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Are You Getting A Good Enough Postal Service from the Royal Mail?
 The
majority of businesses in the UK continue to
use the standard Royal Mail postal services
without even considering whether they are
getting the best service for their posting
needs.
The BBC reported last year that consumer
group Postwatch estimated 14.4million
packages were lost every year by the Royal
Mail; this figure has been improving, but it
is still not satisfactory for most
businesses. What if your lost package is a
payment or contract, causing you difficulty
and maybe even financial damage?
We believe that this issue is important
after experiencing a number of problems with
Royal Mail services ourselves. Over the past
month we have had 3 boxed packages go
missing, and one ruined after being left out
in the rain. While we appreciate that the
vast majority of post is delivered safely,
the inconvenience caused by these problems
was such that we decided to create a guide
to help your business take the right postal
services.
A big question is whether there is enough
information available on what the postal
services actually cover, particularly when
most people’s only contact with Royal Mail
is on the posting and delivery of items.
For example: Although it sounds secure,
recorded delivery is no different to normal
mail except that it is given a number and
signed for on delivery; there is no other
tracking at all. Businesses all across the
country use recorded delivery for valuable
deliveries; yet the maximum compensation
(including consequential damage to your
business) available for lost or damaged
packages is £28 unless you take further
insurance.
The odds are that many businesses would take
extra cover or use a different delivery
service if they knew the full information.
Most small business owners are busy enough
without needing to take the time to
individually check the details of the postal
services they are using, although our recent
experiences suggest that maybe they should!
If you are sending an important package, you
need to check whether the postal method you
are using is adequate. Could you get a
better service from another postal company?
Be sure to send important items by Special
Delivery (or equivalent), or be certain that
you have adequate insurance on the value
Our free guide to Sending Business Post is
available here.
Here are some links to a number of other
parcel or package carriers, these are not
specific recommendations; but are here to
help you pick the one that is right for you.
DHL
UPS
FedEx
Parceline
Amtrak
Interlink Express
DX Services (Business to Business)
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