Correct Full Address for gWr refunds?

[Kingston Flyer]

Hi,

Hoping that one of the enlightened individuals on here can assist.

I had a journey booked for this weekend across 4 tickets (and a supplement) that has been part cancelled due to industrial action.

I have request a full refund for all 4, but the address that they have provided to send the paper tickets back is simply:

Freepost GWR Refunds

No town or Postcode.

Could anyone confirm is this will be sufficient to get the tickets to them?

(It was to be Friday late evening Cardiff to Paddington advance; Night Riviera; (Sat morning) Paddington to Saltash advance; Saltash to Dawlish advance, then with Parents overnight in a campervan to return home Sunday)

 

[MrJeeves]

Freepost GWR Refunds

No town or Postcode.

Could anyone confirm is this will be sufficient to get the tickets to them?

Yes, this is sufficient to get back to them.

Royal Mail launched this a few years ago: https://www.royalmail.com/business/mail/replies-responses/freepost-name

 

[Watershed]

Yes, Freepost addresses don't require anything more at the end. The name of the organisation you're posting it to is sufficient.

It's worth noting that taking a refund isn't your only option. You can use your ticket on other dates, or insist on GWR arranging alternative transport on the booked dates (though this would likely require paying out of pocket and then claiming this back).

 

[Haywain]

It's worth noting that taking a refund isn't your only option. You can use your ticket on other dates, or insist on GWR arranging alternative transport on the booked dates (though this would likely require paying out of pocket and then claiming this back).

The OP would, I think, find this very difficult now that they have initiated the refund process.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Yes, Freepost addresses don't require anything more at the end. The name of the organisation you're posting it to is sufficient.

You'd think. Have had two letters addressed to Freepost Avanti West Coast and one to Freepost Northern Railway all returned by Royal Mail (undelivered items Dept. in Belfast).

What seems to happen behind the scenes is that Royal Mail, on receiving the 'Freepost' item add to it a postal redirection address label AND a £2.50 unpaid postage surcharge (yellow) label.

The TOC then fail to pay for the surcharge, and several weeks later, the postal item gets returned to the sender!

 

[Kingston Flyer]

Yes, Freepost addresses don't require anything more at the end. The name of the organisation you're posting it to is sufficient.

It's worth noting that taking a refund isn't your only option. You can use your ticket on other dates, or insist on GWR arranging alternative transport on the booked dates (though this would likely require paying out of pocket and then claiming this back).

I know that the tickets were usable on another train, but there are 0 trains in Cornwall on Saturday so that wasn't an option.

I was only told of the Cornwall cancellations by gWr, and only found out that the sleeper is cancelled by a throw away comment on their website, so I toyed with the idea of asking to bail from the Sleeper at Plymouth, or Truro (and using buses back). These would have eaten up time however, and once I saw the sleeper cancelled as well, refund of whole journey and re-plan was the only option for me.

You'd think. Have had two letters addressed to Freepost Avanti West Coast and one to Freepost Northern Railway all returned by Royal Mail (undelivered items Dept. in Belfast).

I had seen other stories like this when I searched t'interweb, and is why I am asking if it is definitely correct or if there is perhaps a fuller address (postal town or some such)

 

[Watershed]

I know that the tickets were usable on another train, but there are 0 trains in Cornwall on Saturday so that wasn't an option.

Yes - to be clear, I wasn't necessarily suggesting there would be other trains you could use, but rather that you'd be entitled to alternative transport (i.e. for a ticket to be bought or reimbursed for any bus or coach that took you to your destination, or a taxi if no such option existed).

 

[Kingston Flyer]

Going to send them with the Address on the way home from work then.
I have kept a photocopy of the tickets in case it gets lost.

 

[ainsworth74]

What seems to happen behind the scenes is that Royal Mail, on receiving the 'Freepost' item add to it a postal redirection address label AND a £2.50 unpaid postage surcharge (yellow) label.

The TOC then fail to pay for the surcharge, and several weeks later, the postal item gets returned to the sender!

That would suggest that the TOCs are delinquent with their accounts with Royal Mail. The way the system works is that you set up an account with Royal Mail, pay your licence fee for using the service and then pay the invoices that Royal Mail will issue with the costs of the post that is actually received. If Royal Mail are adding redirection notices and unpaid postage charges that suggests that the TOC in question has not actually set up an account with Royal Mail to let them use a Freepost address or have not renewed their licence.

