DVD seller angry at Royal Mail 'terrible service'

Mark Corfield says he has lost thousands of pounds through lost or delayed parcels

A rare DVD seller has slammed Royal Mail for what he described as a "terrible service" that has cost him thousands of pounds.

Mark Corfield, from Billingham, said he has been bombarded with emails and phone calls from customers saying they have not received their items.

The 55-year-old has been selling rare and bespoke DVDs since 2014 and said he wanted to raise awareness of problems reporting issues with the service.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail apologised to Mr Corfield and said his complaints were being "actively investigated".

Mr Corfield said that because of parcel delays he was regularly issuing refunds to customers and only getting partial compensation from Royal Mail.

He has also criticised POSTRS, the postal service ombudsman, for never upholding his complaints.

"There is a problem with the ombudsman POSTRS which finds in Royal Mail's favour no matter what evidence you supply," he said.

"It's disgraceful that if a parcel does not arrive in the 10 days they promise, I am the one who has to pay up."

Mark Corfield is frustrated at constantly delayed parcels

A POSTRS spokesperson said that they were "sorry to hear about Mr Corfield's experiences with Royal Mail".

"Whilst we are unable to comment on individual cases, we can advise that POSTRS is an impartial dispute resolution service approved by Ofcom to handle unresolved complaints between postal operators and their customers," the ombudsman said.

"Each case is reviewed on its individual merits, based on the evidence provided by both parties.

"In short every case is assessed fairly, independently and in line with the published Scheme Rules."

The businessman also took his complaints to Ofcom.

However, it said it "cannot investigate individual complaints about postal companies".

"If someone's not happy with how Royal Mail handles a complaint, there's an ombudsman who makes independent and binding decisions - including on compensation for lost items," a spokesperson said.

"Royal Mail has a range of products with different levels of protection, including some with insurance that reflects the market value of an item if it's lost - we would advise senders to consider what's right for them."

Royal Mail said that their compensation policy is publicly available and they are committed to ensuring customers understand what they are entitled to.