Royal Mail Business Reply Envelopes

The Moray Council uses Royal Mail Reply Services in order to provide its customers with pre-paid return envelopes for the return of requested information.

For any queries relating to the use of this service please contact:

Caroline Forsyth
Phone (01343) 563409
Email caroline.forsyth@moray.gov.uk

Services Available

As of November 2014, the council owns two licences which can be used to access either the Business Reply or Freepost Response services. Royal Mail requires that the licence number and a unique barcode be printed on envelopes.

RTHK-XUZZ-KCXU = Response Plus
RTKJ-GBUE-ALTE = Response Standard

The two licences cover the council headquarters address only.

Moray Council
Council Office
High Street
Elgin
IV30 1BX

The licences allow for an additional two address lines above the standard address block.

Use of This Service

Which service do you need?

Please note, the size of envelope you intend to use, and anticipated weight of returned mail will determine which option you need.

Response Plus – 2 options as below RTHK-XUZZ-KCXU This licence covers letters up to and including C5 and weighing less than 100g, using either first- or second-class delivery within the UK. Machine readable. Lower charge (see page 6) Business Reply Plus The licence number and barcode are printed on the top left of the envelope. Provides the option of two additional address lines to be inserted above the standard Moray Council address. Requires the council to provide preprinted envelopes to customers. First and second-class mail options. Freepost Plus The licence number and barcode are printed within the address block*. Provides the option of two additional address lines to be inserted above the standard Moray Council address. However, one of these will be the Freepost licence number*. Requires the council to provide preprinted envelopes to customers. First and second-class mail options Response Standard – 3 options as below RTKJ-GBUE-ALTE This licence covers standard sized letters, large letters (weighing more than 100g), and parcels, using either first- or second-class delivery within the UK. 3 Machine readable and handwritten options. Higher charge (see page 6). Business Reply Standard The licence number and barcode are printed on the top left of the envelope. Provides the option of two additional address lines to be inserted above the standard Moray Council address. Requires the council to provide preprinted envelopes to customers. First and second-class mail options. Freepost Standard – Pre-printed option The licence number and barcode are printed within the address block*. Provides the option of two additional address lines to be inserted above the standard Moray Council address. However, one of these will be the Freepost licence number*. Requires the council to provide preprinted envelopes to customers. First and second-class mail options. Freepost Standard – Handwritten option This provides you with the opportunity to provide your customer with the Freepost licence number and address which they can hand write onto their own envelopes. This information can be included on forms/letters and does not require the council to provide the customer with preprinted envelopes. N.B. Second class mail option only.

How many envelopes do you need?

There is a minimum print order of 500 (N.B. if you stockpile envelopes over a long period of time the self-adhesive gum will degrade).

Large volume users (500+)

If you require this volume you can place an order for your full address, including department (as below), and P.O. Box number if required, to be printed on your batch of envelopes. The main large volume users of these envelopes are:-

• Customer Care
• Community Care - Home Carers
• Community Care – Consultations
• Community Safety
• Building Catering and Cleaning
• Housing and Property

Examples of addresses*

Note: Use of the Freepost service will require the Freepost Licence number to be printed above the standard Moray Council address and will use up one of the two additional address lines available.

Small volume users

If you only require a small number of envelopes you will be able to use access the stock of envelopes held in the Copy Shop (Business Reply Standard). These are printed with the standard Moray Council address only and you will need to manually insert your top line address (as below), and any P.O. Box number if required.

Note: Any handwriting on your Standard Response mail should be at least 5mm away from the printed address.

Based upon past use the departments using smaller quantities of these envelopes on a less regular basis include:

• Chief Executive’s Office
• Community Care - Glassgreen
• Community Care - Pluscarden Clinic
• Criminal Justice
• Drug and Alcohol Partnership
• Employee Support
• Legal and Democratic Services
• Roads
• Trading Standards
• Elgin Library

Examples of addresses

Note: Use of the Freepost service will require the Freepost Licence number to be shown above the standard Moray Council address and will use up one of the two additional address lines available.

If, however, you have a one-off requirement for a larger volume of envelopes you will be able to place a print order for your full address i.e. including your additional top line address(es).

When do you need the envelopes?

It takes approximately 4 weeks to complete the whole process. Including this timescale (as a minimum) in your schedule will ensure that you receive your order in time and also avoid placing unnecessary pressure on the Copy Shop by working to too tight a deadline.

Placing an order – for large volumes (500+)

1. Royal Mail requires that specific artwork is used for these envelopes. The Copy Shop has templates for the most commonly used top line addresses. Contact council’s Copy Shop (563054) to find out if they have a template with your top line address. If they do, you can place an order with them directly. They will order the required number of envelopes and also place the print order with our supplier. You will need to let them know:
   • The Response Service you require including the licence number
   • Whether you require first- or second-class mail
   • The size of envelope you need
   • The address to be used (see page 4 for further details)
   • The number of envelopes required
   • The financial codes (see below)
2. If the Copy Shop does not have a template with your top line address you will need to contact the council’s design team (Angus McNicholl and Ishbel Ewen) to generate the required artwork. You will need to let them know:
   • The Response Service you require including the licence number
   • Whether you require first- or second-class mail
   • The size of envelope you need
   • The address to be used (see page 4 for further details)
3. Once you have received the artwork from the design team, contact Royal Mail for final approval - response.services.admin@royalmail.com. Royal Mail is very specific about these requirements, and this is a necessary step to avoid incurring surcharges.
4. Once you have received final approval of the artwork from Royal Mail you will need to place an order for printed envelopes through the council’s Copy Shop (563054). They will order the required number of envelopes and also place the print order with our supplier. Please include the following information in your order:
   • The final artwork templates
   • The size of envelope you need
   • The number of envelopes required
   • The financial codes (see below)

Placing an order – for small volumes

Contact the council’s Copy Shop (563239) with the number of envelopes required.

Invoicing and Charges

The budget for this service is managed by Customer Services.

Financial Codes

The financial codes for this service are listed below. These should be quoted when placing any orders for printed envelopes.

Cost Centre 1327 Nominal Code 40001 Management Code 9999

The annual fee for each licence is £TBC

The council’s account is charged for each item of mail returned using Business Reply and Freepost envelopes. See table below of breakdown of prices

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