Parcel farce

Nicole Mitchell, 45, from Camden, opened a parcel to find a huge security breach inside…

After a busy week at work, I was so looking forward to the weekend ahead.

Spending time with my partner Brian and my son Mekhi, seven, was all I wanted to do for the next two days.

Plonking myself in front of the telly, my mobile pinged. Your DHL package

has arrived, the text message read.

‘Do you mind picking this up from the post office?’ I asked Brian. ‘It’s for Mekhi.’

Poor Mekhi had been suffering with sensitive skin lately, so I’d ordered him some specialist products for him from America.

But when Brian returned 15 minutes later, the parcel he was carrying under his arm didn’t look right.

It was way too small for bottles of lotion.

‘Are you sure it’s the right one?’ I asked.

‘I’m sure,’ Brian said, pointing to the label. ‘It has your name on it.’

But then, as I ripped open the box, I felt my stomach drop.

Instead of lotion, there were about 20 sealed envelopes inside.

Tearing open one of them, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Inside was an American passport! What on earth? Staring at the box full of passports, my mind started to race. ‘What if this was meant to fall in the hands of criminals?’ I said to Brian. ‘What if they come looking for me? ’ ‘I think you should call the police,’ Brian said. But when I called, they simply brushed me off. ‘This isn’t an emergency,’ they scolded. ‘But I’ve got 20 US passports with me!’ I fretted. Next, I called the US embassy. And

No one took it seriously

after nearly an hour on the phone, I was told someone would come to pick up the passports.

But after a few hours, there was still no word.

I couldn’t believe that no one was taking this seriously.

‘Surely DHL will have some answers,’ I said.

So I called their customer services number.

‘I’d like to know why I’ve been sent 20 passports for the US embassy,’ I demanded. ‘Mistakes happen,’ I was told. ‘This is more than a mistake! This is a massive security breach!’i cried.

‘We’ll make sure your original package is with you by tomorrow,’ they assured me, hanging up. I was so angry. Later that day, the US embassy did pick up the passports and DHL delivered my package. But the whole incident was so stressful, leaving me a nervous wreck for the rest of the weekend.

I’ve asked for compensation, but I’m yet to receive a penny.

The only comfort I can take is that at least the passports didn’t end up in the wrong hands – who knows what could have happened?