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A man was left ‘disgusted’ after he saw a postman pushing his fragile parcel over a high gate on his home security camera.
Michael Hamill, who lives in Harehills, Leeds with his wife Sara Shepherd believed the delivery bloke’s actions chipped the ‘irreplaceable’ ashtray inside.
But the couple were left even more disappointed when they reached out to Royal Mail about the damage.
Michael told Leeds Live: “He could have left a card in the letterbox. It said fragile huge on the package.
“I was livid that they just pushed it over a gate. He only waited a couple of seconds after knocking to do it.
“I was so excited about getting them and it was heartbreaking to open the package and them be ruined.
“We’re disappointed at Royal Mail’s response when we sent them all the evidence and they said: ‘We don’t know how this has happened.'”
The footage shows the postman coming up to the gate of Michael’s house on January 7 this year.
Just a few seconds after arriving and knocking, the postman pushes the parcel over the gate, where it falls to the floor on the other side.
It contained two antique ashtrays Michael had bought off eBay, which he said are worth around £100 in good condition.
He is a collector of antique ashtrays from the 1940s and 50s, but now the most recent one is chipped.
Michael sent a complaint to Royal Mail about how the parcel was handled and said he included the footage and photos in the complaint.
Royal Mail responded to Michael and said it was sorry to hear about the damage to the item.
The organisation wrote: “My investigations into your enquiry have included checking all available service information and I cannot identify any reason why this problem occurred.
“Due to the millions of pieces of mail that pass through our massive postal pipeline each day, I am sorry that I cannot say where, when or how the item was damaged.
“Mechanical handling and the weight of other mail can sometimes cause damage, but we do everything possible to prevent mail arriving in poor condition.”
As compensation, Michael was sent six first-class stamps.
Royal Mail said that to compensate the value of the item they would need images of the original inner packaging, as well as proof of the item’s value and the service used.
The package had been marked fragile and was packed with bubble wrap to help protect it against ordinary knocks during transit.
Sara tweeted that she was “disgusted at the response” to Michael’s complaint, prompting a further response on Twitter from Royal Mail, who Sara said then just directed Michael to the same complaints portal as before.
Michael has a letterbox next to his gate that attempted parcel delivery notifications can be pushed through.
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A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Royal Mail expects the highest standards of behaviour from our people while out on deliveries and collections at all times.
“We regularly remind our postmen and postwomen of the important role they play in their local communities.
“We would like to apologise to the customer concerned and will be getting in touch with them directly to discuss the matter further.”
