Camden:Whistl: Probe into letters stolen from posties

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http://www.camdennewjournal.com/sites/all/files/nj_camden/imagecache/main_img/images/news/mms_img-1176668913.jpgAN investigation has been launched after a sack of letters containing sensitive personal information was stolen from a bicycle used by a postman working for a private delivery firm.

The security issue suffered by Whistl – the courier company formerly known as TNT – has sparked fears that the new competitive post system is leading to corner-cutting.

The letters were meant to be delivered to addresses in Hampstead but were found dumped in Highgate Newtown with envelopes ripped open.

It was the second sack of post supposed to be delivered by Whistl that has been found in Camden streets in the past fortnight.

Communications Workers Union representative Pat Carey, who works at the Royal Mail’s Regis Road depot in Kentish Town, said his colleagues had been handed the tampered sacks.

He said: “They were dumped in N19 but had a Hampstead address on them. They were letters meant to have been delivered by TNT/Whistl and when they were handed in to us they had been opened and rifled through.” He added that a week previously he had found another sack of intercepted Whistl letters in Weedington Road, Gospel Oak.

Whistl have been in direct competition with Royal Mail since the privatisation of postal services by the government in 2013. They operate from a base in Regis Road – opposite the Royal Mail sorting office – and have 80 staff covering 85,000 households in the north Camden area.

Mr Carey said: “There is clear evidence that privatised firms do not provide the level of postal service people expect. We heard of postmen given short hours each week, not knowing how many hours they will be able to work and not given the time to do their jobs properly. They are given bikes to ride and, as this incident shows, post can be stolen from them.”

He said the way contracts were set up created pressure to complete rounds and services suffered, adding: “We get feedback from customers who are very unhappy with the service provided since privatisation.

“These bags contained letters that are highly sensitive – from doctors and hospital appointments to bank statements and other information that must be well guarded. Royal Mail staff have clear rules about looking after our trolleys so incidents like this cannot happen.”

A Whistl spokesman confirmed a bag had been stolen from a bicycle being used on a delivery round.

He added: “We can confirm that a member of the public was arrested on Friday, February 13 for the theft of the items that were found in Weedington Road and Raydon Street. The individual broke the locks on the panniers and took the mail.

“The posties reported the thefts immediately to their managers who informed the security team and the affected clients. The police investigation is ongoing and Whistl’s security team is working in co-operation with the local police and Royal Mail on the matter.” The Whistl spokesman added that the average round took two and half hours to complete and staff are given a bonus if they finish earlier.

“They can also earn extra money if they do an additional round after finishing their own.

The spokesman added: “It is structured like this so that it is flexible and meets lifestyle requirements and encourages people to stay with the company because of the level of flexibility. If someone only wants to work less rounds on one day, and more on another, this system allows us to accommodate this.”