Royal Mail investigates missing Christmas presents worth £500 after collection error

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2026-01-14 ... tion-error

Royal Mail says it is carrying out an investigation after Christmas presents worth more than £500 went missing after being collected from a house in Co Down.

The gifts belonged to Portavogie grandmother Winifred Irvine who was sending two parcels to England containing her grandchildren's toys and clothes.

Her grandchildren and their parents were in Co Down over Christmas but since returned back to their home near Brighton.

However, all of the presents that they received on Christmas Day are now nowhere to be found.

Winifred had left the two boxes outside her garage, her chosen 'safe place' for parcel collection. She had selected the option for Royal Mail to issue the postage labels. However on 30th December, the postal worker did not take the items.

She rebooked for the following day, but the packages were taken with no labels attached.

"The postman, he wasn't my regular postman, didn't go to my safe place... and I'd put that on the form," Winifred told UTV.

"I got an email saying they were unable to collect because nobody was at home."

Winifred says she wasn't aware that she had to print out a new label but doesn't understand why the presents, worth at least £500, were taken away.

"Those two children have no Christmas presents because they were here.

"It's awful, because there are so many wee things in there and it's fine saying you can put in a claim. I don't want to put in a claim, we want them to get their Christmas presents, that's it."

Royal Mail told us that human error at a delivery office meant the items were tagged as 'address incomplete'.

This meant the items were sent to the National Returns Centre.

They added that they are now in contact with Winifred to establish if there are any identifying features that would help identify the missing items.

Meanwhile the postman involved, they said, has been reminded of the correct procedure when collecting parcels.

Meanwhile, UTV has heard complaints recently regarding delays to post in different areas across Northern Ireland, particularly in the north-west.

Christmas might be over but the best gift for this family would be for all of theirs that are lost to turn up soon.

[TopperGas]

Nothing makes sense in that article, how did the postie collect the items if he didn't go to the safe place where it appears they'd been left?

Plus who leaves £500 of birthday presents outside their house anyway with no labels attached to them?

It all sounds a bit dodgy to him!

[Barnacle]

Were the items even collected by the postie or were they noted on the pda as address incomplete because they were not there?

Royal Mail aren’t responsible for items left in a customer specified safe place.

None of this story makes sense.