Question about Royal Mail Tracked 48 Compensation for Lost / Damaged items

Posted 1st Jun 2022
Can someone confirm if you are fully covered and can claim compensation for lost / damaged items if Royal Mail collect a Tracked 24 / 48 item from your home?

I normally buy all my Royal Mail postage online and drop all my items off at the Post Office and have no issues making claims, but I don't use this Tracked 24 / 48 service. I was just sending something 2nd Class Signed For and was buying the postage online but Royal Mail dangled a carrot saying they're currently offering Tracked 48 for basically a few pence more and it includes 'Free Collection' presently and compensation up to £100 (instead of £50 for Recorded Delivery). My item is worth about £80 so I went with the Tracked 48 hour with free collection - it seemed a no brainer.

What I'm confused by however is that after I purchased the postage, I looked more into compensation for this service and it seems purposely misleading. I noticed although it's Tracked 24 / 48 hour, Royal mail weirdly don't compensate for any delays with this service(?) - this makes no sense as they do compensate for the slower cheaper 2nd Class Signed For service. Then even more confusingly I noticed if you put in a claim for lost or damaged items it demands proof that you posted it at a Post Office (they want a copy of the Proof of Postage showing this...?). You can't post Tracked 24 / 48 items at a Post Office and this item only had the option of being collected by Royal Mail when I chose it online... It appears that if they collect the item there is no way to actually put in a compensation claim for lost / damaged items... Surely this can't be correct as it would be a blatant scam? Are you definitely covered for up to £100 for loss / damage as advertised if they collect the item from your home? How do you claim if the item gets damaged / lost as their online claim form appears to prevent you claiming for loss or damage if the item gets collected?

Am I actually better off cancelling the Tracked 48 (£100 compensation / free collection) and just booking it with 2nd Class Signed For (£50 Compensation / Dropping off at Post Office)? It's so dumb if this is the case
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  1. fiestasteve44's avatar
    When they collected it they would have scanned it. From that point on you are covered.
    Master_Yoda's avatar
    Author
    Well, that's what you would think would be the case, but their terms and conditions imply otherwise...

    Also this is what appears when I try to put in a test claim:

    47546518-8cGos.jpg
    47546518-3FlbI.jpg
  2. AMaky's avatar
    After collection you receive an email stating that item collected and "Please keep this email as proof of postage."
    Master_Yoda's avatar
    Author
    OK - Thanks
  3. Ferris's avatar
    I've only used the 48 service once, and the proof of postage when I dropped the item off at the sorting office was just a handwritten piece of paper. They didn't even have a stamp. Bizarre service.
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