Tolerance around weight limits

Dear Mr Bell

Thank you for your request for information received on 05/01/09, which we
are considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Act you
should expect a reply from us to be sent by 02/02/09, which is twenty
working days from receipt of your request.

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will contact you explaining the reasons for this and giving a
revised date by which we will reply.

If in the mean time you have any questions or would like to contact us
about your request, please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or
alternatively email or write to us at the address below. Please be assured
that we are giving this our attention and will get back to you shortly.

Yours sincerely

Marie Teasdale
[Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON EC1V
9HQ

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Dear Mr Bell

Re: Freedom of Information Request

I am writing in regards to your request for information received 05 January
2009.

You requested "the tolerance around weight limits of posted items, as
applied by the Revenue Protection arm of Royal Mail.”

I am unable to either confirm or deny that Royal Mail holds information
falling within the scope of this request. To confirm or deny the existence
of any such tolerance would be likely to result in an increase in mail on
which postage was underpaid. This would prejudice Royal Mail’s commercial
interests and the exemption under section 43 of the Freedom of Information
Act therefore applies.

This exemption is subject to the public interest test. However, we believe
the public interest lies in applying this exemption. Royal Mail Group is a
publicly owned company and there is strong public interest in its ability
to provide mail services under the terms of its license and regulated
pricing framework. For the avoidance of doubt, the reliance on section 43
does not imply that Royal Mail does or does not apply any specific
tolerance.

You also asked for clarification as to “whether items sent from a Post
Office are subject to the same Revenue Protection weight and size checks as
items sent from a postbox?”

Royal Mail does not apply a surcharge to items where it is evident that
they were priced and posted at a Post Office outlet, as the customer has
been charged in good faith by an accredited agent of Royal Mail. Items
sent from a Post Office are subject to the same weight and size checks,
undertaken at the Post Office, which are applied to items that Royal Mail
collects from a post box or business customer. We aim to apply surcharges
sensitively and fairly and this means that not all underpaid mail items
will be surcharged.

I am sorry that your request can not be met in full on this occasion but if
you have any queries or further information needs in the future then please
do contact me. If you are dissatisfied with this response for any reason
you do have a right to request an internal review, in which case please
write to the Head of Information Compliance, Royal Mail House, Company
Secretary's Office, 5th Floor, 148 Old Street, LONDON, EC1V 9HQ. An
internal panel will then review the decision, and you will be advised of
the outcome.

If, having requested an internal review by Royal Mail, you are still not
satisfied with our response you also have a right of appeal to the
Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Marie Teasdale
Freedom of Information Case Officer
Company Secretary's Office

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Dear Mr Bell,

Re: Internal Review under the Freedom of Information Act

Thank you for your email received today requesting an internal review of
Royal Mail Group’s reply to your request for information under the Freedom
of Information Act 2000. This is receiving our attention and I will write
to you again once the internal review has been concluded.

In accordance with guidelines from the Information Commissioner’s Office,
Royal Mail will answer all appeals and requests for internal review of FOI
requests as soon as it reasonably can. This will usually be within 20
working days and in any case no later than 40 days from receipt of the
appeal.

In the mean time if you have any questions or would like to add any further
information for consideration then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Rush
Head of Information Compliance
[email address]

Stuart Bell
<request-5377-7b965d00@whatdoth To: FOI requests at Royal Mail Group <[Royal Mail Group request email]>
eyknow.com> cc:
Sent by: Stuart Bell Subject: Internal review of Freedom of Information request - Tolerance around weight
<request-5377-7b965d00@whatdoth limits
eyknow.com>

08/02/2009 20:53

Dear Marie,

Many thanks for your reply, and for answering the part of my query
that you felt you could address. I should like, however, to request
an internal review, for the reasons that I outline below; please
pass this and my original request to the Head of Information
Compliance. The full history of our correspondence is available
online here:
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/to...

I asked for details of the tolerances used by your Revenue
Protection team, when deciding whether to levy a surcharge on items
exceeding the relevant weight/size limits. You explained that you
are unable to confirm or deny the existence of this information,
explaining that it would put at risk the commercial interests of
Royal Mail.

However, there is a strong (and arguably overriding) public
interest in the publication of this information, on grounds of
ensuring parity between customers. When in ignorance of the
tolerance used by Revenue Protection, online postage customers are
much more likely to err on the side of caution when posting items
near a weight threshold, for fear of just exceeding the limit. You
have already kindly explained that, where items exceed the
weight/size limits but have been weighed by a member of Post Office
staff, a surcharge is not applied. Thus, in the absence of the
information that I have requested, online postage customers will,
on average, pay more than customers using a post office.

