I've lost thousands and all I got in return was a book of stamps

I've lost thousands and all I got in return was a book of stamps
STEWART COOPER

THE Royal Mail has offered a book of stamps as compensation to a
businessman forced to lay-off staff because of missing mail.

Tom Peters, owner of the Musselburgh-based Ceramic Tile Company, claimed
the missing mail meant he lost hundreds of thousands of pounds in
business over six months.

And he said that his daughter's wedding reception was marred when
unexpected guests turned up because he had not received their replies to
the invitations.

The letters are thought to have been among 40,000 items of mail found at
the home of a couple who worked at the town's delivery office. Jim and
Coleen Brodie face dismissal over allegations they hoarded the letters
and other items for two years in an attic, wheelie bins and their cars.

Mr Peters, 48, said he was mystified when the stream of requests for
tenders from construction companies he had worked with for years tailed
off last spring.

A lack of income forced him to cancel two holidays for himself and wife
Christine, sell several of his beloved greyhounds and temporarily
lay-off two loyal staff - one of them had been employed by the
businessman for 20 years.

They have since been taken back on, but Mr Peters said he could only
afford for himself and sons Stephen, 27, and Thomas, 21, to work during
the grim period.

"Last year was disastrous," he said. "I was at my wit's end wondering
why we weren't getting work. I couldn't believe it.

"I lost a lot of money. One job alone to re-tile a school was worth
£100,000.

"When I checked up to find out why I was not getting the work, they
[construction firms] said 'we sent you tenders but you did not bother
replying'.

"If you do not send back two or three tenders they will say it was a
waste of time and it makes you look amateurish. I was blaming Polish
immigrants, thinking they were taking our jobs away."

But he added: "In the last couple of days I've received two big colour
plastic bags with 47 letters which I should have received giving me more
work."

It was not just Mr Peter's long-established business that was affected.

Daughter Anne's wedding was severely disrupted when guests whose
invitation responses had not been received by the Peters family arrived
at the reception.

There were not enough meals or bedrooms in the hotel to accommodate the
seven unexpected guests, some who had travelled from the north of
Scotland for the occasion.

"It ended up costing us an extra £400 and was a big embarrassment to not
have meals," he said.

"Only this week we have received their letters saying they could come to
the wedding - and the wedding was last July."

He added: "All I got in compensation was a book of stamps. It's ridiculous."

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: "We apologise that the customer concerned
may have incurred a financial shortfall. However, regardless of the
circumstances of the loss, we can only offer the maximum recompense
associated with the product.

"We are legally obliged to ensure all customers are treated in a uniform
manner and that the compensatory procedures of each postal product are
adhered to."

Mr Brodie, who has worked at the Musselburgh office for several years,
said he had "nothing to say" when confronted by the Evening News outside
his Musselburgh home. Mrs Brodie joined the office two years ago.

Both have been suspended while investigations continue.