Policy on staff emptying post boxes accepting letters

Dear Mr Betts

Thank you for your request for information received on 22/05/2009, which
we are considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Act
you should expect a reply from us to be sent by 22/06/2009, which is
twenty working days from receipt of your request.

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will contact you explaining the reasons for this and giving
a revised date by which we will reply.

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about your request, please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or
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assured that we are giving this our attention and will get back to you
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Yours sincerely

John Cere
[1][Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in
England and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON
EC1V 9HQ

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Dear Mr Betts

I am writing in response to your enquiry dated 21 May 2009 regarding
postmen and women accepting mail directly from customers. You explained
that a member of our staff collecting mail from a Postbox informed you that
she was unable to take a letter from you directly. You asked when this
policy was introduced.

Royal Mail has not introduced a specific policy that covers this situation.
Customers in rural areas can hand mail carrying appropriate postage
directly to postmen and women as long as it is not to bulky or heavy.
However, we generally ask customers to post mail items in a Postbox or at a
Post Office branch. This ensures that an item of mail enters the system at
a proper ‘access point’ and is handled in line with the correct procedures.
This is important for example, in cases where an item could subsequently
become delayed or go missing. Similarly, customers should not stop our
collections vans to hand over their mail for both safety and security
reasons.

I hope this suitably answers your enquiry. If you have any concerns about
the service you receive from us or wish to comment about a member of Royal
Mail staff you can contact Royal Mail Customer Services on 08457 740 740 or
online:

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/custo...

If you are dissatisfied with this response for any reason, you do have the
right to request an internal review. In which case please write to the
Head of Information Compliance, Royal Mail Group, Company Secretary's
Office, 100 Victoria Embankment, LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ. An internal panel will
then review the request, and you will be advised of the outcome.

If, having requested an internal review by Royal Mail, you are still not
satisfied with our response you also have a right of appeal to the
Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Colin Young
Freedom of Information Unit
[Royal Mail Group request email]

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 100 Victoria Embankment,
LONDON, EC4Y 0HQ

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