Royal Mail Credit Policy
At Royal Mail we operate a clear and consistent credit policy for our Business customers. This policy is outlined below and explains how we determine credit limits and provide credit accounts, as well as our standard payment terms.
Royal Mail Credit Policy (February 2022)
This document sets out Royal Mail Group Ltd's credit policy in respect of the trading entity “Royal Mail”. Royal Mail will only offer credit to its customers on terms which comply with this policy.
Credit account facilities
- Unless a customer has a credit account, Royal Mail will provide services only on receipt of cleared funds.
- A minimum spend or volume threshold may be applied to justify the administrative costs of setting up and maintaining credit accounts.
- For the purposes of this credit policy each legal entity will be treated as a separate customer.
Invoicing and payment terms for credit accounts
- Where a customer does not pay Royal Mail in accordance with its agreed credit terms Royal Mail shall be entitled to charge interest on all overdue amounts until payment is received in full. The annual rate of interest charged will be 8% above the Bank of England base rate, which prevails during the period of the overdue debt. See Royal Mail terms and conditions for full details of late payment charges.
- Where a customer does not pay Royal Mail to term the account may be suspended. It can take 48 hours for the account to be reinstated.
- Royal Mail will accept the following methods of payment for settlement of accounts: Direct Debit, BACS/CHAPS, or company cheques. Payments in cash and by debit or credit card are accepted only at the discretion of Royal Mail. All payments must be received to the full value in pounds sterling.
Credit limits
- A customer’s credit limit will be set according to its creditworthiness, factors relevant to the assessment of which may include its trading history with Royal Mail, a Credit Referencing agency’s report, the length of time a company has been trading and, where appropriate, a check on the trading history of the company’s directors and officers.
- A customer may be required to pay by direct debit and the account may be suspended if this direct debit is cancelled.
- Royal Mail will only consider credit in excess of the credit limit if it is supported by a Parent Company guarantee, a Bank guarantee, or a Merchant’s Deposit.
- Royal Mail will review a customer’s credit limit either on request, when spend exceeds the credit limit set, or on application for additional products or services.
- In order to process your application we will supply your personal information to credit reference agencies (CRAs) and they will give us information about you, such as about your financial history. We do this to assess creditworthiness and product suitability, check your identity, manage your account, trace and recover debts and prevent criminal activity. We will also continue to exchange information about you with CRAs on an ongoing basis, including about your settled accounts and any debts not fully repaid on time. CRAs will share your information with other organisations.
Refusal/withdrawal of credit
- Royal Mail is not obliged to give credit to every applicant. Where credit is refused, Royal Mail will provide services to a customer only on receipt of cleared funds.
- Credit facilities will be reviewed if a customer persistently trades outside its credit limit or otherwise breaches the terms of its credit agreement.
- Credit facilities will be withdrawn if a customer makes fraudulent postings.
- Credit facilities may be withdrawn at the discretion of Royal Mail.