Reporting a (possible) theft

[Pretty Boy]

Looking for some advice here.

It was my birthday the other day and my Mum sent me a card with a cheque inside. When it arrived the envelope had quite clearly been opened and then resealed with tape. I happened to mention this to my Mum on the poine and she said that she was the only person to handle the card and she definitely didn't seal it with tape. She also asked me if i had received a card my Gran and grandad had given her to send to me, i said no and she thought that strange given she had sent it last Friday. She sad there was £100 in cash inside the card(i know sending cash through the post carries a risk etc etc). Today i received 4 more birthday cards all of which had been opened and resealed with tape, none of them contained money and i wasn't expecting any of them to.

The reason i am suspicious is that 5 envelopes all which were clearly cards of some kind have been tampered with at some point in the delivery process, the only one to contain cash hasn't arrived at all yet despite being sent over a week ago. I phoned the Royal Mail to complain and was dismissed as being paranoid and was informed that 'letters get accidentally ripped open all the time and mail gets lost all the time.' I don't want to go to the Police just yet as i know my postman by sight and he's a friendly enough guy so don't want to let him think i'm accusing him.

Does anyone think i should maybe have a quiet word with my postman and see what he says? Complain to the Royal Mail again? Or go straight to the Police?

[Darth Hibbie]

Looking for some advice here.

It was my birthday the other day and my Mum sent me a card with a cheque inside. When it arrived the envelope had quite clearly been opened and then resealed with tape. I happened to mention this to my Mum on the phine and she said that she was the only person to handle the card and she definitely didn't seal it with tape. She also asked me if i had received a card my Gran and grandad had given her to send to me, i said no and she thought that strange given she had sent it last Friday. She sad there was £100 in cash inside the card(i know sending cash through the post carries a risk etc etc). Today i received 4 more birthday cards both of which had been opened and resealed with tape, none of them contained money and i wasn't expecting any.

The reason i am suspicious is that 5 envelopes all whcich were clearly cards of some kind have been tampered with at some point in the delivery process, the only one to contain cash hasn't arrived at all yet despite being sent over a week ago. I phoned the Royal Mail to complain and was dismissed as being paranoid and wasinformed that 'letters get accidentally ripped open all the time and mail gets lost all the time.' I don't want to go to the Police just yet as i know my postman by sight and he's a friendly enough guy so don't want to let him think i'm accusing him.

Does anyone think i should maybe have a quiet word with my postman and see what he says? Complain to the Royal Mail again? Or go straight to the Police?

Report it direct to the Royal Mail ASAP. It is possible that it is your postie but more than likely somebody at your sorting office. They may ask you to report it to the police but usually they like to deal with it themselves.

[Greentinted]

I had that a similar situation and the Royal Mail took a complaint over the phone and promised to investigate. I was sent no confirmation of this and when I phoned back there was no record of my initial complaint. The police were then informed and the matter is presently being dealt with.
If I were you I would get the cops involved as lets face it, 'internal' investigations are generally skewed in favour of the company under suspicion.

[Lofarl]

Well as a postman myself my advice to you is to contact your local sorting office and tell them what happened.

I can tell you that yes letters can be accidentaly ripped or flop open due to poor envelopes, never fun on a windy day that. But if you know that a letter has been forced open or appear tampered with then that is a different matter.

Did your letters come in a sealed plastic bag saying sorry they were ripped etc, if you think something may be missing please phone some number? Which I cant for the life of me remember.

When ever I find a ripped or damaged letter I pop it into one of those bags, it covers me should something be missing.

You can find more info and possibly read about similair occurances here

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/home.php

[Golden Bear]

A letter will go through a lot of hands before it reaches the recipient. You're more likely to get a totally independant investigation (if needed) by contacting the following:-

Stealing from birthday/greeting envelopes is the lowest of the low and if there is a case, then it will be severely dealt with by Royal Mail. I'm aware of a case in my local area which resulted in a local postie being sent to prison so your query will be thoroughly investigated.


http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump1?catId=400144&mediaId=64100706

[LeithWalkHibby]

[QUOTE=Golden Bear;2468837]
Stealing from birthday/greeting envelopes is the lowest of the low and will be dealt severely by Royal Mail. I'm aware of a case in my local area which resulted in a local postie being sent to prison so your query will be thoroughly investigated.


:agree: I think the victim's family should be allowed ten minutes alone in a room with the offending postie.

[Ants]

There have been a few court cases recently of posties being thieving barstewards.
Do not class every postie the same, as in all walks of life, there are good and there are bad.

If you believe a theft has occurred, contact the police immediately, if this person has done it to you they will do it to others. Let the police gather the evidience, the PO will just try and cover it up, the statos if the police become involved cannot be hidden.

[Jonnyboy]

Looking for some advice here.

It was my birthday the other day and my Mum sent me a card with a cheque inside. When it arrived the envelope had quite clearly been opened and then resealed with tape. I happened to mention this to my Mum on the poine and she said that she was the only person to handle the card and she definitely didn't seal it with tape. She also asked me if i had received a card my Gran and grandad had given her to send to me, i said no and she thought that strange given she had sent it last Friday. She sad there was £100 in cash inside the card(i know sending cash through the post carries a risk etc etc). Today i received 4 more birthday cards all of which had been opened and resealed with tape, none of them contained money and i wasn't expecting any of them to.

