Website reviews

Often disparagingly referred to as “snail mail” by those who prefer its electronic counterpart, sometimes you need to get an original document somewhere and that’s where these three mail delivery services come in.

DX

www.thedx.co.uk

DX (or Document exchange) delivers items of mail between lawyers (and others). Never having used the DX service in my life I am content to assume that it works well and simply tell you about their website.

I tend to visit the DX website in order to use the online directory, so I can get a DX number for filling in legal aid forms. This works well and is easy to use. It offers a “copy to clipboard” function which is a good idea, but works only in Internet Explorer, and not in Firefox or Opera browsers.

A feature called “Webtrack” allows DX users to track their mail as it whistles across the country – receiving online confirmation and even proof of delivery. This service is available for certain specified types of delivery service only.

The website also has a number of useful materials and guides for users, including a DX poster for your mailroom with instructions on how to label a DX envelope and suchlike. You can update your address details online and sign up for email updates, if you’re interested.

The Legal Post

www.legalpost.co.uk

The Legal Post is younger sister to the DX and, as if still suffering from sibling rivalry, feels the need to trumpet news of a firm that has not only joined the LP, but has also severed ties with DX. In the interests of neutrality, I can confirm that I have never in my life used the Legal Post either and am just as content to assume that it too works well.

The members directory has a search function like DX’s, but returns more details, including the postal address, fax and telephone numbers, email and website addresses. As well as a search function, the website allows you to download the whole directory as a PDF document or a CSV (comma separated values) database file.

The site has very little else in the way of bells and whistles, and while the news archive did make mention of a tracking service for some items of mail, this did not appear to be an online function (at least not through this website).

Royal Mail

www.royalmail.com

If the DX and Legal Post really are siblings, then the Royal Mail must be their single mother – constantly criticised for being a drain on public funds, but still working hard for a very low fee! Some law firms, like my own, are members of neither DX nor Legal Post and have to rely upon the Royal Mail. I have therefore made use of the Royal Mail many, many times and I am content to tell you that it works well (most of the time). I am also happy to report that it has a pretty terrific website.

The reason I visit the Royal Mail’s website most often is to check a postcode – this is a free service and works well even with only partial address information, delivering not only the postcode but also the full address with post town, a map of the surrounding area and the offer to make up a label for you to print off.

A click on the next tab allows a more general address search, working backwards from the postcode or with only some of an address. This service can only be utilised 15 times per day, which should be plenty for anyone – and if you exceed your limit you can always start again on your colleague’s computer.

If the Legal Post site lacked in the way of online toys, this site has gadgets and gizmos galore (to quote the Little Mermaid). Run out of stamps? Franking machine broken? Simply pay for your postage online and print out the postage label or directly to the envelope! Want to know if a recorded delivery item has reached its intended destination? Use the Track and Trace service – which not only confirms the mail’s status but also shows you the scanned signature from the recipient.

Obviously there is also a large volume of information on Royal Mail services – from logistics to junk mail. Now, if only there was a spam filter for letterboxes.