Risk Management
14/08/2009 Irish Registered Post enhance their service
Enhancements to the Irish Postal Service, An Post, mean increased levels of compensation are now available if customers use their enhanced tracking service known as PakSafe.
PakSafe is a secure delivery service for despatches to the UK. It is based upon the An Post Registered Postal Service and was originally developed for a small number of niche customers and thus primarily expected to be used by larger volume users in Dublin.
Users will need to order the labels and PakSafe envelopes from the An Post Business Support Desk at a of cost €18.65 each, with a minimum order of 10 labels. Once acquired these are recognised and accepted nationally by all the An Post Offices.
The labels must be ordered from their Business Support Desk in the GPO.
The maximum insurance cover included within the regular An Post Registered Post service for parcels weighing less than 2Kg is €320 for UK despatches. The PakSafe service will provide insurance value up to €2,500.
Whilst different procedures apply to the PakSafe the most notable and fundamental difference is that deliveries in the UK are undertaken by the SMS (Secure Mail Services) Company which is a specialist organisation part of the DX Group - http://www.thedx.co.uk/. Customer Instructions have been issued by An Post and a copy of these can be downloaded from the GJIS Document library, PakSafe UK - Product Overview and Presentation Requirments. Please note although on the flyer it states minimum order 25 - it is in fact 10 as stated in this article.
We are advised that the PakSafe service is operated in conjunction with the standard Registered Service Terms and Conditions. These terms and conditions are outlined below and have been altered slightly to include the PakSafe service offering.
General conditions Registered Post
Loss, Damage or Delay - what do I do?
Keep your transaction receipt (or certificate of posting, where applicable) in a safe place as claims cannot be processed without it. As well as proof of posting, your receipt also contains the item number and date of posting. Remember inquiries must be made within one month of posting or two months for international enquiries.
Enquiries and concerns about registered items can be made by writing to An Post Customer Services, Address: GPO, Dublin 1, by calling Customer Services 1850 57 58 59 or by completing the Missing, Delayed or Damaged form. (This form must be completed by sender). Please note that enquiries regarding items posted to or from other countries may take some time resolve.
The presentation conditions specified in the PakSafe brochure must be adhered to.Compensation
In the event that your registered item is not received by the addressee, An Post will compensate you subject to An Post general conditions and the conditions contained within the Guide to An Post Services, a copy of which is available at every Post Office or online. An Post must be satisfied that the loss or damage occurred in the post, as compensation is not payable through a cause outside the control of An Post. For the PakSafe service, please keep the track and trace number on the label sent with each item.
1. When registering an item ensure to declare its replacement value as compensation rates are related to the declared value and registration fee paid. Where no value is declared a maximum of €25.39 is payable.
2. An Post reserves the right to return the contents of a registered item instead of paying compensation. Compensation paid will not exceed the replacement value of the article lost or of damages sustained.
3. Compensation is not paid for any consequential loss damage or injury arising from the loss, delay, non-delivery or mis-delivery of Registered Post.
4. PakSafe items are insured for up to €2,500
Additional and Comprehensive information is available from www.anpost.ie or specifically for Registered Post go to: http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/MainContent/Business+Customers/Sending+Mail/Security/Registered+Post.htm
GJIS Limited are pleased to confirm that this variation and change in procedures are acceptable to their Jewellers' Block Insurers, Lloyds' of London with immediate effect for the same parcel and consignment limits as applicable to Registered Post in Ireland.
We have enquired of An Post if there is a reciprocal return service whereby SMS would make their collection from the UK customer and when the parcel enters Ireland it be handed over to the An Post Registered Postal Service for delivery within Ireland.
Unfortunateky An Post has confirmed there is no reciprocal service because they don’t know if there is a market there having received no requests from any of the PakSafe users in Ireland. However they have confirmed that if there is a call they would most most definitely look at the feasibility of providing a two way service. Direct approaches can be made to SMS who will deliver to Ireland and consider each potential customer on their own merits and quote accordingly for the service dependent unpon volume. Currently they will not have the benefit of linking into the national delivery network of An Post and therefore the cost is likely to be much higher than the Irish to UK run.
In our experience at GJIS there have been a greater number of losses suffered in respect of transits from Ireland to UK than upon the return journey so it is possible that the scope for development is limited. That said we believe there continues to be room for improvement in the UK to Ireland service and therefore we would be pleased to hear from anyone in the trade who have suffered problems and need assistance because we do intend to follow up our discussions with An Post and investigate improvements to try and mirror the enhancements in the tracking system they have managed to put together for the Irish jewellery trade.
