ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS...

Transcription

1 CUSTOMER USER GUIDE

2 Contents 1. OVERVIEW Service Level Compensation ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS Mail Preference Service Machinable Mail Guide UK MAIL INDICATOR Indicator for UK Mail Business Class Stamp-Like Access Indicia Return Addresses and Undeliverable Mail Enquiries & Complaints Final Labelling Requirements Label Example EQUIPMENT FOR MAILINGS Blank Labels and Bag Ties Bags, Trays and Other Containers INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS Posting Dockets Collection Manifests Scanning of Mail Bags and Trays by UK Mail DESPATCHING THE MAILING Pre-Notification of Mailing Day Forecast Daily Update Preceding Day Notification Inaccurate 7-Day Forecast or Preceding Day Notification COLLECTION Collection Times Health and Safety MAIL VERIFICATION AND REVENUE PROTECTION Action in event of Mail Verification or Revenue Protection Error

3 1. OVERVIEW UK Mail s services are provided using our collection and overnight distribution network to link with local sortation and delivery by Royal Mail. The services provide customers with a two-day delivery of presorted mail and track-tracing of mail bags or trays to the point of hand over to Royal Mail for final sortation and delivery. Price is dependent amongst other things on the level of sortation, the number and weight and type of the Mailing Items. UK Mail shall convey and deliver to the relevant addresses anywhere within the United Kingdom (and to the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey) all Mailing Items collected by UK Mail from the Customer and accepted by UK Mail in accordance with the Customer Agreement (including this User Guide and any documents it refers to). This User Guide must, at all times, be read in conjunction with the current Royal Mail User Guide (as amended from time to time). Where there is a conflict between the Royal Mail User Guide and this User Guide, the Royal Mail User Guide will take priority. The current Royal Mail User Guide can be found at in the Services section Service Level UK Mail shall use reasonable endeavours to deliver any Mailing Item collected from the Customer and accepted by UK Mail in accordance with the Agreement (including this User Guide) and with a delivery address within the UK (but not for this purpose including the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey) on the second Working Day after collection from the Customer and acceptance by UK Mail (subject to the relevant Mailing Items being in accordance with the Agreement). As with other pre-sorted bulk mail services, UK Mail shall not be liable to the Customer or to any other person for failure to deliver within this timescale. However, please see section 1.2 below regarding compensation. Mail will not be collected on a Saturday without special prior agreement between the Customer and UK Mail. Collection of mail will not be made from the Customer on a Sunday or a bank or public holiday Compensation The Customer acknowledges that UK Mail is required to use Royal Mail for the final delivery, and accordingly is not able to offer any assurance as to the actual delivery day of any Mailing Item. However, UK Mail will at its reasonable discretion share with the Customer in common with all its other customers any compensation that it receives for failure to comply with service standards that it receives from Royal Mail under its agreement with Royal Mail. Any such payment will be credited against any future Charges whether under the Agreement or any other similar agreement or, if requested by the Customer, will be made by cheque 3

4 2. ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS The Customer will need to refer to clauses 2, 5, 6 and 7 of the Royal Mail User Guide for the entry qualifications relevant to the service it will be using e.g. entry qualifications, preparation of mail and presentation and sortation of the mail. Appendix G and Appendix H of the Royal Mail User Guide provide guidance regarding OCR and CBC mailings Mail Preference Service The Mail Preference Service (MPS) is a consumer service sponsored by The Direct Marketing Association (The DMA). Some consumers would like to receive less advertising mail at home and the MPS is designed to assist those consumers in decreasing the amount of unrequested advertising mail they receive. Companies undertaking direct mail marketing should check that the consumers to whom they intend to send mail are not registered with the MPS and remove any such names from the mailing list. Before presenting mail to UK Mail, the Customer must ensure that the Mail Preference Service s Suppression File is applied to all relevant Mailing Items. 2.2 Machinable Mail Guide In order for letters to be processed effectively by our sortation machines, there must be a clear and consistent typed address block. The mail should meet the following guidelines: Printed address, not hand-written Full address including two-part Postcode Postcode typed in upper case Postcode on the bottom line, on its own, not underlined Address block must be visible within the envelope window at all times, not skewed or cut off No pictures or other print visible behind the address Good print quality Arial or Times New Roman are ideal, but must commonly used fonts are acceptable (please refer to Royal Mail User Guide for more details) 8 to 12 point print using a fixed pitch, so letters do not overlap or touch Clean envelopes flaps, seams and edges sealed properly No dark coloured envelopes All items in a tray or in a bundle in a bag are facing the same way and are the same way up No poly-wrapped or plastic coated items It must be capable of being easily bent into an S shape Address Layout Always include the postcode in full as the last line of the address. If something else appears on the last line, the postcode is not complete, the alpha characters are not in upper case or if it is missing altogether, then the address cannot be properly read. 4

