UK MPs are sent letters about misdelivered mail by post watchdog – but none of them arrives

THE POSTAL services watchdog, Postwatch, has lodged an official complaint with the Royal Mail after all the letters it sent to a group of MPs were lost in the post – the missing items were promoting a campaign to encourage people to report misdelivered or lost mail.

The letters, addressed to 49 MPs at the House of Commons, were posted first class from Ely, Cambridgeshire, on May 13. Each was clearly marked with the Postwatch return address. After a fortnight, it became clear that none of the”Stamp Out Misdelivered Mail”campaign material had been delivered.

Royal Mail had no explanation for this. A spokesman said:”We have conducted a full investigation and have found no evidence of any problems in the relevant postal areas. As far as we are concerned, the letters are not in our system.”

Peter Carr, the chairman of Postwatch, said:”This incident is symptomatic of a system that is failing many customers. This is our opportunity to test the Royal Mail complaints procedure at first hand.”

Postwatch said it would demand a full explanation plus compensation for the lost postage cost.

A recent survey by Postwatch suggested that more than 14 million letters were lost by Royal Mail every year. Postwatch is currently pressing for tougher laws to force Royal Mail to pay compensation for all lost post. However, Mr Carr said he had so far seen”nothing but procrastination”from the Government.

Gillian Shephard, the Tory MP for Norfolk South-West and one of Postwatch’s intended recipients, has now complained to Allan Leighton, Royal Mail’s chairman.”I’ve not yet had a reply,”she said.”Perhaps I should also have faxed him.”

She added:”Royal Mail is now a demoralised organisation that cannot keep to its targets. In its zeal to cut costs, it has created a workforce that is not as motivated as it once was.”

Despite making a pounds 220 million profit for the year 2003-4, Royal Mail’s customer service record remains dismal. Last month, it admitted that it had failed on all 15 of its service targets, including the first-class, next-day delivery target of 92.5 per cent.

Such poor performance has prompted an investigation by Postcomm, the postal industry regulator, which expects to present Royal Mail with a customer compensation bill of up to pounds 80 million this year.

Royal Mail faced further criticism recently over hefty bonuses paid to five of its executive directors. Adam Crozier, the chief executive, earned a pounds 300,000 bonus, taking his total pay to pounds 664,224.

Mr Leighton and Mr Crozier were unavailable for comment yesterday.