Accepting responsibility

I'm just getting at the end of my tether with the Royal Mail and the Weasel words they use to get out of their responsibilities.

I've used Special Delivery twice now. On both occasions the postmaster refused to accept that what I was sending had value. Apparently if the envelope I have sent doesn't arrive and I have to pay on my credit card, all I get from Royal Mail is my postage back.

Acquaintances who have sold via ebay, have used the belt and braces approach of using Recorded Delivery to prove to paypal that the item was received in the case of a dispute. While I think this is overstating the risk when sending a £9.99 widget, what came next appalled me. Some people have sent items that would normally be covered and had them go missing. When they claimed on the compensation the Royal Mail refused to accept the fact they had not got a record of delivery as proof of non-delivery, as their postmen sometimes don't . Am I being unreasonable in insisting the Royal Mail accept responsibility for the mistakes of their employees? That if there is no record of delivery, the sender is entitled to compensation.

Don't misunderstand me, I acknowledge that they're still about the best for most purposes. I find post-watch can be quite patronising in the level of understanding that they feel it is reasonable to expect from users: I don't have any sympathy for someone who shoves £100 in cash in an envelope with a second class stamp, and has a screaming fit when it doesn't arrive. Yes there should be limits to the liability of the standard catch all service, but when we stump up for the premium service we should not have to accept so many restrictions on what they will accept responsibility for.

I feel that when you pay over 12 times the cost of a first class stamp, we should expect the Royal Mail to accept some responsibility. That the £500 compensation should have fewer get out clauses. Passports and vouchers do have value, because if they go missing there is a cost involved in replacing them.

When I complained to the Royal Mail customer service team they did mention that they offer consequential loss insurance. But when I pointed out this was not offered at the counter (on two occasions) there was no response, just a continued repetition of the Royal Mail line as if the fact I did not accept that it was anything other than bad service was a sign of me not understanding what I was being told.