'Royal Mail destroyed our parcel, but won't pay compensation

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As reader is frustrated that Royal Mail destroyed a whole parcel because it contained, amongst other things, a small bottle of perfume


Last year my wife and I sent our customary Christmas presents to an American friend. Then we received a letter from Royal Mail saying that, as we had previously been advised, our parcel had contained dangerous goods – a small bottle of perfume.

It said the perfume had been destroyed and the remaining items, a cup and saucer, returned to us. We had not had any earlier correspondence.

When we rang Royal Mail we were told the department was extremely busy but the parcel would soon be on its way.

AM, Somerset

Perfume cannot be sent abroad via Royal Mail although, with restrictions regarding packaging and volume, it can go to addresses within the UK.

It later transpired that the cup and saucer had, like the scent, been destroyed. This was on the grounds that the parcel had not included your full address.

A claim you put in for £40.50 for the missing items, including the perfume, was turned down.

'We paid Royal Mail promptly and now we're being penalised'

After I intervened, Royal Mail, accepting that it had wrongly promised to return the cup and saucer when, given the circumstances, they would inevitably be destroyed, said it would reimburse you after all, but needed a purchase receipt. I said this might be too much to expect given the relatively small sum and the time that had passed.

With no further ado it has now sent you £30 for the cup and saucer. It is not compensating for the perfume, which should never have entered the mail in the first place.