The postman delivered the mail as usual and in it was a postcard from the Post Office saying it was holding a letter addressed to me at the sorting office.

Because the card had that day's date on it, I wondered why the postman had not knocked to collect the 75p excess postage demanded and delivered the letter at the same time.

With some inconvenience, I dutifully made my way to the sorting office beside Hove station and collected my mail.

The letter was from a charity I had written to which had sent me some leaflets in a huge brown envelope with only a second-class stamp on it.

The man at the desk told me underpaid post was now being treated like this, countrywide, because so many postmen were having doors slammed in their faces.

I was told, too, that I could post the card and the excess payment to the Post Office and it would then deliver as normal.

That, at least, would save a journey but what would happen if I did not put a stamp on the return letter?

-Mrs P Bolingbroke, Larkhill, Hove