Upset and scared :(

[ashy]

Basically i joined Royal Mail back in March as a part-time postman, i'm 21 years old. When i started things went well and i got on with things happily i was loving it but into April i really started to struggle with my workload and ended up taking the odd letters home. I'll say now for you guys and i told them in the interview when i got caught i swear on my life that i never stole anything or attempted to destroy anything but i did admit fully to intentional delay. My girlfriend has a baby and she works evenings so i couldn't work beyond 4PM when i started it said i would be finished for 2PM and as i was finishing beyond 3, i didn't know what to do.

No-one had told me when i started what to do with mail i couldn't deliver, as no-one works after 3 delivery wise i just assumed as the law says it had to be done so i got it done, i never claimed for a single hour of overtime despite working over 2pm because well i wasn't shown and i still don't know how to. After a while i began taking the odd bundle home with me fully intentional on delivering it the day after or on my day off. I know i shouldn't do this but i had no choice what with me having to get finished and i physically couldn't do it. It felt embarassing as a new guy and being the youngest in our DO by miles that i couldn't complete my round so i stupidly never told anyone about it, i rarely spoke to anyone but our line manager as i came in at 9 and was gone for 10 i didn't really think i could bring myself to tell someone i was failing at my job.

Anyway after a couple of weeks struggling, well the Post Office Security guys caught up with me, i walked out of our DO at 3:30pm and i was basically told my rights and they asked to search my property. The only mail i had was in my boot but i still had my parents and my girlfriends property searched, obviously the only items found were in my car, i fully complied however with every process.

I was hugely embarassed and felt ashamed of myself after what happened and after 2 weeks of suspension i was sacked, this was 3 weeks ago, so this week on wednesday it will of been 6 weeks since the Post Office Security guys caught me. Now obviously i understand i commited a criminal offence but i've been unable to sleep properly and alsorts the last week or so with the worry, i have no criminal record but i'm worried beyond anything that i'll end up in court and worst at the end of it prison. With my girlfriend not working and relying on me for support i've never been so scared and the worry is becoming unbearable hence why i'm posting.

One of the Security guys told me not to worry about prison as that won't happen but still having never been in trouble with the police before i'm so scared its unreal, they told me it would take 4-6 weeks to hear if i would be prosecuted but i've yet to hear anything. The wait is becoming unbearable. We also had a holiday booked this august with her family and i'm just so worried that something will fall on those dates too. I'm not expecting sympathy or anything at all I just wanted to say if anyone in any capacity could give me some advice on what i should expect it would help set my mind at ease.

[music4essex]

Ashy

So sorry to hear about this No amount of words will make it any better, It is a shame that you was not able to contact your union before the interview, That is why we always say to newbies to get in the union,
It was obvious that you did not get proper training on what to do, about going over your time and what to do with cut offs

Good luck

Essex mum

[SexyLegs]

I would echo Jimmy Carr's post, very unlikely they'll pursue it any further so stop worrying mate..........yes you were naive, one of the first things I was told was to never, and I mean never have as much as 1 letter in your pouch when you go home, in fact I now leave my pouch at the office in case there is something in there!

Have you managed to get another job yet? That's a bigger potential worry for you for obvious reasons!

Good Luck

[calpsy]

NOT a chance of prison so stop worrying yourself .

You HAVE lost your job end of .

Guy at my place stole birthday card money and packets . Had bank cards and statements all laid out when the guys raided his house . HE will prob goto prison .

[smelly_cat_lady]

You stoopid stoopid idiot???!!

What part of you thought it was a good idea to take other people's mail home????? For goodness sake, don't blame other people for 'not telling you', I assume when you were born you had a tongue in your head, learnt to speak and ask questions. I have no sympathy for you, you deserve everything coming to you. You won't get any job with a position of trust, RM will see to it that any potential employer will find out what you did. It doesn't even matter whether or not you stole anything from the mail, it was wrong and if you'd bothered to read your contract (you can read can't you?) it will tell you in there. Funny how you understand what willful delay means but have no idea you committed it?

You should have thought about your wife and child before you did such a stoopid thing.

That's if you are a real postman of course.................?

[smelly_cat_lady]

Hang on a minute.......before any one jumps down my throat........he's said in a previous post that he was a driver, so i can only assume when he took the 'odd bundle' of mail home, he also took the van..........? Just a thought?

[ashy]

Hang on a minute.......before any one jumps down my throat........he's said in a previous post that he was a driver, so i can only assume when he took the 'odd bundle' of mail home, he also took the van..........? Just a thought?

No, never drove a RM van in my short time there, was always my own car.

[smelly_cat_lady]

You started a thread on here saying that you started as a postie with driving then you said you were paired up with someone who showed you the ropes. Did he take his left over mail home too?

