# Dealing with Social Welfare (and others) through the Mails



## mathepac (10 Apr 2013)

I was recently asked to supply several years worth of paperwork about certain matters  from 2006 to 2012, including utility bills, banks statements, tax matters including refunds, inheritances, Credit Union accounts, Post Office accounts, other savings, investments and property,

It came to c. 300 A4 pages and I organised it, cross-referenced it, put it in labelled folders and overall tried to make the life of an investigator as easy as possible in order to speed the resolution of the matters. When it comes to this kind of stuff my life is an open book - transparent as an opaque politician might say.

I had been supplied with an A4+ size, pre-addressed, brown envelope complete with harp.  I duly filled, sealed and re-inforced it with sellotape.

I handed it in at my local Post Office and was astonished to be asked for €3.80 postage. Given the time and trouble it had taken to put the contents together I decided to register it which cost €7.00 in total.

I though that once the address was a Government Department and the Harp was on the envelope An Post delivered these at no cost to the sender and billed the recipient(s) somehow. The An Post clerk told me that the only brown envelopes that move "for free" are the ones with Ceadunas / Licence marks on them as well as harps.

Given that a basic stamp now costs €0.60,  the "efficiencies" generated by imposing postage costs on customers must be immense.

When did all this change and how do Social Welfare recipients cope with these additional costs?


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## Time (10 Apr 2013)

Normally I writes "FREEPOST" above the address of the government department and post it.

This is ok for welfare offices in Longford and Sligo.


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## AlbacoreA (10 Apr 2013)

Would they have accepted a CDROM with all the docs on it?


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## lgriff27 (8 Aug 2014)

I recently returned forms and documents to Rent Control Unit using a  harp envelope with no stamps. Phoned An Post customer service to ask will that go through. They think it is most likely. I'll keep you posted when I check on Monday.


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## lgriff27 (11 Aug 2014)

Today now while at the RCU they wouldn't confirm if they got my docs (probably a civil service aversion to direct questions), they said my rent supplement is still "up and running" and if they require anything they'll get in touch.


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## lgriff27 (28 Aug 2014)

Seems my docs got through with the harp envelope, no stamps. They reduced my supplement.


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