[Dx-qsl] Dutch IRC

[VR2BrettGraham]

PA2R added:

>I think I explained it very clear. Not all post officse give money but mine
>does. They know me now after 10 years . . .

What you had posted was:

>I can confirm IRC's are not anymore sold in Holland, but the new ones can be
>traded in for stamps or money.

Now it is more clear - your local PO does something it really
should not.  This is not allowed per UPU LM, but good on you
for being able to do it.  This does not change fact that it is
something somebody sending IRC to any PA ham _cannot_
count on that ham being able to do.

>Older IRC's are NOT accepted anymore, also not the small ones, last year
>they still accepted those as well because they didn't had an expire date but
>they have now been made invalid and are not accepted anymore.

This is not true at all.  IRCs from post-1975 to start of new,
larger series _are_ still valid.  UPU has confirmed this many
times, several of us have shared our correspondence with
Claude here on this list, yet we still hear things like the above.

What might be better to say is that PA's postal authority,
contrary to provisions of UPU which oblige it to redeem
these IRCs, refuses to do so.

>So to conclude again, in Holland you can't buy IRC's and only trade in the
>new model, stamps or cash depends on your relationship with the people at
>the post office (official only priority stamps outside Europe).

Again, a more accurate way of describing situation is that
PA's postal authority has elected not to sell IRCs (which it
can) & does not redeem them per provisions of UPU (which
it cannot), as it refuses to redeem anything but the latest
version IRC.

>Maybe another interesting fact was/is, they don't care if they are stamped
>well or not or if the US ones have extra stamps put on when the price
>increased or not, an IRC is an IRC.

They cannot refuse an unchopped IRC.  This is per UPU.
It even says so on the IRC itself & has so for a long, long
time.  Unlike in other places, that it says this only in French
is probably less of an obstacle in PA than elsewhere. ;^)

Likewise, per UPU an IRC does not have to indicate its
purchase price from issuing postal authority - only which
postal authority issued it.

As you say, an IRC is an IRC.  Or that is the way it is
supposed to be.  Ever consider taking copy of LM with
you & asking staff at local PO why PA's postal authority
does things it should not do?  That good relationship you
have with your local PO could be starting point to correct
PA postal authority's failure to live up to what your country
agreed to as member of UPU - with obvious benefit for us
all.

73, VR2BrettGraham.