By Craig Smith

A KIRKCALDY woman has hit out at the town’s postal sorting office after regularly failing to receive important mail.

Norma Rutherford (pictured) has lost bank statements, packages, letters and cards over the past six years following confusion on the part of Royal Mail staff over her address.

Mrs Rutherford lives at East Lodge in Mid Street, one of four East Lodges in the town—although all four addresses have different surnames, street names and postcodes.

Now a mix-up over a potentially vital hospital appointment has brought Mrs Rutherford to the end of her tether.

“I have been fighting this same sorting office since 2001, yes 2001, because they just see East Lodge and put the mail into the first one they come to,” she said.

“I have written, I have phoned, I have sent copies of letters I wrote to the big chief, Adam Crozier (CEO of Royal Mail in London), and he assured me, by letter, that it would not happen again.

“I have done the lot and to no avail—what am I supposed to do after six years of complaining?”

The latest blunder arose when Mrs Rutherford, who is a former cancer patient, contacted Queen Margaret Hospital to find out if a follow-up appointment had been arranged—only to be told that she had missed it.

She said, “My GP has been trying to get me an appointment with the breast cancer clinic in Dunfermline since March but nothing has come to me.

“I phoned the hospital to find out that my appointment was sent on April 23 for me to attend on May 15.

“Not much good to me now. Once again, it has obviously been delivered to the wrong house.

“My husband has also been waiting for months for his cancer clinic appointment but I am frightened to phone the department just in case they tell me he was given an appointment and did not attend.

“I know I always seem to be on the receiving end of the incompetence of various departments in the scheme of things but this is the last straw.”

The criticism comes after independently-monitored figures for January to March revealed that the Royal Mail was beating its targets for first class deliveries in the KY postal area.

A total of 94.1% of first class mail was delivered the next working day after posting, exceeding the target for the area of 91.5% set by the postal regulator Postcomm.

A Royal Mail spokesman apologised and stressed appropriate action will be taken to prevent further problems.

“Royal Mail would like to apologise sincerely to Mrs Rutherford for any distress she has suffered as a result of problems with her mail deliveries,” he said. “Occasionally difficulties do arise over mail for properties with similar addresses.

“In this case, the delivery office manager in Kirkcaldy has reviewed the situation carefully and put in place procedures to ensure the mail for the addresses concerned is delivered correctly.

“The customer’s mail will be double-checked each morning in an effort to prevent any future mistakes occurring.”

Mrs Rutherford said, “Royal Mail are continually commending themselves in Fife for the best delivery service—well, not to me they don’t.”