mail tampering

[Rimmer]

Hi, for the past 5 years my family have had our mail tampered with. I dont know how to get the person caught who is doing this. We have complained to Royal Mail, a few times, nothing has been done. More recently we contacted them, they told us to fill in a P58 form. This just doesnt seem at all appropriate for our issues. It isnt a singular item. We have had 5 years of receiving mail in a condition where its been clearly opened, some mail arriving weeks late, and additionaly some mail has gone missing completely. We dont even have all the packaging for the items that have arrived interfered with - ripped open down the side or bottom, steamed open and glued down, sellotaped etcetera. It's a great deal of our mail that arrived in those conditions, late, or not at all. We want the person caught and named, and for it to stop happening. I also requested a complaint reference number from Royal Mail, but they havent provided me with one. Not sure what to do next, please advise.

[fishtank]

Why have you allowed this to continue for 5years?
If i thought my mail was tampered with once...i would want answers.
I think requesting a face to face meeting with your local Delivery Office Manager is long overdue.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

......and if no joy then go to the police or ask for the "investigation branch" next time you call customer care

Or ask for the security desk.

[Rimmer]

Thanks for the replies. I guess when we made previous complaints and were fobbed off by Royal Mail, we felt like we just had to put up with it, didnt really see what else we could do. We dont like having our privacy invaded one little bit, Royal Mail customer services dont seem to take it seriously. As I understand it, even the police wont do anything unless we have a complaint case reference number from Royal Mail, they wont even give me that despite specifically requesting it. I'll try the suggestions, and hopefully something will get done. Thanks again.

[stokes11eg]

Sad to hear your news. Can I ask if you have had the same postie on your walk all this time? This could narrow the field down. Although it seems unlikely they would have the time to steam open and reseal mail etc. Hope they catch the person resonsible.

[Spedley]

It sounds more likely that it is being delivered to the wrong address. When they return home they open it, discover it isn't their and post it in your door a few days late.

I can't believe any 'tampering' postman would repeatedly open mail for the same address. That would be very dumb.

[POSTMAN]

That could be a possibility,what Spedley posted,i would suggest perhaps finding out similiar adresses to yours and have you had a word with the postie?

[Rimmer]

Hi, we've had different postmen during this time, so are certain its not him. My family think its personal, and specifically directed at us. I didnt go into details in my previous posts, but we do have an idea who is doing this to our mail. He's been witnessed in his home, removing mail from his post bag and steaming it open - though whose mail he was steaming open, I have no idea, might have been his own, seems a bit weird though. I dont know how easy it would be for somebody to get hold of our mail in a sorting office, dont they have a lot of security? When it first started happening, we had no idea that this person even worked for Royal Mail. I dont want to go into too many details, but because of the nature of some of the mail that has never arrived, which nobody would have the slightest bit of interest in, except for him, and some that arrived late which strangely his family seemed to be aware of, I dont see who else could be doing this. Also the time frame all fits, we didnt even know this person until around the same time it started happening. On the slim chance it isnt him doing it, we thought it unwise to throw accusations around. If he found out we had reported him, considering other things he has definitely done to my family, which I really ought to have reported him to the police for, it will make him worse, and cause a lot of trouble to my family.

We've had letters arrive a month after they were sent, opened, then being delivered by the normal postman. It isnt just the odd letter, its the majority of our mail being interfered with. I dont think the person goes to as much trouble to conceal what they are doing anymore, in the first few years, they were mostly glued/sellotaped back down etcetera, which was a nuisance because the glue sometimes got caught up with the letter inside. In the past couple of years, they mostly arrive ripped open and left like that. Prior to these past 5 years, if mail went astray, it was rare, usually hand delivered at a strange time by whomever had mistakenly received it - unopened, or reposted. It all seems a bit crazy to me, thats another reason why we think it must be something personal, he is obsessive about my family, why would a random person be so interested in all of our mail. It's upsetting my children as well, I guess ultimately, I dont care who is doing it, I just want it to stop.

[stokes11eg]

Although I can understand your reluctance to name this person to the Manager at your local sorting office, it seems it may be the only way to at least get an investigation started.
As True Blue advised, you can go directly to the investigitive branch of royal mail, and they will carry out an investigation. If you have only just reported this to your local office, it could be that an investigation is already underway. I would also suggest that if you still have at least some of the damaged envelopes etc, or hang on to others that may come in, you at least have some kind of evidence.
Have you actually complained directly to the Manager at your local sorting office, or just phoned the helplines? If not, then write to him directly. Hope you get your problem resolved soon, you sound at the end of your tether.

