mad_mo
15-11-2007, 18:46
With his son Danny serving on the front line in Afghanistan, Darren Smith was glad to take advantage of the Royal Mail's offer of free postage for parcels to soldiers.
He sent off a package containing books, toothpaste, biscuits and sweets, along with two Remembrance Day poppies to remind Danny how much his family cared.
A week later, however, he received a letter saying it could not be dispatched because it was 0.192 of a gram over the 2kg limit - the equivalent of a feather and less than the weight of the two 1gram poppies.
'I think it's disgusting that some jobsworth has decided not to send this out to Afghanistan,' said Mr Smith, 41, from Swinefleet, near Goole, East Yorkshire.
'When I went to post it, it was weighed and accepted - but I don't think it has ever left Goole. I know for a fact that the BFPO (British Forces Post Office) in London would have sent it if it had got there.
'It probably cost them more to write to me than to send it there.'
He added: 'Whilst our postal workers strike for the right to go home early and still get paid, our troops are expected to work 24 hours a day until the job is done; a firefight does not stop because it's clocking-off time.'
After collecting the parcel he re-sent it yesterday, minus the poppies, to his son in the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, attached to 40 Commando Royal Marines in Helmand Province.
Royal Mail spokesman said: 'All parcels being sent to troops under the free postal service must meet strict weight guidelines which are laid down by BFPO. Parcels must weigh no more than 2kg.
'Unfortunately, due to human error, this parcel was accepted when it was over the allowed weight. As soon as the subpostmasterrealised the mistake-they apologised to the customer for any inconvenience caused.'
He sent off a package containing books, toothpaste, biscuits and sweets, along with two Remembrance Day poppies to remind Danny how much his family cared.
A week later, however, he received a letter saying it could not be dispatched because it was 0.192 of a gram over the 2kg limit - the equivalent of a feather and less than the weight of the two 1gram poppies.
'I think it's disgusting that some jobsworth has decided not to send this out to Afghanistan,' said Mr Smith, 41, from Swinefleet, near Goole, East Yorkshire.
'When I went to post it, it was weighed and accepted - but I don't think it has ever left Goole. I know for a fact that the BFPO (British Forces Post Office) in London would have sent it if it had got there.
'It probably cost them more to write to me than to send it there.'
He added: 'Whilst our postal workers strike for the right to go home early and still get paid, our troops are expected to work 24 hours a day until the job is done; a firefight does not stop because it's clocking-off time.'
After collecting the parcel he re-sent it yesterday, minus the poppies, to his son in the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, attached to 40 Commando Royal Marines in Helmand Province.
Royal Mail spokesman said: 'All parcels being sent to troops under the free postal service must meet strict weight guidelines which are laid down by BFPO. Parcels must weigh no more than 2kg.
'Unfortunately, due to human error, this parcel was accepted when it was over the allowed weight. As soon as the subpostmasterrealised the mistake-they apologised to the customer for any inconvenience caused.'