5 Ideal address layout and format Unsuitable address layouts and formats When a window envelope is used, please ensure that the address and postcode shows clearly in the window With the postcode as the last visible line. [Examples below show how this might incorrectly be the salutation or the first few lines of a letter if the item is folded in the wrong place.] NOTE: Please refer to Appendix A in the Royal Mail User Guide as this outlines all the relevant criteria associated with addressing mailing items 3. UK MAIL INDICATOR Mailing Items will only be accepted if they bear an Indicator as provided by UK Mail. Use by the Customer of the Indicator must be in accordance with the Customer Agreement. The Indicator cannot be used to access any postal service provided by any other mail operator (including any Royal Mail service) or for any other purpose than as set out in the Customer Agreement and this User Guide Indicator for UK Mail Business Class Illustrations of the available UK Mail Indicators are given on page 6, showing how the Indicator must be positioned on the Mailing Item. The top and right hand edges of the Indicator zone should be aligned exactly to the top and right hand edges of the envelope. The Indicator must be printed as shown in this User Guide and the Technical Envelope Specification as shown at Appendix E of the Royal Mail User Guide. As Mailing Items will be handed over to Royal Mail for final sortation and delivery, the Indicator must also comply with the Clear Addressing section of the Business chapter on the Royal Mail web site at: UK Mail will provide the Customer with artwork files of the selected Indicator. 5

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8 3.2. Stamp-Like Access Indicia A Stamp-like Indicia is defined as an Access Indicia designed to imitate the appearance of a stamp and must have perforated edges incorporated into the design. Please see example below: Guidelines: As the originator of any image you must ensure that you comply with the terms and conditions below. You must ensure that you: 1) Own the intellectual property rights for any designs that you use and allow UK Mail to use this imagery on your behalf alongside the UK Mail indicia for processing through the UK Mail and Royal Mail delivery networks for delivery to the end recipient. 2) Indemnify UK Mail Ltd and Royal Mail Group Plc against any potential claim in relation to the breach of copyright law. 3) Are legally responsible for ensuring that you have the necessary copyright approvals in place to use the imagery on the stamp-like indicia. 4) Will not show or mention any reference to the Royal Family, the Royal Arms or any emblems associated with the Royal Family. 5) Will not use imagery that is derogatory or that defames any other person or business. 6) Are complaint with the law and the images used do not incite any person to break the law. 7) Are compliant with the British Code of Advertising Practice. 8) Prepare your images in a responsible manner to both society and consumers. 9) Compete fairly. 10) Will not use any image that may cause offence. 11) Will not use any image that is misleading. 12) Will not use any indecent images that contain any sexual reference, or refer to indecency, obscenity or pornography. 13) Will not use images of a political nature that are potentially generating support for a particular point of view, policy or action. 14) Will provide advance written confirmation that permission is granted to use any quotation or reference to a living person. 15) Will not use images that negatively affect the UK Mail brand or any part of UK Mail Ltd or any of the UK Mail Group of Companies. 16) Will not use any images which negatively affect the Royal Mail brand or Royal Mail Group of Companies. 8

