Setting the Scene

I have a business account with Australia Post. I post things, in boxes.

Now, I can calculate to the cent what any given parcel of any given weight and dimensions, to any given postcode, will cost.
I understand ‘cubic weight’, and when this is applied rather than a parcel’s true weight in calculating postage. And because I post things that are light but bulky, often pay the dearer cubic weight over the real weight. This is routine stuff for me.

I buy boxes in bulk, flat. They pretty much are the same size from box to box when assembled. They may differ by a millimetre or so here and there when assembled, especially if the contents cause a minor bulge. Completely normal. Sometimes this difference can be enough to bump a parcel into the next weight category, which increases postage.

I totally understand this, and do measure boxes as accurately as I can each and every time. Well, ever since I discovered the hard way that:
1: quoted box measurements by the manufacturer are the internal dimensions, not the external assembled dimensions, and;
2: Australia Post expects accuracy to the millimetre!

What Happened

Out of the blue the other day, I received an “Underpaid postage due” email. I had underpaid — apparently — by $5.

So I logged into my account to see what this was for and why. I have had this happen before, twice — those were very large boxes and being out by a couple of millimetres a side was enough to bump these into the next weight category. I settled the underpayment each time immediately and without quibbling.

But this one, this one was blatantly wrong! This wasn’t about $5, this was about principle.

Here is what I saw in my account:

 

 

Please note that whatever Australia Post uses to “detect” their claimed measurements agrees to two decimal places with my entered weight.
Their measured length is but half a centimetre more than my entered measurement.
Their measured height is identical to the millimetre (it would list as 26.x cm otherwise).

But their measured width is a whopping 7.5 cm more than mine! This increased the cubic weight significantly — by almost 3 kg. There was no way this was possible. And so I lodged a dispute via email within a few hours of receiving theirs. Reproduced below exactly as sent.

My Lodged Dispute

Hello, I buy a particular box in bulk, which measures 51cm x 41 cm when assembled. (The height can vary as it is an adjustable box.) . It is in fact this box:
https://www.signet.net.au/signet-shipping-carton-508mm-x-406mm-x-356mm-22466.html

I have shipped a few items in this exact box over the months. The measurements are pretty consistent box to box.

For this one in dispute, I entered dimensions of 51 × 41 × 26 cm.
Your machine claims 51.5 × 48.5 × 26 cm
Please note the almost identical length, the identical height, but a massive difference of 7.5cm in width.

7.5cm is a huge difference! There is no way this can be the same box - even if it were squashed to be 48.5cm wide (impossible without damaging the goods inside), it wouldn’t have the exact same height as what I entered. The height would logically be a lot less than 26cm.

Now I can accept the 0.5cm difference in length, but a 7.5cm difference in width beggers belief. I know this box and its dimensions. I have several of them right here and they are all the same as each other.

I have in the past paid without complaint a couple of underpaid postage claims as those were very large boxes and a difference of a mm could easily have bumped those into the next weight category. I accepted any errors on my part.

But I dispute this claimed dimension and cubic volume, based on the fact there is no way this box could be 7,5cm wider than what I stated, yet still have the same length and height both I and your machine measured.

Best regards,
Kristi Prohm

The Outcome

I heard back this morning, Saturday 4th May. The dispute was in my favour, and thank you Australia Post.

And there I would have left it, but for the reply, which prompted me to create this very blog on the spot!

The reply was borderline a lecture, reproduced exactly as received below, but with replier’s name and other identifying details removed:

There is an update to your enquiry

Hi Kristi I appreciate you taking the time to contact us regarding this Underpaid Mail notice you’ve received. My name is [redacted] from the Australia Post Business Care Team. Case Number: [redacted]  Article ID: [redacted]  Customer Name: Customer Delivery Address: For this particular article, I’m happy to reverse the Underpaid Mail notice for you as a one-time gesture of good will. But please know for future parcel deliveries, I recommend that you ensure that you completely pack the parcel with the packaging first, and then to weigh and measure the external box dimensions (yourself) prior to creating a new label. Whilst I understand you�ve entered in the dimensions that the manufacturer has declared on their box, however these dimensions may change for each box as they are packed with items and can all differently expand to different sizes. Our parcels are measured at multiple points at multiple processing centres that use government-issued measuring equipment from the National Measuring Institute. For further information on this, here’s a guide on ‘Measuring and weighing your parcels accurately’ By understanding how postage is calculated you�ll be able to enter the correct information for your parcels, so you�ll only be charged for what you send. I hope that this information has clarified the matter and been of some assistance. Yours sincerely [redacted] Business Team Consultant Customer Sales & Service Australia Post

Did this person really have to say this? “[A] one-time gesture of good will”? No acknowledgement that I had some very legitimate points? No concession that something obviously went wrong at their end for a ludicrous 7.5 cm to be added to the width with all other measurements — and the weight! — being the same as what I entered*?

*It is worth mentioning here that had I entered the length as 51.5 cm, that the cubic weight would still have been in the same weight category as when entered as 51 cm.

To imply that I don’t know my own boxes (bought mass-produced and in bulk), or that the manufacturer would slip in some anomalously larger one in their flat bulk packs, which I just happened to pull out and not notice, was insulting to both of us!

And then to be lectured on how to weigh and measure parcels correctly, when it was pretty clear that I did know how to do this — by virtue of the fact that my measurements aligned with theirs!

Just. Plain. Fed. Up!