To Post or Not to Post?

We couldn't help notice this week that the BBC news website featured a gentleman from Devon who had posted a 100g gold bar worth over £9,000.00 to the Royal Mint using the Royal Mail Special Delivery service and it has gone missing. Not only was the chap in question legitimately asking "where's my gold" but was leaning heavily on the fact that he had purchased "Extra Insurance" and he expected to get paid out. Sadly he is in for a bit of a rude shock because, the maximum level of insurance covered by this service is actually £250000 plus the cost of postage. And no matter how much he screams, shouts and stamps his feet in frustration - that is all he will get!

Royal Mail make it very clear at every juncture that the maximum of £2500.00 applies to the service. They are not playing hardball or even fast and loose with the rules but rather adhering to the terms of the contract you have entered into with them. And, you might also need to be aware, that they will only pay out on the provable cost of the goods and not it's current value if that happens to be more. So if you buy something for say £2000.00 and it increases to say £2500.00 over time and you come to use the service then, should it be lost they will only pay out the £2000.00. Once again, they are not being churlish - just sticking to the terms of the contract.

So, if your gold or silver items are worth more than £2500.00 you are taking a risk in sending them using Royal Mail. In fairness to them we know that they take the security of Special Delivery items very seriously indeed and the rate of loss is probably very low but, if it happens to you you will have to endure a claims process during which you will have to provide proof of purchase, the value at that point and that you have followed all the terms of the contract. We have known this to take three or four months. Sadly, there are no other services of this kind so we need to be thankful that it exists at all. The moral of the story is do not exceed the claim limit, follow their rules and be aware of the limitations.

Or..... if you live in Devon or Cornwall why not avoid the risk altogether. We will come to you, pay you a fair price on the post and assume responsibility for the item at the point of purchase. No risk, no waiting, a fair, transparent and fast process. This week we have visited Exeter, Crediton, Torbay, Totnes and all parts of Plymouth to name but a few so why not get in touch and do a deal in person rather than by post?