There seems to be a strange issue with Royal Mail. I am pleased to say that it is only two customers so far but it is quite frustrating. These 2 customers have been asked for a £5 penalty for underpayment of post. They have had to pay this in order to receive what they thought was our item. To clarify, we have an account with Royal Mail. We have had an account for many years. We know how to package and pay for our orders. These have not been our orders in either case but we have had to contact Royal Mail about this problem now. When we send your order you should receive a tracking number directly, via email and have the facility with this tracking number to use the Track and Trace part of their system. If there has been a problem with delivery you will be able to see it here. If anybody receives a white card with demand for £5 payment IT IS NOT your order from First Call Inks. It will be another parcel from someone else. My problem with this is that the customer has only been given our parcel on these occasions and so obviously thought it was our mistake. It wasn't and communication between us and Royal Mail confirms this. However, the customer has not received any other parcel. At the risk of jumping on a soap box I find this incredibly disappointing that they almost feel that are being ‘scammed’. Both times we have paid this penalty directly to our customer whilst we have identified the reason for this charge. Once the customer had received confirmation of an alternative parcel but they were then classed as misplaced so it seems everyone is out of pocket. Except of course Royal Mail. These customers lost their parcels regarding the extra charge. We have not required to be reimbursed the £5 that we have paid but both have graciously donated a £5 to a charity of their choice instead. Nobody claimed the £5 back from Royal Mail as it was just not worth it! Whilst obviously I am hoping that I don't hear about this strange problem happening again, I wanted to make people aware. Please ensure that if you receive one of these white penalty cards, you do actually receive the correct parcel BEFORE giving any money to the post office. Reputable companies, such as ours, usually run Royal Mail Business Accounts and therefore any penalty payments would be charged directly to that account and not laid at the door of the recipient. Even if underpaid (which is unheard of) the company would be charged and NOT the recipient. Disappointing Royal Mail. Just in our case you have received £10 for literally nothing. I wonder how many times this is happening? At a time when we hear about the Post Office Scandal and fake stamps too. Be wary people. Blimey! You have to be so alert to everything these days!! |
