The price of a First Class Stamp went up by nearly a third in May 2012 to 60 pence. Second Class stamps also went up to 50 pence. But as the costs increase, so do the number of complaints. What service are we getting for our money? Ricky Boleto reports.
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.
It may be one of the oldest services of its kind in the world, but like the most modern go-ahead companies, the Royal Mail has a "vision" - and it's a big one: "To be demonstrably the best and most postal service in the world." If only Royal Mail always lived up to that promise...
Take those 'first class' deliveries - the one's we're now paying 30% more for. Does a first class stamp ensure your letters will arrive within one working day? Or two? Well, no. Ask solicitor Laurence Harris, who complained about the delays affecting his company's mail. He felt that a lot of his company's post was not getting delivered, or it was two or three weeks late. Lawrence explained: "This has caused our clients a great amount of stress and ourselves likewise."
Lawrence spoke to the Royal Mail complaints department and was informed that the delivery time for the first class post was, as far as the post office was concerned, delivery within 15 working days.
But here's the proof: the Royal Mail's terms and conditions - which say they won't offer compensation for a delayed first-class letter, unless it still hasn't arrived 15 working days after the due date. So if the 60p first class stamp doesn't offer enough of a guarantee for you, you could always pay more on a Royal Mail service that promises extra reassurance.
Craig Taylor took advantage of that service in March this year - but it was a decision that would cost him dearly. He booked a trip to China and sent his passport off in the post to the Chinese visa centre in order to apply to get into the country. He sent his passport off using recorded delivery and had left plenty of time. But the passport got lost in the system, meaning that Craig was not only in danger of missing his trip to China, but was actually unable to go on another holiday in Egypt. He has since spent nearly £200 on train tickets trying to get a replacement passport. Then there's the days off work - and the price of the lost holiday. So much for Royal Mail's boast that it's recorded 'signed' for service gives you complete peace of mind when you're sending post.
But what if you are receiving post? We've heard from one viewer who ordered two dresses online, in a tiny size six, for an important function back in December 2011. The supplier confirmed they were sent by recorded delivery - and even provided a tracking number. But by the end of April 2012, the dresses still hadn't arrived; and if - or when - they do, they won't be much use, because that viewer is now eight months pregnant!
So that's First Class and Recorded Delivery - but what about Airsure? It's Royal Mail's fastest international tracked service. Secure and reliable to over 30 destinations worldwide - apparently. Yes, we've had complaints about that too. Lynn Ferguson told us how she used it to send cash worth £130 - and a fridge magnet - to a friend in the USA in February 2012. Royal Mail aim to deliver Airsure packages to the States within six days; however, neither the money or the magnet arrived, and all Royal Mail have offered is a refund on the cost of postage: just £9.87.
So what about Parcel Force? It's a company that is part of the wider Royal Mail Group - and a company that promises: "Every single parcel you entrust us with is a confirmation of your confidence in us. How we respond is a measure of our success."
However Glenn Ferry from Northern Ireland had a different experience. He left his brother's bagpipes in a hotel room in Glasgow, so he booked a delivery with Parcel Force to pick them up. Glen explained that the pipes are irreplaceable and had been in the band for over 60 years, so it was important that they were delivered back to Northern Ireland safely. However, this evidently wasn't as important for the company, as, despite boasting a high quality, smooth and efficient service, they promptly lost them. Glenn is still waiting for them to answer how it is possible to lose something as big as bagpipes...
A Royal Mail spokesperson said:
Our service
Royal Mail delivers 15.9 billion items a year to the UK'S 29 million addresses. In the overwhelming majority of cases items are delivered on time. In the last published financial year, 2010-11, we received about one complaint for every 13,000 items of mail we delivered. Our minimum service standards - at 93% for First Class and 98.5% for Second Class - are amongst the highest for any major European country. We are very transparent about the quality of our service. It is actively monitored by an agency independent of Royal Mail and published every quarter.
We acknowledge that sometimes we get it wrong. When we do, we seek to put things right as soon as possible. We have looked closely at each of these individual cases to seek to rectify the situation for the customer.
Craig Holden
We have apologised to Mr Holden for the loss. We have made an offer of compensation and continue to discuss the matter. We would always encourage customers to use our Special Delivery service when sending items that are urgent or valuable. Special Delivery is a fully tracked service which better enables us to resolve individual cases of loss or delay as quickly as possible.
The customer who purchased two dresses
We also apologise to this customer for our failure to deliver the item she had ordered. In such circumstances, our contract is with the retailer which paid for the service. In cases of loss, it is a matter for the retailer to recompense their customer. We would always seek to refund the retailer where appropriate.
We are pleased that the situation has now been resolved.
