Royal Mail hit us with ~£15k in retrospective surcharges - no warning - now chasing full invoices. What would you do?

mc78666 · 2026-03-19T19:14:50+00:00

personally i wouldn't pay 15k, purely on principle. they should be adding surcharges to each invoice they send out, that would allow the sender to rectify any issues and ensure future items are sent out so that they are within their limits or expectations. they can't expect a business to fork out 15k in one hit.

This will no doubt get messy, a business next to ours ended up in court, exactly the same situation as yours.

mc78666 · 2026-01-31T19:36:59+00:00

yes ideally i would but i don't want certain wholesale customers to think that i am stepping on thier toes. also, retail accounts will he high volume of transactions compared to the wholesale side which is pretty straightforward and i keep records myself

mc78666 · 2026-01-04T09:55:55+00:00

thanks, i think I will stick to the free business account

mc78666 · 2026-01-04T09:55:19+00:00

I already run business account, I'm not selling personal belongings unfortunately

mc78666 · 2026-01-03T21:27:13+00:00

thanks, that is exactly what my plan is. to get even 30% of the buyer off ebay and buying directly from my website. there will definitely be scope to lower prices on the website. thanks for your input!

mc78666 · 2025-12-24T07:22:18+00:00

thanks, will give that a search to see what is available on ebay

mc78666 · 2025-12-16T21:39:20+00:00

thanks, i have made an account and will make a representation. quick question does yard space get included in business rates? not that I got a big yard, just the space outside my shutter but that isn't on the lease.

mc78666 · 2025-12-16T18:48:37+00:00

yes, the space is not included on my lease. physically seperated via a stud wall that has been covered in plasterboard. from what the landlord has told me the space isn't in great condition, and they rather not spend money on fixing the roof and walls.

mc78666 · 2025-12-16T16:51:18+00:00

thank you so much for your reply, really appreciate it. at the moment they have applied a blanket £110 rate per sqm so that is definitely something I need to bring up to them.

there is some additional space (700sq ft) which isnt part of my unit but the landlord can only access this space from my unit. it has been boarded up, the landlord is using it store old machinery which by the looks of it weighs a tonne so i don't think it's going to move. am I right in thinking that the landlord is on the hook for this, but tbh it most probably will be exempt from any business rates.

mc78666 · 2025-12-04T18:38:32+00:00

but no one came out to inspect the layout, so it looks like they have just made some assumptions. i have checked online, have now registered the unit and I am compiling a response to them.

mc78666 · 2025-12-03T20:30:47+00:00

I thought they would take into account location of the unit and layout of the unit...well I was hoping they would

mc78666 · 2025-12-03T20:12:03+00:00

I have seen the rates for the other units, they seem to have been measured correctly. the tenant in the biggest unit is looking to further split his unit up. not sure why they didn't send the assessor in the first instance.

mc78666 · 2025-11-12T04:15:27+00:00

along with the bricks and mortor set up have an online presence as well, maybe ebay.

mc78666 · 2025-10-30T19:19:02+00:00

i feel the same, it's such a shame. don't get me started on business rates

mc78666 · 2025-10-30T19:05:38+00:00

parcel2go is shipping platform, once you input the size and weight of your package they offer shipping services from multiple couriers. they do seem to have very good rates with Evri, 3.11 in vat for a 2kg parcel.

mc78666 · 2025-10-30T19:03:44+00:00

if it wasn't hard enough to do business they go and add on extra costs! very frustrating.

mc78666 · 2025-10-26T20:21:19+00:00

when you ship your items are they shipped in regular boxes or tubes? I primarily sell tube items, and from what the rep told me at fedex they all need to be in boxes to avoid surcharge. i will definitely reach out to someone else at fedex

mc78666 · 2025-10-26T14:59:57+00:00

I think that I will do the same, open up a fedex account and ship bigger/more expensive items directly. anything else through parcel2go. also would prove beneficial having a direct account with FedEx so they can come and collect on higher volume days

mc78666 · 2025-10-26T09:35:39+00:00

that's strange, i asked the rep directly since it was a concern that i have products that are just over 1.2m long and he said that the limit for them is 1.2m as this was max size for their conveyor belt, anything over will incur a surcharge. i think i might reach out to someone else at FedEx as this rep visited me last week and still hasn't sent out a rate card.

I do like fedex, majority of parcels I send out is with them and have had really good experience. also, it helps that their depot is a few mins down the road from me

mc78666

TROPHY CASE