 

[Adam Williams]

That would suggest that the TOCs are delinquent with their accounts with Royal Mail. The way the system works is that you set up an account with Royal Mail, pay your licence fee for using the service and then pay the invoices that Royal Mail will issue with the costs of the post that is actually received. If Royal Mail are adding redirection notices and unpaid postage charges that suggests that the TOC in question has not actually set up an account with Royal Mail to let them use a Freepost address or have not renewed their licence.

I had the same thought, a very poor show if true! It's a shame Royal Mail seem to lack an online facility which folks could use to verify if a FREEPOST address is correct/valid for use or not.

 

[Kingston Flyer]

Going to send them with the Address on the way home from work then.
I have kept a photocopy of the tickets in case it gets lost.

So, the lady in the post office refused to take the letter off me without a postcode.

She either doesn't know, or it is not valid!

 

[MrJeeves]

So, the lady in the post office refused to take the letter off me without a postcode.

She either doesn't know, or it is not valid!

Why not stick it in the post box?

 

[jfollows]

So, the lady in the post office refused to take the letter off me without a postcode.

She either doesn't know, or it is not valid!

Bonkers!
The Post Office lets you swap non-barcoded stamps if you send them to
Freepost SWAP OUT
so clearly no postcode is required for Freepost.
Mind you, I stuck mine in the post box ……

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Without a postcode, it's not possible for the counter clerk to issue a proof of posting for a Freepost item, I believe.

 

[Watershed]

Without a postcode, it's not possible for the counter clerk to issue a proof of posting for a Freepost item, I believe.

Not in my experience. I've got proof of postage several times for Freepost items without a postcode.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Without a postcode, it's not possible for the counter clerk to issue a proof of posting for a Freepost item, I believe.

Not in my experience. I've got proof of postage several times for Freepost items without a postcode.

Clearly, I'll believe any old guff that my local (expertly trained?) Sub Post Office staff tell me!

 

[OscarH]

Clearly, I'll believe any old guff that my local (expertly trained?) Sub Post Office staff tell me!

All the expert ones probably got incorrectly prosecuted

 

[Buzby]

As I recall, I had a Freepost Licence for a few years - it had an annual charge billed in advance, followed by a monthly invoice that included postage plus a handling fee per item. When the ‘named’ service started this attracted a higher annual fee but no postcode or location, I always recall Harry Hill wanting submission to Freepost YBF. Having been given a free trial of it, it was a crappy Manual system that required each and every DO to have a constantly updating book for the firms that paid for the facility, the problem was always that Freepost was always 2nd Class, and IF they had the staff available to look up where it needed to be delivered - trucked to destination - then looked up again for delivery. It was not uncommon for pieces of Mail to tale 4-5 days to arrive, even them it came be second delivery (remember that?).

I think the number of paying users has markedly declined, but I dis used to enjoy when receiving junk mail, returning it to them (at their cost!) Freepost for recycling. Happy days!

 

[ainsworth74]

Without a postcode, it's not possible for the counter clerk to issue a proof of posting for a Freepost item, I believe.

My understanding is that tracking requires a postcode but proof of postage does not. After all all they're doing is giving your a recipt to say that something was posted...

 

[Kingston Flyer]

My understanding is that tracking requires a postcode but proof of postage does not.

I realised after the event that this may have been the case, but there was no way I was sending nearly £200 worth of ticket anywhere without tracking ability.

I phoned the helpline and got an appropriate 5 line address to send them to (recorded) now. I don't mind paying a bit for peace of mind.

 

[Buzby]

I realised after the event that this may have been the case, but there was no way I was sending nearly £200 worth of ticket anywhere without tracking ability.

Did they insist to sent the tickets? ScotRail are happy for a scan rather than the bits of paper - it just seems needlessly complicated.

 

[ainsworth74]

I realised after the event that this may have been the case, but there was no way I was sending nearly £200 worth of ticket anywhere without tracking ability.

Oh yes I fully appreciate that! It's a bugbear of mine that the Royal Mail have devised a system which means that you cannot actually get tracking. It would not seem beyond the whit of man for it to be possible...

 

[Kingston Flyer]

Did they insist to sent the tickets? ScotRail are happy for a scan rather than the bits of paper - it just seems needlessly complicated.

Yes, they did.

I even commented on how much easier it was to get the money back from TfW for an unused ticket (by scanning a copy of the tickets severed).
That cancellation was due to overcrowding meaning I couldn't board the train.