Post

[Mel]

I had to collect a letter from the sorting office with no stamp on yesterday and got charged £1.54 for the privilege! On the door was a notice about the new delivery system where we won't always get the same postman/lady. So today a letter drops through the letter box for the next road. My husband manages to catch the postman who told him he'd never been to Ware before never mind deliver the post. How on earth is he supposed to know the roads etc? I've a mind to take the next wrongly delivered letter back and ask them for £1!

[Steve]

I had to collect a letter from the sorting office with no stamp on yesterday and got charged £1.54 for the privilege!

It wasn't a circular from a well known charity was it? They've sent out a whole batch and the sorting office at Hertford has loads of them, unstamped. You donl't have to pay, you can refuse them.

[Aardvaark]

We had one of these on Friday - same well-known charity I think! We asked to see it and declined to pay - so it was chucked in a large box with all the others at Ware Sorting Office. If this is replicated across the country . . . . Does anyone know - do they get returned to the charity and they have to pay? Or are they just destroyed - seems a lose/lose situation all round really. I'm not sure whether the charity made a basic huge mistake, or if it's a publicity stunt. Either way, it doesn't make me want to support them further.

[Steve]

We had one of these on Friday - same well-known charity I think! We asked to see it and declined to pay - so it was chucked in a large box with all the others at Ware Sorting Office. If this is replicated across the country . . . . Does anyone know - do they get returned to the charity and they have to pay? Or are they just destroyed - seems a lose/lose situation all round really. I'm not sure whether the charity made a basic huge mistake, or if it's a publicity stunt. Either way, it doesn't make me want to support them further.

Yes, they get returned to the sender. I gave them a call and clearly I wasn't the first. It's mentioned in their Twitter feed.

[Mel]

No, this was something I had to collect but as it is connected with the voluntary work I do I shall claim it back from the club.

I'm thinking of asking the post office how much they have to pay in expenses to get people from other areas to deliver our post. Not only that but a temporary postman would not be aware if any post had not been taken in by elderly residents. Sounds a bit counter productive to me but what do I know!?

[Mel]

Oh and I did ask if I could look at it before paying and they are not allowed to do that now. There was another woman in there at the same time and that was the second day running she had had to go and collect a letter and pay the £1.54.

[Barzey]

I never respond to ANY of that 'Pay for Receiving or Collection' nonsense from the Post Office. If the sender cannot bother to post it correctly then I am not interested. If its important then they will post it again properly, if not same again. It seems to be the best answer in these particular circumstances.

[RichardH]

I got a note through about an excess postage charge too - didn't know if it was going to be something we were expecting, so paid up - I'll be cross if it's a circular now (

[Steve]

Oh and I did ask if I could look at it before paying and they are not allowed to do that now. There was another woman in there at the same time and that was the second day running she had had to go and collect a letter and pay the £1.54.

Well obviously you can't open it before "receiving" it. However, from the envelope you can clearly tell it's a circular and in this case who the sender was.

[RichardH]

Yup - ours was a charity circular too. Looked on their twitter feed and didn't see any mention, so maybe a different one. Not sure I will be their "friend" any more - more like "FOE" if they continue that way....