Lil Chaplin, Meadowridge
On September 12, at 6.27am, my niece in England posted me a birthday card which was intended to be in time for my birthday on September 21.
The card was delivered to me on November 15. The envelope had been carefully slit open along the fold at the top of the envelope above the stamp. Obviously a search for any bank notes or money orders was in vain. The envelope was then sealed neatly with a piece of tape bearing the SA Post Office/SA Poskantoor identification.
There was absolutely no ways it could have been judged to be a faulty envelope at risk as the original sticky flap is still completely intact. But alas my niece had made the mistake of putting on a cute little sticky label stating that the contents were for a “Waggy Birthday” from the family dog.
Thus obviously the contents of the envelope were worth investigating in case it included a money gift in some form or other.
Readers beware the above tactics are still in operation despite assurances given to us that new management had dealt with this problem.
* Martie Gilchrist, South African Post Office, responds:
We are confident that your reader will see a substantial improvement in delivery time when s/he uses the postal service again.
We saw an increase in international mail volumes of 400% over the past year, and to process these volumes adequately, the processes at our international mail centres were re-engineered and decentralised.
Delivery is now significantly
quicker.
We regret the fact that the envelope was opened and resealed. The fact that the
sealing tape bears the logo of the SA Post Office means that
it was found opened when it was processed by the SA Post Office. There is a perception that South Africans are inclined to commit crime, but it should be borne in mind
that international
items are handled by several service providers in more than one country.
For that reason, all postal administrations advise their customers against putting valuables in an ordinary envelope – instead, customers should use secure services where the contents of a parcel can be insured. For instances where customers wish to send cash, the post office offers a money transfer service to and from a number of countries including Great
Britain.