The reason i am suspicious is that 5 envelopes all which were clearly cards of some kind have been tampered with at some point in the delivery process, the only one to contain cash hasn't arrived at all yet despite being sent over a week ago. I phoned the Royal Mail to complain and was dismissed as being paranoid and was informed that 'letters get accidentally ripped open all the time and mail gets lost all the time.' I don't want to go to the Police just yet as i know my postman by sight and he's a friendly enough guy so don't want to let him think i'm accusing him.

Does anyone think i should maybe have a quiet word with my postman and see what he says? Complain to the Royal Mail again? Or go straight to the Police?

That's just not on for an organisation like that to respond as they did. Phone the sorting office, demand to speak to the manager and if you get the same kind of response ask for his/her name and the name and phone number of his/her superior

[lapsedhibee]

That's just not on for an organisation like that to respond as they did. Phone the sorting office, demand to speak to the manager and if you get the same kind of response ask for his/her name and the name and phone number of his/her superior

Had a problem with missing mail (not theft, just missing) and the local managers were completely useless. Eventually got it sorted after 6 months and countless phone calls to the RM central HQ, during which time it became clear that there are well-worn procedures for dealing with missing mail complaints and complaints about ineffectual management. (Aye, well-worn but neither quick nor efficient.) In a clear case of theft I would go straight to the polis.

[Jamesie]

That's just not on for an organisation like that to respond as they did. Phone the sorting office, demand to speak to the manager and if you get the same kind of response ask for his/her name and the name and phone number of his/her superior

Sorting office managers tend to be equally ambivalent about this kind of incident, sadly, John.

When I bought my flat I had a lot of good luck cards etc with vouchers sent to me. A week or so after I moved in I had still received nothing. The Royal Mail claimed that they couldn't access the stairwell due to "health and safety issues" - despite the fact that the stair had been given a completion certificate before I was allowed to move in!

Apparently all of this mail had been sent to a main sorting office in Northern Ireland"destroyed in Belfast" - aye, probably after the vouchers had been removed.

Trying to get someone to listen at Royal Mail was a complete joke. Until people say enough is enough and start to use alternatives in sufficient it will remain a cartel - the quicker it is subject to stiff competition the better.

[Gus]

my posrtie is a good guy, but like some1 else said you get good and bad in all walks of life....

on this occassion though i would find it pretty suprising if it was the sorting office. Be a bit of a turn up if 5 cards for the same address got tampered with........

my eyes would be on your postie:cool2:

[Pretty Boy]

Just a quick update.

Phoned the Royal Mail again on Friday and got a far more helpful lady this time around, she took a whole load of details and said a manager would call me over the weekend. Got a phone call on saturday morning who asked me to clarify exactly what had happened. She then gave me a reference number to call the Police with as their is apparently an ongoing investigation into this involving both the Royal Mail and the Police. The Police asked me to pop in and see them this morning and asked me to repeat my story to them and confirmed i'd be happy to give evidence in court if required. They then took a statement.

Just this minute of the phone to the Royal Mail again who have told me that 'someone' has been suspended pending further investiagtion as their have been a 'fair few' complaints from my area of 'numerous' letters, cards and parcels going missing in the last month or so.

No idea who it is thats' been suspended but i'll be keeping an eye out to see if it's my usual postie tommorow.

[Lofarl]

See we are not all ****bags. In my area (Bathgate) I have known of one guy about 5 years ago who was caught stealing the mail.

If I mind right he got jail time for it, which serves him right imo. Posties do not like ****bags who do stuff like this because it reflects bad on all of us.

You should see your postie as the guy who goes on strike more often than not and leaves your parcels at your front door in the rain. Not as a thief.

[Allant1981]

See we are not all ****bags. In my area (Bathgate) I have known of one guy about 5 years ago who was caught stealing the mail.

If I mind right he got jail time for it, which serves him right imo. Posties do not like ****bags who do stuff like this because it reflects bad on all of us.

You should see your postie as the guy who goes on strike more often than not and leaves your parcels at your front door in the rain. Not as a thief.


my ex girlfriend is/was a postie in bathgate. hope she gets soaked everytime she is out on her rounds

[Grizz]

I've got a complaint / compo claim in process the noo about Bathgate Royal Mail - Hate doing it cos I know loads of decent posties but had numerous valuable packages going missing recently - or at best, chucked over my fence to lie in a puddle for days on end. :grr:

The duty manager there was sympathetic at first (face to face mind you), but since won't return my calls etc - Stuck in a nippy letter to their complaints folk and they say its under scrutiny just now. Had to jump through numerous hoops since, but looking like I might get compo for one of my packages.

[Killiehibbie]

When will we ever learn? I sent two cards on Friday one arrived Saturday morning the other with cash inside not been seen since.

[cabbageandribs1875]

my ex girlfriend is/was a postie in bathgate. hope she gets soaked everytime she is out on her rounds



cruel man :boo hoo::tee hee: