Checks Stolen from An Post Mail

GearMaven

Anyone else having letters containing checks being "lost" when mailed in Galway? We've mailed four envelopes containing birthday and bill payment checks since June from Salthill and one from Ballinasloe. ALL have gone missing!! They all were addressed to relatives or businesses in the U.S.

We've never had a birthday card with check or bill payment check go missing in all our time when mailing in the States. What is going on here? Is there no security in An Post processing facilities?

jor el

And you know that it was in Ireland that this happened, and not the USA, because?

watna

Why would somebody take a cheque if it was not made out to them? What could they do with it? I don't use cheques but it was my understanding that only the person the cheque was payable to could use them?

I could understand if you thought cash was going missing from the envelopes (sending cash is just silly) but how would it benefit somebody else to "lose" an envelope of yours with a cheque in it?

maxer68

GearMaven wrote: »

They all were addressed to relatives or businesses in the U.S.

Is there no security in An Post processing facilities?

Guess what - the common thread in your statement is USA. An Post do not operate the US Mail system.

Why oh why oh why do some many people want to blame "the Irish side" when it is so blatantly obvious that the issue is somewhere else.


In Ireland, your mail is collected in a big sack - put onto an automatic sorter (amazing piece of machinery) in portlaoise and put into a sack marked USA. It then goes onto an airplane and then it goes through the US Mail system which in many areas is no where near as advanaced as Portlaoise.

Basically, no-one in Ireland even touches your mail before its sent off unless the address is poorly written and the machine can't read it.

Agent_99

Sending cards in the mail with money is pretty risky, you should always put them into a second brown envelope and address that one. especially if you have a gift cheque/money inside. Nothing screams money more than a bright pink or red envelope containing a card to a dishonest mail carrier.

TheIrishGrover

I have a sister and a couple of friends in Galway. After years of money going missing from cards and envelopes we just stopped using standard post. Never had a problem with any other area. Never never EVER EVER send any cash or money in ANY form unregistered to Galway. EVER EVER.



EVER!!!!!

Suzyq

Well I had a cheque book stolen in the post here in Dublin. The bank felt that it was stolen at the sorting office as there had been so many instances of it happening at the same time so I don't think it's reasonable to say that it's not happening in the Irish system.

wmpdd3

In 20 years i,ve never had anything go missing. But last week some concert tickets didnt arrive. We know our post man really well and he said he has never seen them. I have had so many parcels delivered here i think the post man gets this house out of the way first!

allthedoyles

Our next-door neighbour had similar problems - with birthday cards gone missing .

He is blaming the Irish side too.

Don't know why though .

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Any issues with missing mail should be reported to your local district sorting unit so that if there is any dishonesty going on, an post will be able to investigate. If there is mail going missing, it won't be just one letter and there will be a common traceable pattern. Also, money shouldnt be sent by standard post, it should be registered, giving it a tracking number and also insuring it. OP, it does sound like the problem is on the us side though.

dilallio

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

I have a sister and a couple of friends in Galway. After years of money going missing from cards and envelopes we just stopped using standard post. Never had a problem with any other area. Never never EVER EVER send any cash or money in ANY form unregistered to Galway. EVER EVER.



EVER!!!!!

Last week my daughter went into a bank in Galway to get a USD draft. The teller asked her was she posting it and told her that a huge amount of cheques / draughts posted in Galway were been stolen, and advised her to register it or use an alternative payment method.

itsaposter

Couple years ago I’d a BOI laser card delivered, noticed the entire right edge (of the envelope) and a couple inches along the bottom had been neatly opened with a sharp blade, and a little crease where someone had bent back the envelope to peep inside. If I’d rushed to tear it open I might have missed it.

Guessed they were hoping for a credit card, probably not a lot you can do with a laser card without the pin. Was a bit surprised they didn’t just “lose” it rather than send on the evidence of what is in law at least an offence. Perhaps they were interrupted.

Have had a couple non-deliveries of mail containing cheques as well, one from Ireland and maybe 2-3 from outside Ireland, I doubt the cheques are much use to them, but they may be opening the mail because they’re mistaking the cheque for a banknote. It’s surprisingly easy to feel a cheque/banknote sized slip of paper in an envelope or birthday card, especially if you’re handling mail all the time.

Didn’t report any of these – to an post or the gardai, the why-are-you-bothering-me-with-this-information attitude of Irish “authorities” can be humiliating.

For years the UK was abysmal for mail theft, USA just plain incompetent for international mail.

Ireland used be fine, now about all you can say is it’s still better than the UK.

GearMaven

jor el wrote: »

And you know that it was in Ireland that this happened, and not the USA, because?

maxer68 wrote:

Why oh why oh why do some many people want to blame "the Irish side" when it is so blatantly obvious that the issue is somewhere else.

1. Because in over 45 years living in the United States, I've never had ONE birthday check or business-related check go missing...whether mailing within California, to another state, to Australia or even when mailing here to relatives in Ireland! No one ever expresses any concerns about mailing checks in the United States; in reading this board and the politics.ie forum, I see many, many Irish being warned about this.
2. Because talking to the bank teller in Salthill Bank of Ireland recently regarding the problem, he related that he has had several clients tell the same tale about their checks mailed to other locations in Ireland! So this is a very real fraud issue related to Ireland!
3. Because we saw the postal truck outside a local post office here in Galway...the driver came out from the post office with a loose, open-topped box from which poked the tops of letters, boxes and packages. A recipe for disaster and not consistent, I believe, with what some are saying is supposed to happen!
4. And many of the messages which followed my post spoke of the same problem and the same cautions from reputable sources!

Why isn't there more talk of this on consumer action shows or the radio? I've asked Galway Bay FM if they're aware of this issue. Hoping to hear more about what might be being done about it! People shouldn't accept this.

GearMaven

watna wrote: »

Why would somebody take a cheque if it was not made out to them? What could they do with it? I don't use cheques but it was my understanding that only the person the cheque was payable to could use them?
I could understand if you thought cash was going missing from the envelopes (sending cash is just silly) but how would it benefit somebody else to "lose" an envelope of yours with a cheque in it?

It is not a difficult process to "wash" checks using a special solution which removes the handwritten pen ink from the "Payable to:" section or the "Amount" of the check areas. Then they just write the check payable to him/herself and write in the amount they wish.

I've also heard that voided checks can also be used for opening a variety of accounts either by post or online. So stolen checks are valuable!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

GearMaven wrote: »

1. Because in over 45 years living in the United States, I've never had ONE birthday check or business-related check go missing...

I have the exact opposite experience. In the space of 2 years in the US I had 3 parcels disappear and 2 letters with cheques enclosed. Never happened me in 50+ years in Ireland though. It was rife in the USA.

Forest Master

I lived in Boston for 3 months. My Mam sent 1 parcel to my apartment - the postman left a collection slip - I went down to the depot and they couldn't find it. That's my experience with the USPS.

dudara

OP - this is the Consumer Issues forum, where we offer advice on how to deal with specific issues. We do not speculate on potential issues within An Post.

If you have a cause for concern, with specific details, then please make a report to your main head office. Anything else is just idle speculation.

amen

I've had the same problem in Galway city. Just birthday cards (no present inside) disappearing. I changed to use brown envelopes and no issue.

I've reported it to An Post but no response.

maxer68

GearMaven wrote: »

1. Because in over 45 years living in the United States, I've never had ONE birthday check or business-related check go missing...whether mailing within California, to another state, to Australia or even when mailing here to relatives in Ireland! No one ever expresses any concerns about mailing checks in the United States;.

I can say the same here - but I'm almost 50 years here (and over 30 years in business) and I can't remember any post ever going missing.



Key into google "Lost checks in USPS mail" or "missing birthday cards in USPS mail"- see the hundreds of pages that appear.

It happens worldwide, but as I said there little is any manual handling of international mail in Ireland. It's done by a phenonemal electronic sorter and this feeds all mail into the relative bags for onward transport.

For USA mail it then goes to the international inbound mail centre, then to one of 21 National Mail Distribution centres, then to local area mail centre, then to local mail centre, then to the postman.

If I were a bookie - the odds would be very much in favour of meddling on the USA side.