9 In addition: 1) UK Mail Ltd reserves the right to withhold the processing of any items that are deemed to be inappropriate or are likely to cause offence. 2) Royal Mail Group Plc also reserves the right to withhold the processing of the items from the Royal Mail network if it deems that any terms and conditions have been breached in relation to any of the images used. 3) The image will be printed on a white background and therefore be of good contrast in line with the resolution specifications. NOTE: Please refer to section 3.3 of the Royal Mail Wholesale User Guide 3.3. Return Addresses and Undeliverable Mail Once the Customer has set up an account with UK Mail and agreed a Mailing Profile with UK Mail, the Customer will be issued with a customer identifier number. The correct customer identifier number must be used when notifying UK Mail of Mailing Items for Collection and in the necessary documentation. The Customer must ensure that every Mailing Item is clearly marked on the reverse with a return address. This address will normally be the customer s usual address for receiving returned mail, e.g: Acme Supplies Ltd or Acme Supplies Ltd 23 Acacia Avenue PO BOX 1357 ANYTOWN ANYTOWN NX99 9XX NX99 9ZZ If especially requested, the return address can be the UK Mail PO Box address, in which case the correct customer identification number must be included, e.g. for customer with reference number M368888): UK Mail Ref M PO BOX 195 LEEDS LS27 1BF [If this address is used then wording to the effect of For return of undeliverable letters only-not for correspondence must be used adjacent to the return address, to avoid this address being used by recipients for correspondence to the Customer] Any Mailing Item that cannot be delivered will be returned to the Customer, either a) directly to the customer by Royal Mail, or b) by Royal Mail to the UK Mail PO Box and then by UK Mail to the Customer (either to the Customer at the Customer s address or to the Collection Location on the Mailing Profile, as agreed in the Mailing Profile) - provided the Mailing Item is clearly marked as described in this section. 9

10 Where a) is used then provided that: the Customer has marked all Mailing Items in this way; and the level of returns is less than 5% of the Mailing Items in a Collection; and UK Mail is able to return the Mailing Items at reasonable cost to UK Mail, UK Mail will make no additional charge to the Customer for returning the Mailing Items. If these conditions are not met, UK Mail reserves the right to make a charge for returning the Mailing Items and/or to refuse to accept further Mailing Items from the Customer. 4. Enquiries & Complaints Any issue that the Customer wishes to discuss in relation to the Customer Agreement or UK Mail services should be raised in the first instance with UK Mail Communications Centre, by telephone on or by at ukmcc@ukmail.com Should UK Mail get enquiries/complaints from recipients (the addressee) of Mailing Items sent under the Customer Agreement, they may be advised to contact the Customer in order that the concern can be addressed between the Customer and UK Mail (except where the issue concerns delivery procedures, e.g. mis-delivery by Royal Mail, when Royal Mail may deal directly with the recipient as appropriate). For independent guidance on raising your concern, you can contact Consumer Direct the government service for clear, practical and impartial consumer advise. 5. Final Labelling Requirements UK Mail will provide blank labels to the Customer. Only these labels can be used and they may only be used for the final labelling and sealing of bags or labelling of trays prior to collection by UK Mail. Each bag or tray must be identified with a label that indicates the destination and contents of the bag or tray. The label must include the information as specified by UK Mail and set out below: Barcode - this barcode is unique to each bag or tray of mail and is used by UK Mail to track the progress of the bag or tray; the barcode must be undamaged and unmarked on presentation to UK Mail UK Mail Routing Code - this indicates the routing for the bag or tray through the UK Mail network Destination Office - the destination office is the Royal Mail Inward Mail Centre at which the bag or tray will be handed over. Standard Selection Code is the Standard Selection Code for the selection name as per the Mailsort Sortation database. Postcode group / Plan details - this field defines the Postcode group or sortation plan for the mailing items within the bag or tray. Format - this indicates the type of Mailing Item contained within the bag or tray. All formats shall be identified in the manner set out below and shall always be in uppercase, e.g.: Large Letters LGE LETTERS Packets PACKETS A3 Packets A3 PKTS OCR Letters OCR CBC Letters CBC Walksorted Letters WALKSORT Manual Letters MAN LTR Machineable Letters MECH LTR 10

