help with postman, is this legal?

[kelaroost]

Hi all,

Whilst at work today my partner called me rather shocked,
Our postman who has been delivering to our street for a few years knocked the door this afternoon, fully dressed in his postie clothes and asked for zoe (my partner)
My partner replied saying it was her, the postman then confronted her with some forms and explained that he was also a collector for provident personal finance who we owed money to a few years back.
He demanded she signed the forms and told her he needs to see a bill for proof of address followed by a comment 'I know you have bills because I've delivered them'

He said he told provident we live at the address (confidentiality?)
He also said if we refuse to make payments he will knock the door on his daily round.

Is this even legal, I'm feeling quite harassed tbh and we feel like he has betrayed our trust as a postman, my partner opened the door feeling safe opening it to a royal mail postman.

I'm planning on making a complaint to royal mail but if it's illegal for him to do this I'll approach the police too. I have got the feeling that he has only got the job with provident due to his job as a postie

[templepilot]

I would question the legality of this. He would have a conflict of interest and he would have signed the data protection and wouldn't be allowed to pass on any details.

[kelaroost]

Being dressed as a postman to collect debt is wrong in my eyes, its deceiving, like dressing as a police man to gain entry as a bailiff, that's why I question if it's illegal.

[bunkerland]

Not sure of the legality issue but if you make an official complaint to Royal Mail about this,i'm pretty sure your postman will shortly be free to pursue a full-time career with Provident,outrageous!! If you're feeling full of festive spirit you could warn him of this,if not it will probably be

[fishtank]

It is not illegal from the point of view of a bailiff(England&Wales) but it is gross misconduct from the point of view of a Royal Mail employee.

14. Conflicts of interest
• you must not do anything which conflicts with your duty as an employee or agent
of the company, or use your official position for private advantage;

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

He has breached the data protection act on two counts by passing information from Royal Mail to Providence:

1 He demanded she signed the forms and told her he needs to see a bill for proof of address followed by a comment 'I know you have bills because I've delivered them'

2 He said he told provident we live at the address (confidentiality?)

Passed information from royal mail to providence that mail had been delivered to you at that address
Passed information to providence about where you stayed

Both these snippets of information came directly from his work with royalmail and he has acted on them as part of his employment with another company that is a breach of the data protection act

[POSTMAN]

P45 for sure.
Bit of a piss take as well,he's got some front though.

[davthepunk]

Wow. That's pretty bad.

Worst experience I ever had with a postie was being told (in a really aggressive manner) that I'd 'just have to f**king wait like every other c*nt on here' when I asked the guy working on my street if he had any post for me (I was on the way out and he was a few doors down). Thought about complaining to the Delivery Office manager about that the day after, but when it came down to it, I found that I wasn't angry enough about it any more to take the time to make a big deal out of being sworn at.

Guess that I've been getting off lightly...

[stokes11eg]

Outrageous! Report him at once,---

[DGP1]

Wow. That's pretty bad.

Worst experience I ever had with a postie was being told (in a really aggressive manner) that I'd 'just have to f**king wait like every other c*nt on here' when I asked the guy working on my street if he had any post for me (I was on the way out and he was a few doors down). Thought about complaining to the Delivery Office manager about that the day after, but when it came down to it, I found that I wasn't angry enough about it any more to take the time to make a big deal out of being sworn at.

Guess that I've been getting off lightly...

Sometimes we have a bad day, not defending him but giving a possible reason (and who here hasn't thought the same thing but bitten their tongue?).

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Wow. That's pretty bad.

Worst experience I ever had with a postie was being told (in a really aggressive manner) that I'd 'just have to f**king wait like every other c*nt on here' when I asked the guy working on my street if he had any post for me (I was on the way out and he was a few doors down). Thought about complaining to the Delivery Office manager about that the day after, but when it came down to it, I found that I wasn't angry enough about it any more to take the time to make a big deal out of being sworn at.

Guess that I've been getting off lightly...

To be fair and frank, although his choice of words was a little colourful and certainly incorrect, the actual intent behind his words are as per Royal Mail Guidelines. They state in the security of mail instructions, that mail must not be handed out in the street, in fact in can be deemed an offence IIRC.

