Does anybody use Royal Mail OBA?

[Dejay1788]

I've just gone on to Royal Mail OBA, we're using click & drop because it links to all of our sales channels - I've just got a quick question about the mailing sacks.

As far as I understand every type of mail will need to go in a seperate sack, so I'll need sacks for:

1st large letter
2nd large letter
1st small parcel
2ns small parcel
1st signed for
2nd signed for
International standard
International tracked.

Am I right in thinking that's the correct break down, and also what's the best way of getting enough sacks? I've read online they're pretty hard to come by and don't always get delivered when required. If so can anything other than the sacks be used to send off the mail?

Thank you.

[MrReg]

Yes that's correct re the breakdown.
Just befriend the guy that picks up your post in the afternoon - ours brings us bags when we ask him, or nowadays he just brings them regardless!

[Mudgey]

That's correct although they are happy to take our International Packets and Large Letters in one bag.

We had to stop our Posty bringing anymore bags, at one point as we ended up with about 100 of the things, i'll have to remember to ask him for more once we get through this lot!

Edit - Doh, misread your message on the international stuff, looks like your aware they can be combined. - /Edit.

[Dejay1788]

Thanks both. I'll be dropping off to the post office as it's just around the corner and I won't have to wait around for my postie.

Does anybody use the click and drop service? I've got a few questions but getting in touch with the right person at RM is a nightmare.

[XMT]

My advise is make sure you alway use bags. We were told you can use black bags but the one time we did use two black bags because we ran out they items went missing.... probably sitting in the trash somewhere.

We had a whale of a time getting regular supply of bags until one Friday they did not come and I was in a big pile of poo when Monday came. I got no help at all, business managers are bloody pointless as they never get through to the depot and I had to run around post offices to beg for bags.

The next day I was so angry that I called the business manager and for once i lost my cool which I usually dont as I think there is no need for it but needless to say it had results.

Area Field Manager for the whole north side made sure I got my bags daily, nevermind weekly. Now they don't even take the risk of me having a low supply.

I have a friend who uses OBA and if you order bags via their online system its quite reliable and you will get them but I would advise to always always keep a supply of2/3 days as back up.
I keep a 5 day supply as sometimes they forgot or actually run low or bags across a full region.

[Phooey]

Signed-for mail can go in with non-signed-for mail as long as it's of the same type i.e. 1st class packets / 1st class Large Letter / 2nd class packets etc etc

[dartissimus]

Is there no alternative to the Royal Mail? It sounds a nightmare.

They're the only options for Highlands and Islands for small stuff

There are brokers who quote cheaper prices than our direct tarrifs.
We send out our parcels with Interlink, whose service is the best we've come across.

It would have to be a very significant saving for us to change and I doubt we'd get the same service.

You gets what you pays for

[Dejay1788]

Thanks for the advice guys. My sacks didn't turn up by my local depot are happy for us to just collect sacks from their loading bays if we need to.

However our first load of post has been a nightmare.

We have been using the same Post Office for 3 years and have spent thousands with them over the years, anyway I told them last week that we're going on contract and it's safe to say that they weren't best pleased (as they will be losing out on the sales). On Tuesday I took my first sacks of OBA mail to them which at first they didn't want to accept until I called Royal Mail and confirmed that the Post Office must accept the sacks.

Yesterday and today I've been receiving emails from my customers telling me orders haven't arrived despite being sent first class on Tuesday, so I decided to track them and find out that tracking hadn't been updated, so I gave RM a call to find out what's going on and it turns out the Post Office had left the sacks in the office until 5PM today!

I've now got unhappy customers wanting postage refunds, refunds on items and heaps of complaints. I'm fuming, just emailed my account manager to make a complaint and at the very least recover the postage costs for delayed mail.

I've got to drop more mail off tomorrow at the PO, chatting to the post master should be interesting..

[Ean218]

Local POs don't want to know about OBA.

If our collection is missed, which happens too regularly, we have to take it to the depot.

[RanchoGrande]

our local post office seem to be OK about taking the sacks, but I must say that the delivery times is very hit and miss with 2nd class packets often taking over a week to arrive.

The whole OBA system is overly complicated, clunky and dated. It's a massive faff to send stuff via signed for and there is zero compensation when stuff goes missing.

Sadly for us, it's our only option as we don't send enough stuff to be able to use a different company, like UK Mail.

Never had any issues getting sacks though, just go on and order them and they arrive within a few days.

[XMT]

Dejay1788 said:

Thanks for the advice guys. My sacks didn't turn up by my local depot are happy for us to just collect sacks from their loading bays if we need to.

However our first load of post has been a nightmare.

We have been using the same Post Office for 3 years and have spent thousands with them over the years, anyway I told them last week that we're going on contract and it's safe to say that they weren't best pleased (as they will be losing out on the sales). On Tuesday I took my first sacks of OBA mail to them which at first they didn't want to accept until I called Royal Mail and confirmed that the Post Office must accept the sacks.

Yesterday and today I've been receiving emails from my customers telling me orders haven't arrived despite being sent first class on Tuesday, so I decided to track them and find out that tracking hadn't been updated, so I gave RM a call to find out what's going on and it turns out the Post Office had left the sacks in the office until 5PM today!

I've now got unhappy customers wanting postage refunds, refunds on items and heaps of complaints. I'm fuming, just emailed my account manager to make a complaint and at the very least recover the postage costs for delayed mail.

I've got to drop more mail off tomorrow at the PO, chatting to the post master should be interesting..

By pass the PO and drop it off at the depot.

[VEIGHT]

Try and chat up the depot manager too! We have our local one's mobile number (they never answer the landline) which is perfect for issues like no sacks, late collections or like today the postman collected all of the post PLUS all of our UPS overseas orders!