11 * UK Mail - this identifies UK Mail as the carrier for hand over to Royal Mail * Service indicator DSA - this indicates to Royal Mail the level of service required after hand over * Unique Bag or Tray Identification Number - this is an identifying number unique to the bag or tray. The same unique number is to be included in the Posting Docket against the description of the bag s or tray s contents. * Customer Identification Number - this is an identifying number allocated to the Customer. YELLOW LABELS MUST BE USED FOR BUSINESS CLASS MACHINEABLE 700 / 120 OCR or CBC Although labelling guidance is provided above, the Customer should also refer to Clause 7 of the Royal Mail User Guide for further guidance. However please note that where the Royal Mail User Guide refers to 6. Customer Name, this should be UK Mail. An example of a UK Mail label and routing info has been provided below Label Example 6. EQUIPMENT FOR MAILINGS 6.1. Blank Labels and Bag Ties The consumable items that UK Mail will supply are blank bag or tray labels and bag ties. UK Mail provided blank labels and bag ties shall only be used for the final labelling and sealing of mailbags or labelling of trays, prior to collection by UK Mail. The Customer shall order blank labels and bag ties from the UK Mail Communications Centre (UKMCC) and they will be delivered to the Customer at the agreed Collection Location. UK Mail will not provide any other consumable items such as rubber bands and bundle ties Bags, Trays and Other Containers UK Mail will supply the Customer with bags or trays and other containers according to the terms of the Customer Agreement (including this User Guide) and under UK Mail s usual terms and conditions for such provision. All Customer requests for blank labels, bag ties, bags, trays and other containers should be notified to UKMCC as soon as possible but no less than seven Working Days prior to the Mailing for which they are required in conjunction with the pre-notification process (see Section 8). UK Mail will deliver these items to the Customer at the agreed Collection Location. 11

12 Sufficient bags, trays, blank labels and bag ties will be provided to meet the reasonable needs of the Customer. UK Mail will not supply containers other than bags or trays to the Customer unless it is operationally mutually beneficial. Bags or trays provided by UK Mail shall only be used for the final presentation of mail prior to collection of Mailing Items by UK Mail. Where supplied, other containers may only be used to present bags or trays for collection by UK Mail. Any bags, trays or other containers provided by UK Mail must not be used for moving Mailing Items within the Customer s site. When handing over Mailing Items to UK Mail, Customer shall only use property supplied by UK Mail. UK Mail reserves the right only to collect bags or trays presented in property supplied by UK Mail. All bags, trays and other containers provided to the Customer by UK Mail remain the property of UK Mail or its suppliers (for example where appropriate, Royal Mail) at all times. Note: Please also see Clause 4 of the UK Mail Terms and Conditions for further conditions on the use of bags, trays and other containers supplied by UK Mail 7. INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS 7.1. Posting Dockets The Customer must provide UK Mail with a Posting Docket in respect of each Collection. Each Posting Docket must be sent in electronic form to the UK Mail Communication Centre (UKMCC). If electronic transfer to UKMCC is not successful, an electronic copy must be provided to UK Mail with each Collection through some other means. The Customer will be provided with one of two possibilities: a) Software will be provided to the Customer for it to produce labels and Posting Dockets (the functions and usage of this software, and licensing terms, are described in the UK Mail Consignor Manual); or b) The implementation, in the Customer s IT systems, of the equivalent functions to Consignor as described in the UK Mail Label and Manifesting Guide Whichever of the above two choices that the Customer decides to use, the input to the UK Mail labeling and Posting Docket process will be the Line Listing data relevant to the Collection. There are three required outputs from the two possibilities mentioned above: 1) UK Mail standard final bag or tray labels 2) UK Mail Posting Docket (transmitted to UKMCC by or ftp, or provided with the collection by floppy disk or USB key) 3) UK Mail printed Collection Manifest (this is the equivalent of the Line Listing) The Line Listing data will provide the Identification Number of each bag or tray in the Collection 12

