Anger at Royal Mail's 'goodwill'

Barbara Cordery was shocked to receive a package from her elderly stepmother which had been ripped open.

She was even more furious by the offer of six first-class stamps, worth £1.62, as a "gesture of goodwill".

Mrs Cordery, of Hangleton Road, Hove, has only just received an apology after complaining before Christmas.

The package had been sent first-class recorded delivery from Scotland by her 78-year-old stepmother Olga Johnston and processed through the Royal Mail's Parcelforce service.

Mrs Johnston had enclosed earrings and a crucifix in two separate purses and a £20 note wrapped in gift paper.

Mrs Johnston posted the presents in a padded envelope, which she sealed with Sellotape for extra security.

However, when it arrived at Mrs Cordery's home the parcel had been torn open, placed in a Royal Mail plastic bag and the £20 had vanished.

Mrs Cordery said the present looked like it had been ripped open.

She said: "I could not believe it.

"No one has seemed interested in apologising. I get the impression they just couldn't care less.

"My stepmother has had no apology at all and to be given just six stamps is a kick in the teeth."

Customer services adviser David Welham wrote to Mrs Cordery explaining the package may have got torn in a sorting machine.

He said parcels containing large items sometimes got blocked in the machine and had to be sorted out manually.

He offered the stamps as a goodwill gesture. He said: "I am sorry we have let you down on this occasion."

The blunder comes just days after Parcelforce told holidaymaker Barry Whitford to fly back to South Africa to complain about his lost parcel of souvenirs sent from Cape Town.

He was astonished when Parcelforce admitted the package of antiques had been handed to a stranger outside his Brighton home.

He was even more upset when he learnt the only way to launch a claim for compensation was to fill in a form in person at the original Cape Town office.