[Closed] Royal Mail inspecting 'dangerous' parcels? Anyone?

They destroyed one of Trouts Li ion batteries earlier this year 😐

I suspect they just see battery and wire in an x-ray and draw the wrong conclusion.

It probably just goes straight in a bomb proof container until someone can look at it or they have too many and destroy the lot.

they seem to be treating batteries as dangerous items now, and when I sent my kobo to Holland to have it repaired under warranty I was asked if it was a mobile phone or any device with a battery in it.

Obviously I said no, as this was the only way to get the kobo repaired, and it has now gone overseas (according to the tracking),one or but are batteries explosive? or explosive enough to bring down a plane, or are they thinking of the terrorist threat of sending bombs with batteries? But surely a terrorist would say no too?

Is it now illegal to send a mobile phone or ereader or torch, etc through the post?

I understand they have a job to do, but a week on and the silence is deafening.

Saw a sign at the post office a few months back saying that Lithium Ion batteries could only be posted if they were installed / connected to a device.

According to the Royal Mail website:

Lithium ion/polymer/metal/alloy batteries when not sent with, or contained in/connected to an electronic device, are prohibited.

from here

[url= http://www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/Tell-me-about-Prohibited-Goods ]Royal Mail Prohibited Goods[/url]

I've just received a replacement mobile phone battery from Amazon via RM. Big sticker on package says "CAUTION! Lithium Ion Battery DO NOT LOAD OR TRANSPORT PACKAGE IF DAMAGED For more information, call...." I have to send it back, so I'll see what they say at the PO this afternoon.

I've just received a big box from China with 10 sets of Solarstorm X2s in it. Not only did it sneak through HMRC, but no-one thought it would explode.

Came Fed-Ex, rather than post office.

Lucky me 🙂

Lithium ion/polymer/metal/alloy batteries when not sent with, or contained in/connected to an electronic device, are prohibited.

Seems a bit odd.

ir_bandito - Member

[b]I've just received a big box from China with 10 sets of Solarstorm X2s [/b]in it. Not only did it sneak through HMRC, but no-one thought it would explode.

Came Fed-Ex, rather than post office.

Lucky me

Lithium ion/polymer/metal/alloy batteries when not sent with, or contained in/connected to an electronic device, are prohibited.

Seems a bit odd.

[img] [/img]

how do they detect Lithium based batteries then?

you are going to melt the world on your next night ride!

I'm mounting them all as rear lights to use the photons for additional speed 🙂

I presume they just look for batteries - most things are lithium now.

And I've seen a flat mobile phone battery turn into a red-hot tennis-ball-sized object when accidentally short-circuited, so I can understand the logic.

so someone needs to invent a 10p 'device' that can be connected to a Lithium battery for transportation and thus get around the rules?

So, as these batteries are listed as prohibited, does that mean RM won't pay out on any parcel insurance taken out?.

I suspect it specifically excludes prohibited goods 🙁

So how do Lumicycle (to think of an example off top of my head) send out replacement / supplementary batteries? courier?

I took something to the Post Office last night and was quite surprised when they asked me what was inside the jiffy bag. I guess they may have started screening at the point of posting now.

Rules around transporting LI-Ion batteries have changed significantly, we ship instruments with 2 AA Li-Ion batteries and have to cover the boxes in approved stickers to say they are in there. If we don't and they get stopped there's a good chance they'll be impounded.

Dreamliner Li-Ion batteries catching fire hasn't helped the situation although I understand it's scale thing so really powerful LI-Ions like those in the Dreamliner are disproportionately more of a risk compared to a simple AA battery.

I've been asked to confirm what the contents of any parcels are I'm posting for over a month now.

Yeah I've been asked about every parcel I've sent too.

I know of one online/ebay bike bits retailer that has had several parcels containing spare CO2 cartridges confiscated and destroyed recently. 'Not amused' doesn't even scratch the surface....

Since Royal Mail transports by air I imagine they have to be pretty stringent on dangerous goods stuff. Lithium fires almost impossible to extinguish using chemical suppressants.

Someone at Royal Mail is justifying their job. I had to pay extra from 7dayshop for Li-ion 2032 button cells to be couriered to me (10 of them). Seriously unamused and I would like a discussion with the "professional" that made the recommendation on the subject of his/her competence.

Status on track and trace has now changed to 'been disposed of'. Ridiculous.

I wonder how many Li-Ion batteries have actually exploded in the Royal Mails custody?
None?

I guess I must have been lucky to get a pack from DX with 4 26650 cells recently

I was going to get another set but I am not so sure if they are going to be caught by Royal Mail
arghh

come to think of it the last torch I got delivered the cells were in the same pack but not inside the torch, do they take them? do they take the torch as well to be used by the postman at home - sorry "disposed of"

It still doesn't explain why you're allowed to send the batteries as part of an assembly, rather than on their own. Is there any change to the risk?