13 and for each Identification Number: relevant Customer Identification Number number of Mailing Items in that bag or tray format of the Mailing Items specification (OCR or CBC or Manual Letter) average weight of Mailing Items total weight of Mailing Items Standard Selection Code Postcode Area (e.g. G for Glasgow or PO for Portsmouth) Sortation level UK Mail personnel shall be entitled to: (a) check the accuracy of the Posting Docket as to the information required to be indicated on the Posting Docket including a reconciliation against the details provided in the Preceding Day Notification; and (b) following any such check, notify the Customer of any discrepancies; and (c) make any corrections to the Posting Docket which are reasonably necessary Collection Manifests At the Collection Location at which the Customer hands over Mailing Items to UK Mail, the Customer will submit to the relevant UK Mail driver two copies of a paper Collection Manifest relating to that Collection indicating: (a) Customer name and address (b) Customer account number (c) Collection Point address (d) Customer job reference (if required) (e) date of collection (f) Posting Docket number (g) the number of bags or trays being handed over (h) the weight of each bag or tray (i) number of Mailing Items in each bag or tray The Customer and the UK Mail driver will each sign the Collection Manifest and each retain a copy. UK Mail personnel shall be entitled to: (a) check the accuracy of the Collection Manifest as to the information required to be indicated on the Collection Manifest including a reconciliation against the details provided in the Preceding Day Notification; and (b) following any such check, notify Customer of any discrepancies; and (c) make any corrections to the Collection Manifest which are reasonably necessary 7.3. Scanning of Mail Bags and Trays by UK Mail After collection the mail bags or trays will be taken to the relevant receiving UK Mail Centre and the bar-code on the label of each bag or tray received at the UK Mail Centre will be scanned. UK Mail does not accept any liability for loss or damage for any Mailing Item until the bag or tray containing the Item is scanned by UK Mail at a UK Mail site. The scanning of a mail bag or tray by UK Mail will constitute hand over to UK Mail of the relevant Mailing Items subject to UK Mail s right to reject Mailing Items under Section

14 8. DESPATCHING THE MAILING 8.1. Pre-Notification of Mailing This will enable UK Mail to ensure sufficient staff and other resources are available to convey the mail in line with the service level. The three stages that the Customer must comply with are: 7-Day Forecast Daily Update Preceding Day Notification Day Forecast The Customer must provide UKMCC with a forecast of each Mailing seven Working Days before the day of the intended Collection. This forecast must include the anticipated number of Mailing Items the Customer intends to have ready for Collection (consistent with the Mailing Profile) and the Customer shall provide a breakdown of the number of those Mailing Items by type. Where the Mailing Items contain a Royal Mail Business Reply Envelope and a national response level of over 10,000 items is anticipated, the Customer must also indicate the postcode being used in the address for those responses. The forecast can be provided to UKMCC by , fax or telephone. A proforma, which will be provided by UK Mail, will be used by the Customer to advise UK Mail of the 7-Day Forecast. The forecast must be received by UKMCC no later than 1500hrs (3:00pm) Daily Update The Customer must provide UKMCC with a daily update to the 7-Day Forecast no later than 1500hrs on each Working Day up to the day before the Collection. As with the 7-Day Forecast, the Customer shall provide a breakdown of the number of Mailing Items by type and by Postcode Area. The forecast can be provided to UKMCC by , fax or telephone. The same proforma as used for the 7-Day Forecast will be used for the Daily Update Preceding Day Notification On the Working Day before the Collection (or if that day is a Saturday, on the preceding Friday), the Customer must provide to UKMCC a Preceding Day Notification of the Mailing Items to be collected the next Working Day. This Preceding Day Notification must include the volume of Mailing Items and a breakdown by type (i.e. Letters, Large Letters or Packets) and by sortation selection code (Standard Selection Code from the Mailsort database). An estimate of the number of bags and traysfor Collection should also be given. As with the 7-day Forecast, where the Mailing Items contain a Royal Mail Business Reply Envelope and a national response level of over 10,000 items is anticipated, the Customer must also indicate the postcode being used in the address for those responses. 14

