Franking machine companies - all bad?!

[Guida Rufino]

So we've had a franking machine forever and have been stuck with Pitney Bowes for the past 5 years because they're a bunch of lying toe rags who conned me into signing a contract with them. The contract is finally up and I have cancelled it and they have confirmed.

So we're looking at other companies but every time I get a quote I then read reviews about them online and it seems like they're all as bad as each other.

We're a very small business and don't do huge amounts of post but honestly it's just the convenience of not having to buy stamps etc. The queues in the post office make using it impossible.

Someone mentioned Smartstamp which I'm looking into but doesn't seem to be working at the moment!

Has anyone ever had a remotely positive experience with any franking machine company? Or should I just forget franking machines and have a rethink?

 

[Karimbo]

I had a simialr enquiry recently: http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/t...ng-beats-regular-postage.337585/#post-2503491

to sum up: it's an extortion racquet, unless you're doing significant volumes it's just not worth it.

royal mail OBA might be suited - I applied and haven't heard from them though. I just but stamps in bulk, have a digital scale and a parcel size checker. my mail are straightforward though - just large letter 1st class and regular 1st class both under 100g.

 

[Guida Rufino]

thanks for your reply. i've always found buying stamps a huge pain in the past and i like that franked mail tends to get delivered more reliably. i've found a company that's offering it to rent at £16 ish a month with a 12 month contract so if it's a terrible deal i'm not stuck for long. i have enquired with royal mail and am waiting for a call back but their customer service is terrible and printing your own labels etc sounds like a pain too.

 

[Karimbo]

I've used paypal postage printer (at stamp rates), they're OK to work with when you have a system in place. Just use self adhesive labels. If you're doing it in bulk I guess there is probably a software available that will print the stamps onto an a4 sheet with 8 individual stickers.

Depends on the volume of course, franking machine does have the advantage that it's a standalone scale & printer. If you're posting 20 letters a franking machine could produce them quicker than a manual solution.

 

[e-vulture]

I've never heard a good thing about a franking machine company! Personally I prefer to just use stamps, as I can just dump the mail in any old post box. You can buy stamps in bulk from the Royal Mail website.

 

[Vectis]

Re your existing contract which is just ending. I'd be very careful to keep everything in writing with regards to the collection of the franking machine and the condition of it etc.

In the past we've had problems with franking machines not being collected at the end of a contract and then attempts being made to charge us additional costs. Fortunately we had everything in writing, telling them when and where they could collect the machine.

Over the years we've had problems with Pitney Bowes and Neopost. Just be careful is all I'm saying.

 

[Mayor]

We buy our stamps from out local cornershop. Makes no difference to us, and keeps trade local !

 

[AlanGuidry]

I think the franking machine companies love to tell you how much you'll save by franking instead of using stamps. Of course they're going to tell you that. They're not exactly going to say, "Well to be honest it'll probably only be cost effective if you're a high volume mailing business". But that's the reality of it. What's wrong with stamps?