Er, not good. Was about to order a new battery from Smudge for my Troutie. Can Smudge shed any light on this :wink:?

Courier the way forward rather than Royal Mail?

Wonder if the stepping up of security / mail checks has anything to do with that 'drugs-by-mail' website the FBI bust yesterday?

I sent smudge a link to this earlier today. I've got a battery that need to go back to him, and I'd been thinking about what issues there were when this thread came up.

Under the rules you can no longer post loose lithium cells they must be contained.

A battery pack should be fine if the cells are contained within an outer covering and protected against short circuit etc.

I think battery packs will vary - a shrink sleeved battery pack in a fabric case would probably need a hazardous Lithium label attached. A hard case battery pack probably wouldn't as it would be deemed to be within the device but it's all down to interpretation.

Royal Mail certainly should not be disposing of battery packs as long as they are boxed and labelled with warning labels.

last thing I sent in the post I was asked by the post bloke what was in it. I was a bit supprised and asked what it had to do with him. (in a nice way, I know him well)

He explained that Royal Mail now have this dangerous goods thing going where they will scan packets sent looking for this stuff. I was told that the only way you can send batteries was if they were fitted to the intended device. I recently sold a VHF marine radio and had to send it with the battery attached, either that or it has to be in the original manufacturers packaging.

they've been asking for a couple on months now, posters as well listing the prohibited items. The first time i was asked what i was posting they only asked about the first of my three parcels.
I suspect couriers will have the same rules but might not be as good at enforcing them (I'm looking at you Hermes who seem to make a habit of throwing my parcels over the fence).

i tried to send a mobile phone and they wouldn't let me send it because the battery wasn't inside the phone, I had to go to a different post office and say it was inside the phone

Took a jiffy bag to local post office got refused acceptace as i had stapled the top of jiffy bag, so took it home and selotaped over the staples, saw a different woman, but the original one was sitting next to her, so i pointed out i had removed the staples, so her mate then asked what was in the jiffy bag, it was actually a small tube camera, so i told her it was a non working sex aid, being returned as faulty.

i tried to send a mobile phone and they wouldn't let me send it because the battery wasn't inside the phone, I had to go to a different post office and say it was inside the phone

Either way, why ?

dazzlingboy - Member
Er, not good. Was about to order a new battery from Smudge for my Troutie. Can Smudge shed any light on this :wink:?

Courier the way forward rather than Royal Mail?

Mark had already told me that if there was a problem, he would send me a new battery by a different courier. I don't htink he'll be using this lot again.

Mark had already told me that if there was a problem, he would send me a new battery by a different courier.

Perfect thanks.

If you use staples you should always cover them with tape.Common sense can make nice cuts in peoples hands.

Spoke to the post office owner this morning, he said that they all had to go on a dangerous items course, and that any li-ion batteries have to be actually connected to the lights or whatever they are powering. Earlier on this week I took a parcel in, a set of alloy 750mm bars, cheapest they could do was £11.96!.

I've always been pretty happy with Royal Mail, and used them where I can, but they ain't doing themselves any favours now. It'll be interesting to see how the business changes post sell off.

Edit - I heard from smudge this morning, he's setting up an account with interlink, says they are getting a lot of work from businesses which used to use RM.

Dont worry we are over loaded with work could do with losing some business 😀

Battery arrived this morning! A week and a half later, and with a letter saying that it had been disposed of?. Oh, and the plug and cable from the charger was missing, useless twunts.

Spoke to the post office owner this morning, he said that they all had to go on a dangerous items course, and that any li-ion batteries have to be actually connected to the lights or whatever they are powering.

Like yes thats clever
hi-powered led light connected to the battery in a bubblewrapped parcel
light accidentally switches on and heats up way past safe and sets the parcel alight .
Very safe .

Who is delivering all these cheap chinese lights to the users?

I can understand the loose newer type smartphone batteries not being allowed, unless in the phone or in some kind of purpose designed case for shipping. But RM (or any courier) is going to have rules, and that probably means every guy opening packets will interpret a rule differently.

Just look on youtube for kids hammering nails thru an old, charged smartphone battery or RC battery pack. Instantly impressive in either smoke or flames. And that's what's in your pocket, hand or held against your face right now.

Personally, I think this is also a money-making scheme on the side (possibly to offset the loss in trade).

I wanted to RMA a bluetooth keyboard today, inland UK. Via Signed-For 2nd class, this would cost £3.70 - almost reasonable, only I fessed up it had a lithium battery in it which was not removable, and "the only way" it could be sent was via Special Delivery at nearly 9 quid!

I'm going to throw it over the fence to MyHermes and other less enquiring servies. Sometimes their shortcomings can be an advantage.

I think they should lose the "Royal" tag sharpish. Unless they mean it to stand for Royal Rip-Off.

H.

[i]I'm going to throw it over the fence to MyHermes[/i]

I agree, give it to them using the same method they'll use to give it to the recipient 😉