15 The Preceding Day Notification must be provided to UKMCC by , fax or telephone (using the proforma provided by UK Mail for the 7-Day Forecast) no later than 1500hrs on the Working Day before the Collection. If UK Mail fails to receive the 7-day Forecast or the Preceding Day Notification, UK Mail shall be entitled to refuse to collect the relevant Mailing Items Inaccurate 7-Day Forecast or Preceding Day Notification If the number of Letters or Large Letters or Packets which the Customer presents to UK Mail as part of a Collection differs from the number notified in accordance with 8.4 by more than 10%, UK Mail shall be entitled to refuse to collect or (if collected) to subsequently reject the Letters, Large Letters or Packets (as appropriate). 9. COLLECTION 9.1. Collection Times As part of the Mailing Profile, the Customer and UK Mail shall agree the Collection Time and the Collection Location. The Customer shall ensure that the Mailing Items are available for collection at the Collection Time at the Collection Location agreed in the Mailing Profile and on the date notified in the Preceding Day Notification according to 8.4. If Customer is not ready to hand over Mailing Items within 10 minutes of the Collection Time at the Collection Location on that date, then UK Mail is not obliged to wait for Customer. UK Mail reserves the right not to collect the Mailing Items on that date or (if collected) to amend the Posting Docket to show the Mailing Items as having been collected on the next Working Day and treat them as such Health and Safety Unless UK Mail agrees otherwise, the Customer will provide appropriate equipment and labour for loading the Collection. 10. MAIL VERIFICATION AND REVENUE PROTECTION UK Mail is entitled to carry out such sampling and checking of Collections from the Customer as it reasonably considers necessary to verify that the Customer has complied with its obligations under the Customer Agreement (including this User Guide). Mailing Items are not considered accepted by UK Mail until such time as UK Mail has had the opportunity to carry out this sampling and checking and has done so. In addition, Royal Mail will carry out is own sampling to check Mailings from the Customer when handed over by UK Mail to Royal Mail to ensure compliance with the Access Agreement between UK Mail and Royal Mail. Where a Revenue Protection or Mails Verification error is found by UK Mail, UK Mail will endeavour to contact the Customer (or the Customers agent e.g. mailing house) to agree the actions to be taken to reach a suitable resolution and maintain service to the Customer wherever possible. 15

16 However, where an error is found by UK Mail, this is likely to be after 1900hrs (7:00pm) and it may not be possible to contact the customer; in such cases, the normal procedure will be for UK Mail to take action with the aim of ensuring that service is maintained for that Collection Action in event of Mail Verification or Revenue Protection Error If, following sampling and checking by UK Mail or Royal Mail, it is reasonably established that the Customer has not complied with any of its obligations under the Customer Agreement (including this User Guide) in respect of the whole or any part of a Collection, UK Mail shall (at its option) either:- (a) (b) nonetheless accept the Collection, making such corrections to it as is necessary to ensure that the Collection complies with the Customer Agreement. In these circumstances, UK Mail can charge the Customer the reasonable costs of making such corrections; or reject the relevant Mailing Items and other parts of the same Collection (until such time as they are rectified by or on behalf of the Customer); Where UK Mail is entitled to reject Mailing Items as described above, UK Mail shall: 1) offer to the Customer the option of UK Mail returning the Mailing Items to the Customer or of UK Mail destroying the Mailing Items; or 2) if the Customer does not give UK Mail instructions within 5 Working Days of being offered this option, or if the Customer informs UK Mail that UK Mail may destroy the Mailing Items, UK Mail shall be entitled to destroy the Mailing Items and to levy its reasonable costs for doing so. In addition, where UK Mail is entitled to reject Mailing Items as described above, UK Mail shall be entitled nonetheless to be paid the relevant Charges in respect of the Collection (plus its and/or Royal Mail s reasonable handling and storage charges) except that UK Mail shall give credit to the Customer for any charges not levied by Royal Mail due to any Mailing Items not being handed over to Royal Mail. Also in addition, if Royal Mail levies additional charges upon UK Mail in relation to mis-sortation or other errors in respect of the whole or any part of a Collection, which may include the additional payment of the prevailing, applicable Royal Mail First Class public tariff postage rate, then UK Mail is entitled to recover these charges from the Customer and to levy upon the Customer its and/or Royal Mail s reasonable handling and storage charges. It is the Customer s responsibility to ensure that the Customer verifies the information provided with what is contained in the Royal Mail User Guide and remains abreast of any changes that may be made to the Royal Mail User Guide from time to time. For the avoidance of doubt, this User Guide is to be read in conjunction with the Royal Mail User Guide, however should there be any discrepancies between this and the Royal Mail User Guide, the Royal Mail User Guide will take precedence. 16