Sent: 23.02.2018
Received: 01.03.2018
Travel time: 6 days
Sender Maciej (
www.postcrossing.com) platform.
It is very interesting why postal clerk consider insufficient postage and mark it properly, from what I found on Polish Post internet site the cost for an economy sending postcard is 5 zloty , and my card is stamped with 5,05 zloty. Those insufficient postage marks are for sure a subject of a reconciliation...
While the problem of what to do about letters not paying the full correct fee had existed since the creation of regular postal systems, it was greatly heightened by the advent of postage stamps, since customers were now making their own decisions about the right amount to pay, without the assistance of a presumably knowledgeable postal clerk.
While at various times some countries have simply adopted the expedient of returning the letter to the sender, many others have taken the approach of delivering the letter and collecting the fee from the recipient. Initially the process was handled by a clerk writing something like "Due 3 cents" on the cover, but this was subject to abuse by mail carriers, who might write it on themselves and pocket the difference.
The problem of underpaid foreign mail was one of the issues addressed by the 1874 establishment of the Universal Postal Union. The U.P.U. arrived at the decision that mail with insufficient postage should be marked with a "T" and from April 1, 1879 the amount missing would also be indicated in black. Later more countries started to use hand stamps to indicate the amount due. Later the combination of hand-stamps with both the "T" and the amount missing came into use. From October 1, 1907 the rules were changed. The amount due would be charged instead of the amount missing would be indicated. The amount charged was usually double the amount that was missing. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_due)
