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The two bracelets vanished after being sent to Royal Mail’s National Return Centre
A North London woman has been left “fuming” after Royal Mail “lost” two of her diamond bracelets – worth a combined £15,000. Nikoo Tayebi, 47, went to her local post office in Hampstead, North London, on December 1, 2025, to send the jewellery for repairs after the clasp on one of her diamond bracelets snapped.
The £6,500 piece had been a present from her hotelier husband, Andrew, 50, who she says put money aside for five years to buy it.
In the hope of getting the bracelet fixed, Nikoo dispatched it via Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm to a jeweller in Hatton Garden, alongside a second diamond bracelet valued at £8,500 – which had been handed down to her from her mother, Nooshin, 77 – and was enclosed to demonstrate how the clasp should appear once mended.
Yet the package never reached its intended destination and was instead rerouted to Royal Mail’s National Return Centre (NRC) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the next day. In a panic after realising she hadn’t taken out insurance, Nikoo said she started monitoring the parcel “like a hawk”. However, she alleges that once it arrived at the NRC in mid-December, tracking information “stopped”.
Throughout this period, the housewife says she rang Royal Mail on “multiple occasions” asking for updates and claims she was continually told the parcel would be sent back to her home address.
Her worries intensified on January 6, when she got a notification saying the parcel had been “returned to sender” – despite it never having been delivered. Nikoo is now engaged in ongoing discussions with Royal Mail to determine the whereabouts of her missing jewellery, and suspects the bracelets have been “stolen at the NRC”. The matter has been escalated to the Postal Review Panel (PRP) and is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police for alleged theft.
The mum-of-two said: “I’ve not slept well since I sent those bracelets off. It’s not even just the money – they both meant so much to me and are basically irreplaceable. My husband specifically designed the bangle and saved up for years to surprise me after I’ve been battling a few health problems. And the other bracelet was essentially a family heirloom that has seen us through generations.”
She added: “The entire ordeal has completely consumed me. I trusted Royal Mail with my most prized possessions and they are yet to take responsibility. I’ve been left out to dry multiple times and they way they have handled the situation has been a complete joke.”
Nikoo sent the items from her local Post Office on December 1, and claims she immediately ran into problems with the counter clerk. She said: “I remember we were having a bit of back and forth with the delivery and return addresses. And I don’t think they noted it down correctly.”
She continued: “The clerk also repackaged my parcel in a grey plastic bag – hiding the addresses – but I thought it was normal. I was explicit about the sentimental and precious value of my parcel. But I was never offered or advised about insurance options.”
Nevertheless, Nikoo dispatched her parcel using Special Delivery for 1pm next day delivery to a jeweller in London – barely an hour’s drive from her home. However, concerns arose when she rang the jeweller the next day who confirmed “the parcel never arrived”.
Rather than being returned to Nikoo, she alleges it was rerouted to the National Return Centre in Belfast on December 3. She said: “Luckily, I was able to track the parcel from there. It took a few weeks and eventually arrived at the NRC in the middle of December. I phoned Royal Mail and asked if I can come and collect in person – I was so done with the entire ordeal at this point. But they reassured me that once it was scanned into the centre, they would send it straight back to me and there was no need for me to come.”
According to Royal Mail’s procedures, parcels without return addresses are sent to the National Returns Centre (NRC). Staff then open items to locate the sender’s address for return purposes – and it was at this stage that Nikoo claimed her tracking had “stopped.”
Despite “many further attempts” to reach Royal Mail, Nikoo remained in the dark about the whereabouts of her bracelets. That was until she received a tracking update on her mobile on January 6, stating that her parcel had been “returned to sender” – without actually being delivered.
She said: “It was a huge red flag and it just seemed so coincidental. If there was someone at the centre who opened my parcel and saw two diamond bracelets, it’s an easy steal. When I told Royal Mail that it had not been delivered, they said it may take up to two weeks. But two weeks later, I still hadn’t received my parcel and I was becoming hysterical. I’m adamant that someone has stolen it.”
After weeks of escalating the issue, Nikoo has since reached out to the Postal Review Panel and Metropolitan Police, who are now conducting an investigation. A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “We received a report of mail theft on Monday, 26 January, with the victim stating that a parcel containing two high-value bracelets had gone missing in the postal system. We are in touch with the victim and our enquiries continue.”
Nikoo added: “I just want this to be over. Those bracelets meant so much to me – and I was excited to have passed one down to my daughter. I’m shocked at the way my complaint has been handled. And now I may have to kiss £15,000 worth of jewellery goodbye.”
A Post Office spokesperson responded: “We are very sorry to hear of the experience Ms Tayebi has had with regards to her parcel. Once the parcel has left the Post Office, it’s with Royal Mail. We understand that Royal Mail are treating this extremely seriously and that they are investigating the matter.”
A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: “We understand how upsetting this situation has been for the customer. Our investigation found there was an addressing error at the point of posting, and the parcel was sent to our National Return Centre where it was later recovered.”
They added: “An attempt was then made to return the item to the customer, but after leaving the centre on 6 January it has not been located. We are treating this very seriously and, in line with our procedures, the case has been escalated to the Postal Review Panel, which is working directly with the customer to reach a resolution. Customers are always advised to select a compensation level appropriate to the value of the item they are sending.”
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