price of stamps to rise

I’ve bought three books of second class stamps today for competition entries or birthday cards. I can now post small parcels in some local post boxes. As an eBay seller, this is proving useful.

Post boxes are being automated so you can post small parcels up to shoebox size as well as letters. It saves time. No need to queue to buy stamps or have parcels weighted and means parcels can be posted outside of office hours

Pay for your postage inline, print a label, scan the label’s bar code on the postbox’s inbuilt reader to unlock the drawer.

(If you don’t have a printer you can be sent a QR code to take to a service provider to print the label.)

My local postbox was automated some months ago. It’s easy to use.

A lot of complaining seems to be a resistance to change when for many people (including me) these things makes life easier including only paying for postage as I need it.

You can buy books at Costco, saves a few pence

I went to post my Mother’s Day card and the postbox was completely taped up and out of service. I called into the local PO kiosk in the Co-op to ask what’s happening and apparently postboxes are going to be replaced by an electronic system! The young lad behind the counter was very pleasant and said the post box was going to be replaced by an automated service but that he did not understand why they had taped that one up so early. I felt so sorry for him as his working conditions were atrocious. The space behind and in front of the counter was a chaotic mess of boxes and he could not find a parcel for the person in front of me. It really is shocking how rundown the PO service is now and how expensive it is. Has anyone seen any advertising or information about postboxes being replaced? How do you even automate a postbox as it’s just a simple matter of posting letters into the box? I just hope my mother receives her card on time.

Missedout if you think the RM website is bad then try phoning them. I had to do this when a parcel which was noted as delivered did not turn up. On the first occasion 45 mins wait and the second time 75 mins. Unfortunately I had to hang on to pass on info from the police re parcel.

I am asking my family not to send me birthday cards this year as I only get post if a parcel gets delivered. My post is usually in a bundle with an elastic band round them.
For the last 2 years both birthday and Xmas cards have arrived well after the event and all with first class stamps on them.
My family are always disappointed that I have not received my cards as we live too far apart to meet up. Royal Mail used to be respected for the ability to get post to you, but sadly things have changed for the worst.

This business should not be called 'Royal' anymore. It's a privatised business now and has no royal connection anymore.

The very word 'Royal' gives this now shambles of a tin-pot organisation a gravitas it does not merit.

When I receive a letter from a friend or relative that has a clear dated postmark on it and I can see it has taken more than 3 days to arrive (or however long RM says it should take) I ask friend/relative where it was posted and fill in the RM online complaint form help.royalmail.com/s/onlineclaim

I have claimed 3 times in the last year or so and have a 100% success rate, they send stamps in compensation for the delay although I'm not sure how many should be sent as I remember receiving 4 on one occasion and 8 another time.

If everyone who received a delayed letter claimed compensation RM would soon buck their ideas up - or else we'd never have to buy another stamp! You do need to be able to prove when it was posted to claim so a legible postmark or proof of posting certificate is needed.

Postage stamps have become a real Cash Cow for the Royal Mail

I can't see letters and postal deliveries lasting beyond the next 5 years..

Times move on.

Ridiculously expensive now. This is why I no longer send Christmas cards, which only end up in the bin. Just let people know you will no longer be sending cards and the money that would have been spent on cards and postage will now be sent to “ a local charity “.
Birthday cards are a different matter.

I think this is the end of Royal Mail as we have known it to be? Is this because they’ve had to compensate all those mistreated by the ‘post office scandal’?
And the government is being very quiet on it!
Nothing from anyone?
How are they allowed to rip us off like this?
I too only get post once a fortnight and that is with a bu dlr of advertising leaflets! The companies pay for the Royal Mail for that delivery service!

I think that the Royal Mail website is one of the most difficult to navigate.

I have some first class stamps (I bought them over the Post Office counter but can’t remember when, I have no idea what I paid - there is no price on them). I wanted to post a card in an A4 envelope so I looked on the website, I wish I hadn’t.

There were several choices of types of delivery, tracked, next day etc.. All different costs. Could I use one of my first class stamps? No idea! So I picked a ‘First Class Delivery’ for a large letter - cost £3.05! That was bad enough - if I’d put one of my ‘First Class’ stamps on - would it have incurred extra charges? The website was singularly unhelpful.

However, worse was to come - my letter was urgent so I paid the £3.05 on line and opted to print out a label.

An email popped up with a QR code. However, I could not find anywhere in the Royal Mail app that enabled me to print my label on my printer (the app said I could). After wasting a great deal of time looking for a link for my printer, I put on my coat and walked to the nearest Post Office (25 minutes brisk walking each way and passing 2 post boxes). A quick wave of the QR code reader, and a label was slapped on to my envelope and it departed.

I often use DPD for parcels - no trouble there, I print out the labels at home.

I’m pretty comfortable making online purchases but I’m afraid that Royal Mail defeated me. No wonder they are in a mess!

I always post birthday cards early, in an attempt to get them there for the recipient's birthday.
Of course, sod's law, that's the one time my cards are delivered the next day.

I don’t know how they get away with it! A first class letter from the hospital took two weeks to get to me. Surely it is fraudulent charging for two different classes of mail when neither of them arrive on time.

I have six postage stamps at £3.40 each. They were surplus to requirements. Bought from my local PO but I didn’t keep the receipt. They won’t exchange them for me.

The stamps are on a PO backing sheet and are in first class condition.
Does anyone know how I can have these exchanged for first class stamps please?

I use stamps very rarely now, other than second class for Christmas. We've cut down our card list significantly now.
If I have to return anything you've bought online I can usually print a free label on the post office site.

I bought four first class stamps last week and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor! I can’t believe they’re going up even more.

Rocketstop2

Absolutely disgusting.Royal mail is one of the only places I know that gets away with openly being fraudulent.
They sell us stamps which is a promise to deliver the mail next day or within a few days. Often we have it taking weeks here and get a glut of post every so often, it's a shoddy service that we are paying more and more for, don't know what the answer is as delivery firms are almost as bad and in some cases, worse.

Totally agree! I get mail once a week now unless there happens to be a parcel for delivery and then I get letters at the same time. Postie says parcels always get priority over letters nowadays. I'm also getting tired of having to go to deliver wrongly delivered mail to addresses nearby and to collect parcels addressed to me but delivered to the farm nearby - at least I know where the parcels are because the photo clearly shows the wrong location complete with their address.

Absolutely disgusting.Royal mail is one of the only places I know that gets away with openly being fraudulent.
They sell us stamps which is a promise to deliver the mail next day or within a few days. Often we have it taking weeks here and get a glut of post every so often, it's a shoddy service that we are paying more and more for, don't know what the answer is as delivery firms are almost as bad and in some cases, worse.

Time to stock up for Christmas cards before it happens!

Gosh.

Though I personally, probably only use about 5 stamps during a year, apart from Christmas.