OAP's postal shock (From Stroud News and Journal)

OAP's postal shock

PAINSWICK Pensioners waiting for their flu vaccine reminders reached fever pitch when they found the cards had not only taken ten days to pop through their letterboxes but they were also asked to pay for them as they had not been franked.

Nicola Hayward, Practice manager at the Painswick Gyde Road surgery told the SNJ how she sent out more than 800 cards on September 13, reminding the over 65's to attend flu vaccination sessions beginning this month at the surgery.

The cards were taken to Stroud's Russell Street post office - and were set to be franked in Gloucester. However, the reminder notices were never franked sparking off a chain of events that eventually saw the cards delayed until September 24.

But Pensioners soon realised they had caught a cold when the delayed reminders demanded a surcharge fee of 99 pence.

"I took the 800 cards to Stroud post office and asked the counter staff to frank them," said Mrs Hayward.

"But to my dismay I found they had not been franked when I began receiving telephone calls from pensioners complaining. And to make matters worse they took 10 days to get there."

She added: " The main sorting office at Salmon Springs contacted me and told me that the cards should have been franked in Gloucester.

"I would just like an explanation why it took so long for the cards to be delivered." The Stroud News & Journal visited the Russell Street post office on Monday as the post office is listed as ex-directory.

Pam Wilkins, spokesperson at the office said she was fully aware of the problem but refused to comment on the matter as did officials at the Salmon Springs sorting depot But press officer for the Royal Mail Dan Panes offered an explanation to the confusion.

"In this case it seems the cards failed to be franked in Gloucester. We don't know why and we are investigating this at the moment.

"They have somehow slipped through the system and because they failed to be franked in Gloucester they were not treated as first class mail.

They were consequently surcharged and went back into the postal system and sent to the delivery office at Salmon Springs," said Mr Panes.

"I'm not aware of any pensioners being surcharged incorrectly but we can only apologise for the inconvenience that has occured."

The bulk of flu vaccinations will take place this Friday and will run throughout October and into November.

The campaign to make the elderly more aware of the perils of flu is fronted by Stroud celebrity television Doctor Mark Porter.