[windjunky]

You could request your mail to be checked by the delivery office manager before it leaves the office every morning. Other than that you can have your mail as 'keepsafe' and collect it yourself from the office. I agree you should involve the police too. I really hope they catch the idiot tampering with your mail. Good luck :)

[baleout]

Hi, we've had different postmen during this time, so are certain its not him. My family think its personal, and specifically directed at us. I didnt go into details in my previous posts, but we do have an idea who is doing this to our mail. He's been witnessed in his home, removing mail from his post bag and steaming it open - though whose mail he was steaming open, I have no idea, might have been his own, seems a bit weird though. I dont know how easy it would be for somebody to get hold of our mail in a sorting office, dont they have a lot of security? When it first started happening, we had no idea that this person even worked for Royal Mail. I dont want to go into too many details, but because of the nature of some of the mail that has never arrived, which nobody would have the slightest bit of interest in, except for him, and some that arrived late which strangely his family seemed to be aware of, I dont see who else could be doing this. Also the time frame all fits, we didnt even know this person until around the same time it started happening. On the slim chance it isnt him doing it, we thought it unwise to throw accusations around. If he found out we had reported him, considering other things he has definitely done to my family, which I really ought to have reported him to the police for, it will make him worse, and cause a lot of trouble to my family.

We've had letters arrive a month after they were sent, opened, then being delivered by the normal postman. It isnt just the odd letter, its the majority of our mail being interfered with. I dont think the person goes to as much trouble to conceal what they are doing anymore, in the first few years, they were mostly glued/sellotaped back down etcetera, which was a nuisance because the glue sometimes got caught up with the letter inside. In the past couple of years, they mostly arrive ripped open and left like that. Prior to these past 5 years, if mail went astray, it was rare, usually hand delivered at a strange time by whomever had mistakenly received it - unopened, or reposted. It all seems a bit crazy to me, thats another reason why we think it must be something personal, he is obsessive about my family, why would a random person be so interested in all of our mail. It's upsetting my children as well, I guess ultimately, I dont care who is doing it, I just want it to stop.

How has he been witnessed ?

[scooterboy1970]

Tampering with the mail is much a criminal offence as stealing the mail itself and is taken very seriously by the security department. Unfortunately you cannot usually go directly to them, so.......

1) Contact customer services and make a formal complaint. I believe you can have your complaint escalated to the chairman's office. Delivery Office Managers usually s**t themselves when they see a complaint on their desk from the Chairman's office. (I should know, I was a delivery manager at one time)

2) Contact the delivery office and insist on speaking to the manager.

3) If you have no joy contact securityhelpdesk@royalmail.com
That is the security and investigations department. They won't tell you if any investigations are underway but they will take the details and pass it on to the local investigations unit that covers your area. (I know about this as well as I was an investigator).

I left Royal Mail a couple of years ago but I should imagine the above processes haven't changed too much in that time. I wish you all the best.

[chunk]

Hi, we've had different postmen during this time, so are certain its not him. My family think its personal, and specifically directed at us. I didnt go into details in my previous posts, but we do have an idea who is doing this to our mail. He's been witnessed in his home, removing mail from his post bag and steaming it open - though whose mail he was steaming open, I have no idea, might have been his own, seems a bit weird though. I dont know how easy it would be for somebody to get hold of our mail in a sorting office, dont they have a lot of security? When it first started happening, we had no idea that this person even worked for Royal Mail. I dont want to go into too many details, but because of the nature of some of the mail that has never arrived, which nobody would have the slightest bit of interest in, except for him, and some that arrived late which strangely his family seemed to be aware of, I dont see who else could be doing this. Also the time frame all fits, we didnt even know this person until around the same time it started happening. On the slim chance it isnt him doing it, we thought it unwise to throw accusations around. If he found out we had reported him, considering other things he has definitely done to my family, which I really ought to have reported him to the police for, it will make him worse, and cause a lot of trouble to my family.

We've had letters arrive a month after they were sent, opened, then being delivered by the normal postman. It isnt just the odd letter, its the majority of our mail being interfered with. I dont think the person goes to as much trouble to conceal what they are doing anymore, in the first few years, they were mostly glued/sellotaped back down etcetera, which was a nuisance because the glue sometimes got caught up with the letter inside. In the past couple of years, they mostly arrive ripped open and left like that. Prior to these past 5 years, if mail went astray, it was rare, usually hand delivered at a strange time by whomever had mistakenly received it - unopened, or reposted. It all seems a bit crazy to me, thats another reason why we think it must be something personal, he is obsessive about my family, why would a random person be so interested in all of our mail. It's upsetting my children as well, I guess ultimately, I dont care who is doing it, I just want it to stop.

first off
if the person you suspect works in your local delivery office as a postman then you may have a problem.
if they work in a mail centre its unlikely that they could have regular access to your mail.
mail.. in a centre is (currently)! only sorted roughly into towns areas and is complicated by national and international
there is no place your mail is particularly concentrated. with me so far?
your local office sorts it into streets and there i frame with your address on it.
only a postman has a postbag?
is it only valuables or indiscriminate.
dont let suspicion and paranoia cloud your thinking.