Missing cash bounces back after mail woe

Published with the kind permission of LEP

Published on Tuesday 17 January 2012 09:08

When cash sent by a community group went missing in the post, members feared they would never see the money again.

Bill McGrath, from the Ingol Community Association (ICA), sent £800 to a firm via Royal Mail’s Special Delivery tracker service to pay for a bouncy castle surround.

However, the parcel, which was insured for £1,000, never arrived at its destination in Devon in May last year and was deemed ‘lost’.

Worried Bill contacted Royal Mail but was told it could not be found and he would have to send a bank statement and a receipt showing the value of the parcel to be able to claim compensation under the Special Delivery service, designed for sending valuable items.

The request left Bill stumped as the £800 had come from the sale of two of ICA’s own bouncy castles - and the receipt had been lost and the money not deposited in an account before being sent to Devon.

After months of letters and phone calls to Royal Mail, he feared facing a trip to Preston County Court to try to prove the ICA’s case and began filling out the paperwork.

However, following one last-ditch phone call last week, the ICA was contacted by a Royal Mail investigator, who said she had resolved the matter and put a cheque for £800 compensation in the post.

Delighted Bill received the cheque at the weekend. Today, he praised the branch manager in Cullompton, Devon, and an investigator who helped get the ICA’s much-needed money back.

He said: “No-one said when we posted it, ‘Can you prove where it has come from?’

“I’d lost the receipt which was not helpful.

“Without these two sticking their neck out, our Association would have lost £800. I’d like to thank them.”

Royal Mail spokesman Heulyn Gwyn Davies said: “We would like to apologise for the fact that this particular item failed to reach its intended destination. Special Delivery does allow for compensation and so we are pleased that we were able to help Mr McGrath by resolving this matter.”