Laurence Harris
We are also in contact with Mr Harris about his concerns about our service. In the Ilford postcode, First Class quality of service was 92.9 per cent last quarter - just 0.1 below our target of 93 per cent for next day delivery. We are investigating Mr Harris's situation as a matter of priority to understand and resolve any delivery issues he has experienced
Lynn Ferguson
We have contacted Miss Ferguson to apologise for the delivery issue she has experienced. We have reviewed her complaint and will be providing a payment as a gesture of goodwill.
Glenn Ferry
Parcelforce Worldwide is a leader in the UK's express parcels delivery marketplace. All incidents of loss are very regretful but are extremely unusual. We have been in regular contact with Mr Ferry about the loss of his bagpipes and have conducted many searches since the item was lost. We are pleased to say that a further search of all our depots this week has found the bagpipes. The address label had come off the parcel in transit to Northern Ireland and it was misrouted to our Londonderry depot rather than Portadown. It then became hidden behind some equipment whilst being held for safe-keeping. This should not have happened. When an item cannot be delivered because the label has come off it should be taken to a central location where we make every effort to reunite it with the sending or receiving customer. We are reminding our people of the correct procedures to follow in such cases.
On Price Increases
Royal Mail provides one of the highest quality postal services in Europe. Royal Mail's next day target is the highest of any major European country. This needs to be paid for. A high, fixed-cost network - currently costing £6.7 billion a year - is required to maintain this high quality service. Mail volumes have declined by 25% in six years while the number of addresses we deliver to has increased from 27 million in 2003 to 29 million today. Irrespective of the number of items delivered every day, Royal Mail has to maintain a network on the basis that it delivers to 29 million addresses six days a week.
We know how hard it is for households and business when our economy is as tough as it is now. Raising prices is never easy. It is not a decision we have taken lightly but regretfully we have had no choice but to do so. We need to secure the future of the one-price-goes-anywhere, six-days-a-week Universal Service.
Ofcom said there is a very real risk to the Universal Service. They also found price controls failed and there is a need for material increases to ensure its viability. Royal Mail has made a loss in its core mail business, including packets, of almost £1 billion over the last four financial years. That is not a sustainable position for any business.
UK stamp prices are amongst the best value in the EU. In five of the six weight steps for First Class and Second Class mail, the UK cost of UK stamps are ranked in the bottom half of prices when compared with other European countries. In the 51g to 100g weight band, the new 50p price of a Second Class stamp will be the lowest in Europe.
Royal Mail: Do they always deliver?
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.
It may be one of the oldest services of its kind in the world, but like the most modern go-ahead companies, the Royal Mail has a "vision" - and it's a big one: "To be demonstrably the best and most postal service in the world." If only Royal Mail always lived up to that promise...
Take those 'first class' deliveries - the one's we're now paying 30% more for. Does a first class stamp ensure your letters will arrive within one working day? Or two? Well, no. Ask solicitor Laurence Harris, who complained about the delays affecting his company's mail. He felt that a lot of his company's post was not getting delivered, or it was two or three weeks late. Lawrence explained: "This has caused our clients a great amount of stress and ourselves likewise."
Lawrence spoke to the Royal Mail complaints department and was informed that the delivery time for the first class post was, as far as the post office was concerned, delivery within 15 working days.
But here's the proof: the Royal Mail's terms and conditions - which say they won't offer compensation for a delayed first-class letter, unless it still hasn't arrived 15 working days after the due date. So if the 60p first class stamp doesn't offer enough of a guarantee for you, you could always pay more on a Royal Mail service that promises extra reassurance.
Craig Taylor took advantage of that service in March this year - but it was a decision that would cost him dearly. He booked a trip to China and sent his passport off in the post to the Chinese visa centre in order to apply to get into the country. He sent his passport off using recorded delivery and had left plenty of time. But the passport got lost in the system, meaning that Craig was not only in danger of missing his trip to China, but was actually unable to go on another holiday in Egypt. He has since spent nearly £200 on train tickets trying to get a replacement passport. Then there's the days off work - and the price of the lost holiday. So much for Royal Mail's boast that it's recorded 'signed' for service gives you complete peace of mind when you're sending post.
But what if you are receiving post? We've heard from one viewer who ordered two dresses online, in a tiny size six, for an important function back in December 2011. The supplier confirmed they were sent by recorded delivery - and even provided a tracking number. But by the end of April 2012, the dresses still hadn't arrived; and if - or when - they do, they won't be much use, because that viewer is now eight months pregnant!
So that's First Class and Recorded Delivery - but what about Airsure? It's Royal Mail's fastest international tracked service. Secure and reliable to over 30 destinations worldwide - apparently. Yes, we've had complaints about that too. Lynn Ferguson told us how she used it to send cash worth £130 - and a fridge magnet - to a friend in the USA in February 2012. Royal Mail aim to deliver Airsure packages to the States within six days; however, neither the money or the magnet arrived, and all Royal Mail have offered is a refund on the cost of postage: just £9.87.
