Prior to submitting a claim you should read the loss, damage and delay compensation policies for the product used as this will explain when you may be entitled to compensation and how much compensation may be payable. This information can be obtained from our website in the mail made easy leaflet available at all Post Office® branches or by contacting Customer Services on 08457 740740 (Textphone 08456 000606)

Please note that we are only able to deal with claims where the item was posted with and delivered by Royal Mail. If an item has been posted with or handled by another postal operator then it will not be eligible for compensation from Royal Mail unless the postal operator has posted the packet using one of Royal Mail’s retail services , in which case that postal operator will be regarded as the sender of the postal packet for compensation purposes.  If another postal operator has been used and you are the sender please contact them to pursue any claim. If you are the recipient and the item has not been sent using one of Royal Mail’s services you should refer the matter to the sender for them to take up with their chosen postal operator.

• Claims for loss, part loss, damage or delay should be submitted on a “Lost damaged or delayed inland mail claim form” known as a P58. A copy of this form can be found at the bottom of this page.   
  
  
• Claim forms are available from all Post Office® branches or can be downloaded and printed off from the bottom of this page. Alternately a customer can have one sent to them by calling Customer Service on 08457 740740 Textphone 08456 000606.
  
  
• Claims for loss, part loss and damage must be submitted within 12 months of posting.
  
  
• Claims for delay must be made within 3 months of posting by the sender or 1 month of receipt by the recipient.

• The claim form should be completed with as much detail as possible, the minimum information required to submit a claim is:
  • the names and addresses of the sender, addressee and claimant
  • the Royal Mail Product used
  • the amount of postage paid and method of payment (e.g. stamp, meter impression, SmartStamp®, online postage etc.)
  • place of posting
  • date of posting
  • the basis for asserting the posting details and product used – such as date of post mark, Certificate of posting and for Special Delivery, Recorded Signed For and Standard Parcels the product documentation
  • detailed description of the contents and packaging (for loss and damage)
  • date the item was delivered (for part loss, damage and delay)
• For damage and part loss claims the damaged contents and all the packaging must be retained and presented to Royal Mail upon request.

• The claim should also include any available supporting information / evidence relevant to the claim;
  •  Evidence of posting with Royal Mail  
  •  Evidence of the item’s value (for loss, part loss & damage claims only) 4
    
• Royal Mail needs to ensure that unwarranted claims are not made and as such it retains the right to request further information from the claimant and to refuse claims that it suspects are unwarranted
  
  
• The signed and dated completed claim form along with the supporting evidence should be sent to:  Freepost Royal Mail®, Customer Services, Plymouth PL9 7YB (no postage required) or  handed in at any Post Office® branch
  
  
• Royal Mail will provide the customer with a unique reference number for their claim.
  
  
• Royal Mail will carry out checks and enquiries to establish 1) that the item was posted with Royal Mail and 2) the cause of the loss, part loss, damage or delay. This may involve requesting additional documentation / information from either the sender or recipient of the item or inspecting  the packaging and item in question.
  
  
• Royal Mail will take in to account any findings and the compensation policy for the product used to determine how much, if any payment is due.
  
  
• If both the sender and recipient of the item make a claim for compensation then the right to claim shall lie with the sender unless compensation has already been paid to the recipient.  
  
  
• If a customer is not satisfied with the process, they can have their case reviewed.  View the complaints process.

We allow up to 15 working days for items to arrive, so cannot accept a claim for loss unless 15 working days or more have passed since the item was due to be delivered (10 working days for Special Delivery™ items).Claims for lost or damaged items must be made within 12 months of the date they were posted. Claims for delayed items need to be submitted within 3 months of the date they were posted if the claim is being made by the sender, or within 1 month of receipt if the claim is being made by the recipient of the item.

*If claiming for the actual cost of items that have been damaged or have part of their contents missing, you should provide the original packaging and item. However, if these are very large or unsafe to post you may provide photographic evidence - but please don’t dispose of the originals as we may need to inspect them. We also recommend that you photograph the item and packaging before posting them to us. If all of the packaging and contents are not provided or retained, compensation may not be paid. When completed in full, the signed and dated claim form and all supporting evidence should be sent to:

Royal Mail Customer
Services, Freepost,
PO Box 740,
PLYMOUTH, PL9 7YB.

We usually provide a full response to claims within 30 days of receiving them, so please allow us this time to investigate before contacting us again.

Inland
Inland Claims Form (English version) – PDF (193KB)
Inland Claims Form (Welsh version) – PDF (196KB)

International
International Claims Form (English version) – PDF (196KB)
International Claims Form (Welsh version) – PDF (148KB)