STAMP DUTY: LETTER MIX-UP
WHEN Lorraine Chatfield received a card telling her she had to collect an unpaid letter, she raced to her local post office.
She was concerned it could have been sent by an elderly relative in distress or it might have been good news from the National Lottery.
But Lorraine from Shinfield saw the funny side when she opened the unmarked envelope to discover a letter from Wokingham Conservatives.
“There was no stamp or franking mark on the envelope, just a yellow sticker telling me I had to pay a £2 fee,” said Lorraine.
“Inside was a flyer, explaining the Conservatives were cutting stamp duty but I think it is going a bit too far asking people to pay for their mailshots.
“There was also an invitation to the Conservatives annual ball with tickets costing £55 each. I’m not planning to go, but if I did, I hope I’d get mine for £53.”
Lorraine said she is not a member of the Conservative Party and is puzzled why she was sent the mailing which was personally addressed to her.
“If you get a card telling you to collect a letter that could not be delivered, you automatically go to get it because you never know what it might be,” added Lorraine.
“I have elderly relatives and I thought it could have been sent by them. I’m not going to ignore it in case it is important.
“When I saw the envelope, there was no marking on it to say who the sender was, only the sticker explaining there was money to pay.
“I opened it and saw it was a flyer from the Conservatives, I just stood there laughing.”
David Lee chairman of the Wokingham Conservative Association, said that he would like to apologise unreservedly to Lorraine for the inconvenience caused due to receiving the unfranked letter from the Association.
He added: “I will call Lorraine and anyone else who experienced a similar problem and inconvenience to reassure them that such an error is totally unacceptable and immediate steps have been taken to avoid similar problems in the future.”