“Not at all sorry you were out”

When we last wrote about those infuriating “Sorry you were out” cards, the attitude of Royal Mail’s management seemed to be that those of us who felt the cards were slipped through our letterboxes even when we were in were deluded. “If there any incidents of this happening, we need to know. We want to deal with this. We always promise to deliver all parcels and packets, as well as letters, to people’s homes. That’s absolutely our policy.”

So clearly if this ever did happen, it must be an occurrence as rare as the proverbial blue moon. Maybe not. A survey by ICM for the postal watchdog Consumer Focus has found that 55% of people received a “Sorry you were out” card when they were at home in the past year alone. Over 25% reported that it had happened three times or more.

Last month, in response to newspapers reporting readers’ concerns about how often it was happening, Royal Mail said that any postmen found guilty of the practice would be sacked. It will be intriguing to see their response to the survey, particularly given the revelation on BBC TV’s Panorama that, far from the claim that its staff were not leaving parcels behind and merely delivering the cards, an internal Royal Mail memorandum shows that the management was fully aware of the problem. No doubt Royal Mail management’s Christmas pissup this year will be in a brewery. What’s the betting it all goes horribly wrong?