Not enough stamp value

Good to know!

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I once forgot to put stamps on three cards I sent the same day. I was so embarrassed when I realize it but they all made it to their destination!

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:smile:

I think in worst case the recipient will have to pay the difference and maybe some extra fee. It happened to me two times so far. The sender did not put enough stamps on the card and another time, the sender completely forget to put stamps on it in the first place. But they all still arrived. They were not international cards, though.
I once used the wrong stamps for an international card, and it also arrived. I would not worry about it too much.

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And did you tell the sender you had to pay the difference?

@SosoFrench Not, I didn’t. It wasn’t too expensive and things like that happen. I was just happy to receive the cards. :hugs:

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@ilovecoffe ok great so maybe I will never know.

It never happened to me to be asked to pay something to receive an underpayed postcard, while a couple of times I got a card with a mark “not enough stamp” on it - but it was delivered to me anyway.
And once I also received a postcard with no stamps at all (the sender had put it in a pile with other postcards, and forgot they still had to add the stamp to it), and it arrived too.

I think for international mail il would be very difficult to have the receiver pay the difference in case of underpaid mail : in which value should I pay it? And to whom? Why should I pay something to Poste Italiane if the “demage” was made to USPS?

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@Iside82
Yes you are right!

You pay in your country’s currency. If it is marked as underpaid and up for collection the conversion rate will be noted. You pay to your national post. Money is shared (in an complex system I don’t know too much about) for all members of the UPU (Universal Postal Union). Most of the national postal operators belong to it.

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Knowing the Italian bureaucracy, the procedure to recover the missing postage on an international postcard would probably cost 10 times the cost of the stamp… I doubt it’s worth it, in terms of cost and time.

In my experience, what is more likely to happen is

  1. If the outgoing postal operator does not notice the lack (very likely if the postcard is sorted by an automatic machine and not by a person), the postcard will be delivered normally
  2. If it is noticed that some stamps are missing, if there is a return address the postcard will be returned to the sender with a note on the reason
  3. If there is no return address, it will be trashed
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I don’t know about Italy, but in the US this would be a federal crime.

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If time has passed and the user hasn’t received the card, you could send them another - just in case because of the stamp mishap! I think you should be fine, however. I thought my Apollo 8 stamps were worth 8 cents for weeks until realizing it was only 6 cents! I was short on every card! They still arrived but I felt terrible when I found out. I don’t think they had to pay the difference either.

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90% of the time it’s either not noticed or if it is the postal worker doesn’t care and gets delivered anyway.

As far as feeling bad about it, I wouldn’t, considering how many times Postcrossers actually overpay. :wink:

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Yes but i am not sure to whom I sent the wrong value.

And now in 2023 stamps prices are going to increase and I think we are going to make more mistakes

Yes I overpaid so many times so I try not to feel too bad about this.

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I don’t even know who to thank- this whole thread is fascinating. I didn’t think it was this common for postcards to slip by USPS and arrive without correct postage. But this takes some worry off for me. I try to use several stamps: some vintage and some new. Sometimes the values are hard to read or I worry I am making workers do a lot of extra work/math. Sounds like they likely see 6 stamps and send them through.

Thank you all for sharing- it’s all interesting to learn about.

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When I was in Romania, I sent a letter with one stamp and the person who received it found two stamps on the envelope! It happened also in Lithuania. Seems some people working for the postal services are very attentive (and nice) in these countries!

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I always use growth stamps for a slightly larger amount than is required by the postal service. :slight_smile:

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I found this regulation document by the Italian postal service. It dates back to 2013, but I think it is still valid

On articcle 17 it says more or less

  1. Postal items not franked with one of the methods described above
    art.16 are not delivered and are returned to the sender, upon payment
    of the amount due.
  2. If the sender is not identified with certainty or refuses the payment,
    they are destroyed.
  3. Postal items from abroad without postage are delivered to
    consignee upon payment of postage. In case of refusal, they are
    returned in accordance with international agreements and conventions.
    Postal items sent abroad without postage will be returned to the sender, if
    identifiable, otherwise they are destroyed.