[Cheetah]

Hi all,

Whilst at work today my partner called me rather shocked,
Our postman who has been delivering to our street for a few years knocked the door this afternoon, fully dressed in his postie clothes and asked for zoe (my partner)
My partner replied saying it was her, the postman then confronted her with some forms and explained that he was also a collector for provident personal finance who we owed money to a few years back.
He demanded she signed the forms and told her he needs to see a bill for proof of address followed by a comment 'I know you have bills because I've delivered them'

He said he told provident we live at the address (confidentiality?)
He also said if we refuse to make payments he will knock the door on his daily round.

Is this even legal, I'm feeling quite harassed tbh and we feel like he has betrayed our trust as a postman, my partner opened the door feeling safe opening it to a royal mail postman.

I'm planning on making a complaint to royal mail but if it's illegal for him to do this I'll approach the police too. I have got the feeling that he has only got the job with provident due to his job as a postie

Outrageous, he is so out of order on so many counts, Confidentiality, working for another company whilst being paid by RM, harassment etc etc etc. I'm afraid I would report him without any reservations....... How many more people is he doing this to?.....
Just can't believe this one

[rhino49]

Hi all,

Whilst at work today my partner called me rather shocked,
Our postman who has been delivering to our street for a few years knocked the door this afternoon, fully dressed in his postie clothes and asked for zoe (my partner)
My partner replied saying it was her, the postman then confronted her with some forms and explained that he was also a collector for provident personal finance who we owed money to a few years back.
He demanded she signed the forms and told her he needs to see a bill for proof of address followed by a comment 'I know you have bills because I've delivered them'

He said he told provident we live at the address (confidentiality?)
He also said if we refuse to make payments he will knock the door on his daily round.

Is this even legal, I'm feeling quite harassed tbh and we feel like he has betrayed our trust as a postman, my partner opened the door feeling safe opening it to a royal mail postman.

I'm planning on making a complaint to royal mail but if it's illegal for him to do this I'll approach the police too. I have got the feeling that he has only got the job with provident due to his job as a postie

Outrageous, he is so out of order on so many counts, Confidentiality, working for another company whilst being paid by RM, harassment etc etc etc. I'm afraid I would report him without any reservations....... How many more people is he doing this to?.....
Just can't believe this one

If he was a postie of any reasonable amount of intellect or experience, then he would know that a move like this was the end of his job so you have to wonder whether he has joined Royal Mail to take advantage of the information available ... in which case I think a jail sentence is the most suitable reward for his efforts. Kelaroost, you should report him to Royal Mail IB (get contact details from your DOM) at the earliest opportunity and they will take the appropriate action.

[arnold cheshire]

Hi all,

Whilst at work today my partner called me rather shocked,
Our postman who has been delivering to our street for a few years knocked the door this afternoon, fully dressed in his postie clothes and asked for zoe (my partner)
My partner replied saying it was her, the postman then confronted her with some forms and explained that he was also a collector for provident personal finance who we owed money to a few years back.
He demanded she signed the forms and told her he needs to see a bill for proof of address followed by a comment 'I know you have bills because I've delivered them'

He said he told provident we live at the address (confidentiality?)
He also said if we refuse to make payments he will knock the door on his daily round.

Is this even legal, I'm feeling quite harassed tbh and we feel like he has betrayed our trust as a postman, my partner opened the door feeling safe opening it to a royal mail postman.

I'm planning on making a complaint to royal mail but if it's illegal for him to do this I'll approach the police too. I have got the feeling that he has only got the job with provident due to his job as a postie

maybe hes working for a debt collection agency provident isnt a debt collection agency

[arnold cheshire]

Hi all,

Whilst at work today my partner called me rather shocked,
Our postman who has been delivering to our street for a few years knocked the door this afternoon, fully dressed in his postie clothes and asked for zoe (my partner)
My partner replied saying it was her, the postman then confronted her with some forms and explained that he was also a collector for provident personal finance who we owed money to a few years back.
He demanded she signed the forms and told her he needs to see a bill for proof of address followed by a comment 'I know you have bills because I've delivered them'

He said he told provident we live at the address (confidentiality?)
He also said if we refuse to make payments he will knock the door on his daily round.

Is this even legal, I'm feeling quite harassed tbh and we feel like he has betrayed our trust as a postman, my partner opened the door feeling safe opening it to a royal mail postman.

I'm planning on making a complaint to royal mail but if it's illegal for him to do this I'll approach the police too. I have got the feeling that he has only got the job with provident due to his job as a postie

so what did you do ? did you call the police or royal mail ?