Student stunned after Post Office REFUSE to give him back his camera – and then say police can’t have it either

A student who was targeted by fraudsters when trying to sell his camera is unable to get it back because the Post Office is refusing to return it.

Jay Stocks, 17, tried to sell his camera on Gumtree and took it to his local Post Office to send it off when he found a buyer.

However, he later discovered he was selling it to a con artist, GrimsbyLive reports.

They sent him a fake email saying they had paid him £200 too much and asked him to return it – when in fact they hadn’t sent him any money at all.

After realising his mistake, he went back to the Post Office the next morning with his receipt to ask them to hand back, which had not yet been sent off.

But, incredibly, he was told by staff that as it was no longer his property, they were not allowed to give it to him.

The parcel, they said, now belonged to Royal Mail.

Jay then went to the police station and reported the incident.

He says two officers went to the Post Office to try to get the parcel, only to be told that they would not be given it either, despite it now being part of an active fraud.investigation.

Grimsby Institute student Jay said: “I had tried to sell my camera because I was promised a better one from a friend at rock bottom prices, so I put it on Gumtree.

“Someone then purchased the camera and told me that I would have to send them proof of postage before I could receive my money through Paypal. So I took it to the Post Office, but missed the delivery time so it stayed there overnight, and during that time I discovered the person I was selling it to was scamming me.

“So the next morning I went down to the Post Office again and asked them if I could get my parcel back, and they refused, saying that it was no longer my property.

“I then went to the police station and told them about what had happened, and two officers went to the Post Office, but they wouldn’t even give them the parcel, even though they were told that there was an active fraud investigation.

“I can understand that it is in their policy not to give the parcel back to me, but not giving it to the police just doesn’t make any sense to me.

“Now I have been left without any money or a camera, so I can’t get a new one and it will really affect the media course that I am doing.”

Jay’s mum Karen says that she was made aware of the Post Office’s policy, but also says that she understands that it says that police can request that they can give a parcel back to someone, and cannot understand why this did not happen.

She said: “It has really angered me. I just don’t understand why they would not give the parcel to the police. it is like they are allowing fraudsters to get away with what they are doing.

“We have been told that the address that the camera has been sent to is probably not the fraudster’s address, so we are just hoping that the person who lives there is a kind soul who will help us to get it back.”

A Post Office spokesman said: “It is an offence to delay delivery of mail and postmasters are not allowed to stop onward delivery of the mail.

“A customer who believes there may have been criminal activity needs to contact the police and Royal Mail if they want help to try to intercept an item of mail.”

Jay has contacted Royal Mail, who he says have told him the parcel is being monitored.

A  Royal Mail  spokesperson said:  “Unfortunately, Royal Mail is unable to intercept a parcel once it is in course of transmission by post as it is not lawful for any Royal Mail Group Ltd employee to intercept and return to sender or forward to the police mail, including parcels. This includes any parcels containing goods sold on the internet, where the payment for those goods has been made and subsequently been found to be:

– Incorrectly addressed by the sender,

– Incorrectly addressed by an automated process by the supplier,

– Ordered using a compromised credit card,

– Refused payment by the addressee, and

– Sent before it was discovered that the payment account had been counterfeited.

A  Humberside Police  spokesperson said: “We have received reports of a potential fraud involving the sale of an item on an online platform and are working with the caller to identify if any offences have been committed.”