionally over the limit. As you might guess, I am not a great fan of Royal Mail.....

Thing is that if your item has been processed by post office staff, then whatever the weight or dimensions are later.
You have already paid the correct postage.

It's a rip off !

[glynish123]

Related but not:
A few years ago (2?) Northampton Sorting Centre's machines became uncalibrated so they were sticking the yellow stickers (underpaid postage) on letters which they shouldn't.
Luckily, the local PO realised but not many did. It only happened to large letters I think (they thought they were packets) but no-one realised...
It was at the DO's descretion on whether he made you pay the yellow sticker price and he did check that it was underpaid before he made you pay. I like that place.....

Another problem is, if you work for someone, you can't choose what to do.
If you put it through as a packet and it's a large letter, you've spent too much on postage. If you put it through as a large letter and it's determind to be a package, you're in trouble....
Thank goodness I don't send more than a letter these days!

[doobarbiewop]

Could start a new thread on same subject but just happened to google this and it led me here so
heads up on it.
I am going to get those large letter measurers they have at the post office, dont know where to get them from, in order to test for myself whether my parcels fit or not as I'm sure I'm getting ripped off regularly by my local post office. I've noticed it before too.
Definitely was today but as I had quite a few items to post paid all at once I didn't realise I had been till sorting my receipts at home. I believe I was overcharged for an item that should have gone as a large letter according to my reckonings with the tape measure, it was well inside the box! So I'm sending stuff out at a total loss sometimes, if I'm not vigilant.
Anyone else have these problems since the price changes here again in 2012 with RM?

It's all very simple really.
Firstly, buy a postage weighing scale. They vary from £7 for a basic scale, to £30 for electronic. The cheap ones usually weigh up to 500gms, dearer electronic go up to 2kgms.
Secondly you can get a booklet from RM which gives the sizes to make your own measuring device. Made mine from hard thick card.
The package has to slip through the hole, forcing it through (ie squashing a jiffy bag) is no good. You will get charged for the next size up!
All my ebay listing are checked accurately for postage before listing. All my packages are marked up with the postage price before I take them to the post office, so I get no shocks.
Never guess the postage for overseas shipping, it could give you a very nasty shock, even getting it a little wrong.
Final tip......I get all my packaging (cardboard) free from my local supermarket, they're only too glad to let me help myself. That way I can make my own parcels and charge my customers the EXACT postage that I pay, happy customers!

[JaBek1]

Last week, RM charged me an extra 41p, for a "Large letter" that was fractionally over the limit. As you might guess, I am not a great fan of Royal Mail.....

I'm not all that familiar with the Royal Mail, but if an item is fractionally over the limit wouldn't it be over and thus be correctly charged at the higher rate? USPS here would charge something that weighed a fraction over the limit at the higher rate.

[dave1066]

I use a plastic Helix Postage Template for letter sizes, was bought from Staples for £3 a couple of years ago, saved me a fortune.
Have even taken to post office to pick up mail that was suppose to need extra postage, got of mostly.

Strange that some post office staff can't use their letter slots even after all these years they have been out, they are made at a angle and they try to put a letter in at the wrong angle so they will not fit, you nearly burst laughing at their attempt

[darklisruthven]

Have even taken to post office to pick up mail that was suppose to need extra postage, got of mostly.

I need to start doing this