Royal Mail

[njpeacock2006]

Hi,
I sent my daughter's birth certificate off for her to get her first passport ready for our holiday in August. I sent it on 13th March, as 1st class signed for, guaranteed by 1pm the next day! 10 days later I've still not heard anything. So I track it using the RM track and trace website and it tells me where I sent it from but nothing else. I have rang RM to tell them and they get an investigation team looking for it, but today 27th March, they tell me it cannot be found! They are going to send me a cheque for compensation.
So what I'm wondering is, has anyone else had this happen to them, how much did RM send you for compensation and did your letter ever turn up?
It's really crap that they lose a birth certificate!

Thanks
N x

Did you send it signed for or special delivery? The former is not guaranteed next day, and the compensation levels are very different. If you're not sure, how much did you pay?

I sent it 1st Class, signed for and was told it was guaranteed by 1pm the next day. I paid £3.45 for it.

The passport office lost my original birth and wedding certificates, they paid the cost of replacements. I was furious as they had acknowledged they had them and then lost them, I was worried about future ID fraud.

@Disfordarkchocolate Aviva did the same to me, didn't seem to understand my concern about where they had lost them! They gave us £150 compensation in the end but was so gutted losing the originals.

If you paid £3.45 then there was no guarantee on the delivery timescale. For that (and for the additional tracking), you would have had to send the birth certificate by Special Delivery, which would have cost around £7. Unfortunately, the service that you've used is neither tracked nor guaranteed - the signature on delivery simply gives you as sender something to prove that the item has been received. For Signed For items, compensation is capped at £50 I believe.

I've just had the exact same thing happen to me. Sent off my old passport and wedding certificate recorded delivery 1st class. The only tracking available is where I posted it from. About two weeks later (yesterday!) Passport office phoned me to say my application had been received and approved but items arrived in a very damaged envelope and wedding certificate will need to be replaced.

I sent my daughters retainers by guaranteed next day delivery and they disappeared. I think they were nicked by staff at Medway sorting office who mistook the package for valuables. I got compensation for the cost of new ones about £250, but her teeth had moved considerably by the time they were fitted. I commented that I need to now pay thousands as she is no longer entitled to NHS and she is unhappy with her teeth and was advised I should have taken our additional insurance. Still raging about it.

The maximum you are covered on 1st Class Signed For is £50 but I think you would need to give details of costs for replacement etc.

If you were told that this was guaranteed to be delivered by 1pm then you have been missold a service as they would only guarantee this on a Special Delivery item. I think they aim for next day for 1st class but do not guarantee.

Thanks guys, you never hear of these things happening, but it actually seems that it happens a lot. I'm really disappointed in them. Be interesting how quickly they send me my compensation, some people have said that you get it in postage stamps! I really hope not! I hardly send mail nowadays!! I just hope that it's not in someone's hands and it's out in the mail somewhere and will turn up!

www.royalmail.com/retail-compensation-policy-loss#Summary%20of%20definitions

A link to the compensation rules. If they've not asked you for any proof of loss I'd expect you'll receive the cost of postage back. There is a form to complete (on the link) if you want more (which will be limited to the cost of a replacement certificate).

I posted my sons birth certificates and our marriage certificate by Royal Mail international tracked delivery in Nov last year. Tracking didn’t work and only said post office had received the parcel. (which I knew as I had taken it in)

6 weeks later and no delivery or tracking update and they are saying it’s been lost. I asked what that means as things in their system can’t magically disappear.

There are undoubtedly fraudsters working for Royal Mail who regularly steal original documents. They must know the signs to look for. Governments departments addresses etc. I can’t think of any other plausible explanations to what happens.

shocking service and now I worry my sons will be exposed to fraud.