You kindly published a letter of mine recently in which I complained about letters not being delivered to me, which had led to threats of bailiff action.

I subsequently received a letter from Joanne Taylor, the chairwoman of Royal Mail, stating that “having checked all available ser-vice information, I can con-firm there are no known problems with the delivery of mail to your address or area.”

I am not too sure if that’s a polite way of saying that I’m lying in my letters to the Guardian, but may I assure readers that I am not.

With her statement in mind, would she please explain to me why a neighbour knocked on my door this week holding a clutch of letters clearly addressed to me.

He had returned from holiday to find them stuffed in his letterbox.

If she has problems with believing my statements about receiving mail, I can direct
her to the gentleman in question.

I can also direct her to other neighbours who say their letters are not being delivered properly.
What is happening to our postal service?

How difficult is it to put a clearly addressed letter into the proper letterbox?

If train drivers acted in a similar manner, we would have trains driving past stations and bus drivers not stopping at bus stops.

If delivering a letter was a complex operation, I would accept the occasional hiccup, but it is not.
No task could be simpler – a kid of 10 could do it.

In her letter to me, Joanne Taylor states that anyone who has concerns about their mail deliveries should phone 08457 740740.

However, I believe 0845 numbers are charged at a higher rate than standard BT charges.

If that is the case, it is a scandal that Eleanor Laing should inquire into.

Profiteering from people who are reporting a shoddy service is a disgrace and in my book is a contrived att-empt to deter people from complaining.


Tom Benfield,
Elgar Close,
Buckhurst Hill.