So what about Parcel Force? It's a company that is part of the wider Royal Mail Group - and a company that promises: "Every single parcel you entrust us with is a confirmation of your confidence in us. How we respond is a measure of our success."
However Glenn Ferry from Northern Ireland had a different experience. He left his brother's bagpipes in a hotel room in Glasgow, so he booked a delivery with Parcel Force to pick them up. Glen explained that the pipes are irreplaceable and had been in the band for over 60 years, so it was important that they were delivered back to Northern Ireland safely. However, this evidently wasn't as important for the company, as, despite boasting a high quality, smooth and efficient service, they promptly lost them. Glenn is still waiting for them to answer how it is possible to lose something as big as bagpipes...
COMPANY RESPONSE
A Royal Mail spokesperson said:
Our service
Royal Mail delivers 15.9 billion items a year to the UK'S 29 million addresses. In the overwhelming majority of cases items are delivered on time. In the last published financial year, 2010-11, we received about one complaint for every 13,000 items of mail we delivered. Our minimum service standards - at 93% for First Class and 98.5% for Second Class - are amongst the highest for any major European country. We are very transparent about the quality of our service. It is actively monitored by an agency independent of Royal Mail and published every quarter.
We acknowledge that sometimes we get it wrong. When we do, we seek to put things right as soon as possible. We have looked closely at each of these individual cases to seek to rectify the situation for the customer.
Craig Holden
We have apologised to Mr Holden for the loss. We have made an offer of compensation and continue to discuss the matter. We would always encourage customers to use our Special Delivery service when sending items that are urgent or valuable. Special Delivery is a fully tracked service which better enables us to resolve individual cases of loss or delay as quickly as possible.
The customer who purchased two dresses
We also apologise to this customer for our failure to deliver the item she had ordered. In such circumstances, our contract is with the retailer which paid for the service. In cases of loss, it is a matter for the retailer to recompense their customer. We would always seek to refund the retailer where appropriate.
We are pleased that the situation has now been resolved.
Laurence Harris
We are also in contact with Mr Harris about his concerns about our service. In the Ilford postcode, First Class quality of service was 92.9 per cent last quarter - just 0.1 below our target of 93 per cent for next day delivery. We are investigating Mr Harris's situation as a matter of priority to understand and resolve any delivery issues he has experienced
Lynn Ferguson
We have contacted Miss Ferguson to apologise for the delivery issue she has experienced. We have reviewed her complaint and will be providing a payment as a gesture of goodwill.
Glenn Ferry
Parcelforce Worldwide is a leader in the UK's express parcels delivery marketplace. All incidents of loss are very regretful but are extremely unusual. We have been in regular contact with Mr Ferry about the loss of his bagpipes and have conducted many searches since the item was lost. We are pleased to say that a further search of all our depots this week has found the bagpipes. The address label had come off the parcel in transit to Northern Ireland and it was misrouted to our Londonderry depot rather than Portadown. It then became hidden behind some equipment whilst being held for safe-keeping. This should not have happened. When an item cannot be delivered because the label has come off it should be taken to a central location where we make every effort to reunite it with the sending or receiving customer. We are reminding our people of the correct procedures to follow in such cases.
On Price Increases
Royal Mail provides one of the highest quality postal services in Europe. Royal Mail's next day target is the highest of any major European country. This needs to be paid for. A high, fixed-cost network - currently costing £6.7 billion a year - is required to maintain this high quality service. Mail volumes have declined by 25% in six years while the number of addresses we deliver to has increased from 27 million in 2003 to 29 million today. Irrespective of the number of items delivered every day, Royal Mail has to maintain a network on the basis that it delivers to 29 million addresses six days a week.
We know how hard it is for households and business when our economy is as tough as it is now. Raising prices is never easy. It is not a decision we have taken lightly but regretfully we have had no choice but to do so. We need to secure the future of the one-price-goes-anywhere, six-days-a-week Universal Service.
Ofcom said there is a very real risk to the Universal Service. They also found price controls failed and there is a need for material increases to ensure its viability. Royal Mail has made a loss in its core mail business, including packets, of almost £1 billion over the last four financial years. That is not a sustainable position for any business.
UK stamp prices are amongst the best value in the EU. In five of the six weight steps for First Class and Second Class mail, the UK cost of UK stamps are ranked in the bottom half of prices when compared with other European countries. In the 51g to 100g weight band, the new 50p price of a Second Class stamp will be the lowest in Europe.
Royal Mail: Do they always deliver?