In my original request, I noted that post office staff weigh items
before adding stickers and labels. These often take packages over
the relevant weight limit. If, as it appears, the Royal Mail have
determined that this is acceptable, then users of Online Postage
shouldn't be disadvantaged by instead having to go for the higher
price band, in a similar situation.

Failing to publish the requested information would therefore
adversely discriminate against users of the online postage
facility. The public interest test involves considering whether
information might allow individuals to better understand decisions
that are made by public authorities / publicly-owned bodies, and
which affect their lives. There is thus a clear public interest in
the publication of the information: at minimum, it would seem
reasonable to confirm the existence or otherwise of weight/size
tolerances used by Revenue Protection.

I do hope that the internal review will reconsider this balance of
interest, and hence release the information that I have requested.

Many thanks,

Stuart Bell.

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Dear Mr Bell

I am writing in response to your request for an internal review, under the
terms of the Freedom of Information Act of your request for information
from Royal Mail Group. Our internal review panel have completed a review
of your request and I am writing to advise you of their decision.

In your original request, which we received on 05th January 2009, you
requested “the tolerance around weight limits of posted items, as applied
by the Revenue Protection arm of Royal Mail”.

You asked us specifically to “tell [you] the tolerance that is used” and to
clarify “whether items sent from a Post Office are subject to the same
Revenue Protection weight and size checks as items sent from a postbox”.

In our response dated 02nd February 2009, Marie Teasdale answered your
second question, confirming that Royal Mail does not apply a surcharge to
items where it is evident that they were both priced and posted at a Post
Office counter. Other items sent from a Post Office are subject to the
same weight and size checks which are applied to items that Royal Mail
collects from a post box or business customer.

In relation to your request for details of tolerances around weight limits
for mail items, Ms Teasdale explained that she could neither confirm nor
deny whether Royal Mail Group held any information to your request. This
was on the basis that to do so would be likely to result in an increase in
the amount of mail to which insufficient postage is applied and therefore,
section 43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act was applicable.

In your request for a review of this decision, which we received on the 9th
February 2009, you set out detailed arguments as to why you believe there
is strong public interest in favour of providing the information you
requested.

In reviewing your request, our internal panel firstly considered whether or
not the exemption under section 43 of FOIA was correctly applied. They
were in agreement that to confirm whether tolerances were used would be
likely to result in an increase in the amount of mail items on which
postage was underpaid. This would clearly have a negative effect on Royal
Mail’s revenue and undermine the pricing structure agreed by the postal
regulator Postcomm. The panel agreed that this would be likely to
prejudice the commercial interests of Royal Mail and that section 43 was
therefore engaged.

Section 43 is subject to the Public Interest Test and the appeal panel also
considered whether, despite the application of the exemption, the public
interest test favours disclosing the information. In your request for an
internal review you argued that answering the request would parity between
customers. This was on the basis that customers, who were unaware of any
tolerances, would have to pay the correct amount of postage. You suggested
that other customers, who had items priced and posted at Post Office
counters, could avoid paying more postage. You stated that “where items
exceed the weight/size limits but have been weighed by a member of Post
Office staff, a surcharge is not applied”. This is not the case, items are
weighed and measured by Post Office staff according to the set prices,
customers are not treated any differently in this respect to customers who
buy postage online. Further, we do not believe that, even where labels may
be applied after items are weighted at a Post Office counter, this would
enable customers to avoid paying the correct amount of postage.

You argued that there was public interest in ‘at a minimum’, confirming
whether specific tolerances were in place. However, the panel agreed that
to confirm or deny whether tolerances were used would itself cause
prejudice to Royal Mail’s commercial interests. This is on the basis that
some individuals would be likely to test whether or not items of certain
weights were surcharged. Ultimately, this would be likely to result in
some mail items being deliberately posted with insufficient postage
attached.

In considering the public interest test, the panel considered the extent to
which it would serve the public interest to provide the information you
requested. However, they agreed that any such interest does not outweigh
the overriding public interest in protecting Royal Mail’s commercial
interests and the validity of the pricing framework that Royal Mail is
required to operate within. The regulator Postcomm, whose role it is to
ensure that the public receives value for money, agrees royal Mail’s
pricing structure. After considering these points and all relevant factors
carefully, the appeal panel agreed that the public interest test favours
maintaining the exemption under section 43 (2) of the Act,

Please note that, as we explained in our original reply, the use of section
43 (2) does not imply that Royal Mail does or does not apply any specific
tolerances as described in your request. I hope that this suitably
explains our response. Please contact me directly if you would like any
clarification or if there is anything further I can do to help. In the
event that you are not satisfied with this response, you do also have a
right to appeal to the Information Commissioner who can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Colin Young
Freedom of Information Manager
[Royal Mail Group request email]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON EC1V
9HQ

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