As for using you own car, well......(a) it has probably invalidated your insurance (so you were driving without insurance. nice. another crime) and (b) despite what people tell you it is not allowed

If you are a real postie you're a chump giving us a bad name.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

[clashcityrocker]

I think all job adverts mention postie with driving. You have to have a driving licence because of the introduction of park and loop.
So he may not have done any driving if his office hasn't had a delivery methods revision yet.
Doubt you'll go to prison but I'll ask the question before Postman does - Where was the rep? Where was the Workplace Coach? Where were your colleagues?
Nothing pisses me off more than these sorts of stories. If people aren't coping someone should be capable of seeing the signs and taking appropriate action before it gets to this stage.

[ashy]

You started a thread on here saying that you started as a postie with driving then you said you were paired up with someone who showed you the ropes. Did he take his left over mail home too?

As for using you own car, well......(a) it has probably invalidated your insurance (so you were driving without insurance. nice. another crime) and (b) despite what people tell you it is not allowed

If you are a real postie you're a chump giving us a bad name.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

I wasn't paired up with anyone, at the start i had a guy show me my round and the absolute basics and that was it the rest i just sort of figured alone, i came in early on the mornings my round was chucked in already so except the occasional time the manager checked i was doing alright that was the only contact i had with anyone really. The guy who showed me my round even he used his own car to show me around, on my first day we both did the round i was to be placed on using our 2 cars, we were finished for half 12 everyday so obviously nothing got taken home.

I sorted my insurance when i realized i would be using my own car, not worth the trouble in a crash or anything. The premium went up a lot but i had no choice, my lapsing and my actual round were more than a mile apart.

In our office i noticed pretty much everyone used their own car so if it wasn't allowed i didn't know, my manager helped me one day load my car up so it musn't be official policy? I did know the union discourages it but no-one asked me to join, didn't really bother finding out since i was part-time. As long as your insured for business use i assumed using your own car was fine, everyone except the guys who were on close-by rounds who used trollies, everyone else used their own cars or RM vans and the occasional lot who used bikes because they couldn't drive. Another person started the same day i did and she was using her own car too so it obviously wasn't something i didn't listen to.

[Patrick Clifton]

As for using you own car, well......(a) it has probably invalidated your insurance (so you were driving without insurance. nice. another crime)

Why would his insurance be invalid?

[fishtank]

You started a thread on here saying that you started as a postie with driving then you said you were paired up with someone who showed you the ropes. Did he take his left over mail home too?

As for using you own car, well......(a) it has probably invalidated your insurance (so you were driving without insurance. nice. another crime) and (b) despite what people tell you it is not allowed

If you are a real postie you're a chump giving us a bad name.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

To be fair smelly_cat_lady Ashy started this thread looking for advice...not sympathy but certainly not abuse.
I think if you take the time to read his post he is well aware of his faults...if only we all were.

[motherhubbard]

To be fair smelly_cat_lady Ashy started this thread looking for advice...not sympathy but certainly not abuse.
I think if you take the time to read his post he is well aware of his faults...if only we all were.

I think smelly has gone off on one for no good reason.
If you genuinely haven't stolen anything Ashy, I doubt if RM would pursue the matter, but it is very difficult to say for sure.
If you are under a lot of stress now, make sure you find someone to talk to. Don't make the same mistake again. Don't let your wife and child suffer because of your one mistake.

[TeeferTiger]

Whether it's genuine or not, you need someone to talk to.

Your Dr will be able to refer you for counselling or you can try one of the charities where you can phone up and remain anonymous such as the Samaritans.

[tincatinca]

You stoopid stoopid idiot???!!

What part of you thought it was a good idea to take other people's mail home????? For goodness sake, don't blame other people for 'not telling you', I assume when you were born you had a tongue in your head, learnt to speak and ask questions. I have no sympathy for you, you deserve everything coming to you. You won't get any job with a position of trust, RM will see to it that any potential employer will find out what you did. It doesn't even matter whether or not you stole anything from the mail, it was wrong and if you'd bothered to read your contract (you can read can't you?) it will tell you in there. Funny how you understand what willful delay means but have no idea you committed it?

You should have thought about your wife and child before you did such a stoopid thing.

That's if you are a real postman of course.................?

You started a thread on here saying that you started as a postie with driving then you said you were paired up with someone who showed you the ropes. Did he take his left over mail home too?

As for using you own car, well......(a) it has probably invalidated your insurance (so you were driving without insurance. nice. another crime) and (b) despite what people tell you it is not allowed

If you are a real postie you're a chump giving us a bad name.

Good riddance to bad rubbish

The most disgracefull posts I have ever had the misfortune to read on this forum