Best-selling author Kathy Lette has slammed Royal Mail after private post for her and her barrister husband Geoffrey Robertson was found dumped in a street in West Hampstead.
Ms Lette said: “This is what happens when you sell off and privatise public services - service goes down and prices go up.
Mortifying to think of our personal correspondence lying in the street - not just because of the security risk, but what if there was a letter from the newly single Brad Pitt swearing undying love with a plane ticket for our romantic rendezvous which I’ve now missed? A case of social intercourse interruptus.”
Writer Angela Levin said she was surprised to find the pile in Aberdare Gardens on Saturday - and was left infuriated by the disinterested attitude of the Royal Mail when she reported the discovery.
This is the second time post has been found abandoned in the area in the last six months, leading to concerns about security and the reliability of Royal Mail.
In March a whole cart of post was discovered unattended in Lindfield Gardens, Hampstead.
Ms Levin said of the most recent incident: “I saw the letters lying on the pavement with elastic bands around them. I looked around, and there was no postman.
“I was very surprised, and angry, really, because it’s sloppy.”
Ms Levin recognised some of the well-known addressees when she flicked through the post.
“None of the post was for me, but I saw the name of the top human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson, and the writer, Kathy Lette.
She called the local sorting office - who told her to call the Royal Mail’s customer service line.
Ms Levin said: “It was an 0845 number, and I know from experience that if you call one of those customer service lines they keep you hanging on for ages, and it’s not a free number, so I sent them a tweet.”
The Royal Mail responded to Ms Levin’s tweet, asking for her contact details.
She asked them to email her through her website but said she is still awaiting a response.
She said: “Their attitude was very much a complete lack of interest.”
Ms Levin put the post back in the post box, but said: “Because they’ve been franked, I don’t know if they’re going to arrive.
“I don’t have time to go along the road posting all the letters through the right doors myself.
“I tried to do the right thing, but the Royal Mail did not respond in the right way.
“They couldn’t have cared less and they put all the onus on me to try and return the letters, which is completely the wrong way around.
“It’s obviously worrying that people’s financial information could have fallen into the wrong hands, and I would have expected a greater sense of urgency from them.”
Royal Mail spokeswoman Sally Hopkins said: “We thank the customer for bringing this to our attention. If she contacts us as requested, we can investigate. Any mail put back into our system would have been delivered as usual.”
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