Should Royal Mail stop delivering scam letters?

I’M A retired postman and had to deal with mail obviously originating from scammers. The recipients showed me the contents and the spiel was on a par with the notorious Nigerian advance fee fraud. I brought it to the attention of my managers that providing a contract service to criminals should not be part of Royal Mail’s ethos and that such complicity might be legally dubious. I even contacted the staff magazine about my concern. Neither party was interested. Name and address supplied. THANKS to privatisation, Royal Mail is not the only carrier of mail in the country. It may deliver mail to the doorstep, but the bulk mail contracts can be set up by any licensed mail carrier. Once any letter is in the system, Royal Mail is obliged, by its licence, to deliver it, provided the relevant postage has been paid. The Royal Mail logo may still appear on the envelopes used by third party carriers under certain conditions. When Royal Mail sets up a contract with a customer, it is not entitled to inquire into the contents of a letter except with regards to safety, i.e. to make sure the letter will not explode if transported by air. Even if potential fraud is uncovered, Royal Mail can’t refuse to carry the mail unless a criminal prosecution has resulted in the company being convicted of an offence. Suspicion of an offence is not grounds for refusal to carry mail. The investigation of fraud is the responsibility of the police. The prosecution of fraudsters is the responsibility of the Crown Prosecution Service. If these two bodies are not doing their job then Royal Mail is powerless to intervene. If it did, the company could even be prosecuted for failing to fulfil the conditions of its licence. Parliament should act to change the terms and conditions of postal licences so Royal Mail can refuse to carry mail if fraud is suspected. J. RICHARDS, London W12. IF PEOPLE decided to dump junk mail in the post box every day as a protest, after removing their name and address, Royal Mail would have to take a stand with the suppliers. MARION WEBB, Malmesbury, Wilts. AS ROYAL Mail is refusing to crack down on letters sent by conmen who defraud the elderly, steps should be taken to remove the word ‘royal’ from its title. DOUG JACKSON, Sheffield.