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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be annoyed at Royal Mail

24 replies

ant3nna · 01/10/2010 14:29

I heard about a plum job a few weeks ago which I was perfectly qualified to do. I emailed to find out more and was told to send a CV and covering letter in the post. I duly printed off my CV and wrote a covering letter and toddled off to the Post Office to check the postage and buy a stamp. The lady behind the counter told me that my letter was fine to have just a first class stamp on and she put in straight into the sack ready to be sent after she put the stamp on. This was a week before the deadline for applying so should have got there in plenty of time.

I was a bit annoyed that I didn't get any sort of reply from this application as I thought that I would at least get an interview.

I got an email yesterday from the same lady who had told me how to apply to say that my application had only just got to her because it didn't have enough stamps on it. Angry

AIBU to be totally pissed off with Royal Mail/Post Office? Surely if the woman behind the counter tells you that what you are posting is a letter they can't suddenly decide that its actually a large letter and want to charge more?

Grrr.

OP posts:
nannylocal · 01/10/2010 14:32

YANBU

FlookCrow · 01/10/2010 14:38

a CV and covering letter? and a first class stamp wasn't enough to cover it?

...were you printing it on granite or something?! you are not being unreasonable!!

olderandwider · 01/10/2010 14:58

Was it A4 size? In which case you need a Large Envelope stamp - about 74p I think.

Original poster
ant3nna · 01/10/2010 15:03

Envelope was A5 size. A first class stamp should have been fine and according to the woman working behind the counter it was fine.

OP posts:
olderandwider · 01/10/2010 15:39

Very odd. You could always ask for the letter and envelope back, re-check it and then complain to Royal Mail if they made a mistake.
Either the counter woman was wrong, or the sorting office erroneously tagged it as under-stamped.

What bad luck for you!

CvanA · 01/10/2010 15:41

I would be very annoyed with Royal Mail. Perhaps you should raise this with their customer services department?
Slightly connected point ....... When I was applying for a job with a specific deadline via email, I called to make sure they had received my application on the last day giving myself enough time to make sure that I could resend the application if I needed too.......

stoatie · 01/10/2010 16:15

this really annoys me. We sent two identical cards for OH's dad and step dads birthday (they live near each other but never speak so will never know it was same card). Birthdays are day after each other so posted both cards at same time in same box. One card got there fine, other card took weeks to arrive and "didn't have enough postage".

2 weeks ago was DD2s birthday - her card from grandparent didn't arrive even though it had been posted a week in advance. It finally turned up (well card to say it was at sorting office) 2 weeks later (ie 3 weeks in total). To add insult to injury Grandma had measured card against Royal Mails own sizing guide to ensure it had correct postage

cumfy · 01/10/2010 16:56

Royal.Mail.are.cunts.

southeastastra · 01/10/2010 17:04

charming

cumfy · 01/10/2010 17:09

Charming, but unhappily true.

Itsjustafleshwound · 01/10/2010 17:14

Does the post office you use have one of those 'mail rulers' which measure the size and postage you need??

In all honesty, if you are going to send something important, there are other ways (all be it a bit more expensive) to ensure that the article arrives ....

nickelbabe · 01/10/2010 17:16

You definitely need to raise it with Royal Mail.
If the post office lady said it was okay, then that should be the end of it.

Also, make sure thatyou tell this to the lady from the job - in a nice way, though, you don't want to scare her off.

RustyBear · 01/10/2010 17:30

This happened to DS too, the job application form was several pages and when he folded it to fit into an A5 envelope it made it too thick for an ordinary first class stamp - the limit is 5mm.

RustyBear · 01/10/2010 17:32

They should have a stamp at the counter 'checked by PO staff' or something so the sorters know it's been okayed by the counter staff

Original poster
ant3nna · 01/10/2010 18:30

My Post Office does have one of those measurey slot things and my letter was thin enough to go through the slot for 'letter', not even with any force.

I did tell the lady from the job, as she said that despite the position being filled, she would keep my details on file. I apologised in case it cost them any money to get from the post office and explained that I had been told that the postage was sufficient.

Rusty, the stamp thing is a good idea. It shouldn't be the customer's problem if a machine contradicts a member of staff.

OP posts:
Itsjustafleshwound · 01/10/2010 18:40

If the postage is insufficient, I think it is a £1 plus the extra postage

Itsjustafleshwound · 01/10/2010 18:41

this may be of help, in future

sloanypony · 01/10/2010 18:47

It was fate intervening. The job would have been the worst move you ever made, would have ruined either your career, your self esteem or you would have crashed your car on the way there.

You have a guardian angel, looking after you, intervening. That is all. Grin

DurhamDurham · 01/10/2010 18:50

Your letter can weigh up to 100g for a normal first class stamp but cannot be thicker thab 5mm so if your cv was thick and folded in half it maybe should have had a stamp on for a large 1st class letter. I'd be cross with the woman behind the counter not Royal Mail.

tjacksonpfc · 01/10/2010 19:01

well said Durham It isn't Royal mails problem there letters get machine sorted which has the measurments set up in it.

The problem was with the lady at the post office who obviously couldnt be bothered to check it properly. But as per usual the RM get the blame. Cumfy your comment was bang out of oreder and un justified I would like to see you doing a posties job for 1 week and see what they do Angry

RustyBear · 01/10/2010 20:48

If the letter went through the slot on the measuring template which is provided by Royal Mail, then it was Royal Mail's fault if they later decided it was too big...

Original poster
ant3nna · 01/10/2010 20:54

Tbh, even the posties seem to think royal mail are a shower of shites.

But seriously, if the post office, which is owned by royal mail, can't even advise properly on how much postage should be on a letter, should it really be the customers fault?

I put the letter through the sizer at the post office and the counter woman weighed it - what more could I have done? Is is really unreasonable to expect a letter sent first class to arrive in under a week with no problems?

OP posts:
strawberrycake · 01/10/2010 21:01

I'll agree on the basis they drop my parcels on the doorstep, ring and run. Not good if you're not in.

dobbyssocks · 01/10/2010 21:14

Oh gulp, that might explain why my ebay buyer hasn't had her dvd from me yet. The PO assistant checked it through the slot and it just fitted so she said it was fine and she put the stamp on and chucked it in the bag behind her with my other parcels. Will be Angry if it eventually turns up saying not enough postage as that will no doubt mean poor feedback for me and I have 100% feedback grrrr.

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