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Royal Mail apologised last night for sending a letter warning postmasters that they risked losing thousands of pounds in compensation if they failed to stick to the official line on branch closures.
The letter from Sue Huggins, director of the Network Change Programme, came with questions that customers might ask and directions about how postmasters should respond. It said that undercover staff would be checking that they gave the approved answers. The letter read: “Representatives will visit branches at random to ensure these ‘key messages’ are being delivered . . . Any compensation offered to you shall be subject to you having complied.” The Government plans to close 2,500 out of 14,300 post offices and compensation can be worth £60,000.
A spokesman said: “The letter should not have been sent out — it contained factual inaccuracies. We apologise. We will not be doing anonymous testing.”
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