BTW - the biggest reason for mail not being delivered is illegible handwriting. Herself received notice yesterday to say Aunt from UK arriving Saturday - posted over 2 weeks ago but arrived with "misdelivered to Norway" stamped on the envelope and obviously opened to find where it possibly could be going to. - The address was written dreadfully poorly. (and had Eire instead of Ireland)

GearMaven

Shepard Mango Plankton wrote: »

OP, it does sound like the problem is on the us side though.

Why would anyone assume that? All our checks that family stateside are mailing are getting to their destinations no problem! How does that indicate that the US side is the problem? Others are saying they are having a similar problem mailing letters with checks WITHIN Ireland. Our banks here are warning not to send checks ANYWHERE when mailing from Galway.

Ok, Ok, I just realized we're playing a "tit for tat" game, when we should be mad that ANY postal system is insecure for mailing simple checks. So, since a major bank is warning of a serious issue and advising us to take precautions, I believe that is enough evidence to demand an investigation. Will contact the consumer show I see on TV and the local Gardai to see if there is an ongoing investigation. This shouldn't be happening ANYWHERE and indicates an insecure system and thievery going on.

jor el

GearMaven wrote: »

Why would anyone assume that?

Well, you yourself have stated for a fact that the theft is happening in Galway, but you don't actually know that at all. So how is saying it's more than likely happening in the US any different to what you said? It's easier to steal from the mail at the delivery end, because there's no one watching you. Stealing from inside the sorting office is more difficult, as there are many people around that could catch you.

The correct thing to do is notify the post office, and it is the sender that should do this. Going to the Gardai is a waste of time if you haven't even contacted An Post yet, and since you don't know where exactly this is happening. Hear say from a bank teller is not evidence.

If mail is being stolen in Galway, then an investigation will be carried out. Any report you can give to An Post will help them. It has happened before, in a sorting office in Dublin, but investigations take time, and they need evidence before involving the Gardai.

maxer68

GearMaven wrote: »

Why would anyone assume that? .

Because its physically handled about 5 times on the USA side and unless its badly written its not handled at all this side except with hundreds of other pieces of post when being collected. At all other times here it is in an automatic sorter.

And when you check for the same issue in the USA there are thousands of the same complaints WITHIN the USA. Same with UK, same within France, same with Australia, and same with Ireland.

YOUR assumption is nothing but an assumption based on hearsy from a bank teller!!:rolleyes:

And again - check the handwriting - is it legible and does it clearly state the address? This is the number 1 worldwide reason for lost/missing/non-delivered mail.

prettygurrly

Just to add to the list of things having gone missing in the post.

On one occasion I had 3 birthday cards lost, 2 from my parents and 1 from some random other person in Ireland. My parents live in Wicklow, I live in Drogheda. I did not report this as I had reported a "happy new home" card that went missing that had a gift voucher card inside, silly me. An post didn't even dignify me with a response. I have had at least 5 occasions in the last couple years of things going missing and when I told a PO worker that I have a terrible time with things going missing he was surprised!

I now write on the front of any envelopes containing a card that I send "unsealed envelope" so obviously there is no money inside if it's unsealed. If they really want to look inside I make it easy for the w*nker who keeps stealing my post and (s)he can just put it back into the system.

Under no circumstances should you send anything of value through the Irish post system at the moment without registering. There's some very desperate people out there.

coylemj

I live on the southside of Dublin. Virtually every letter that I get that isn't obviously a utility bill or bank statement shows signs that someone tried to open it.

skimpydoo

Well I have an idea that you could try but its not for the faint hearted. Get a card and put in it some monoply money. You also put in something sharp so that when the card is opened you could cut yourself. You then post the card to yourself. If the card is opened before you get it the person opening it will cut themselves. Anpost or their employees won't complain as they will have to explain why they were opening mail especially mail that appears to contain money.

slimjimmc

Ronan Leonard wrote: »

Well I have an idea that you could try but its not for the faint hearted. Get a card and put in it some monoply money. You also put in something sharp so that when the card is opened you could cut yourself. You then post the card to yourself. If the card is opened before you get it the person opening it will cut themselves. Anpost or their employees won't complain as they will have to explain why they were opening mail especially mail that appears to contain money.

Somehow I don't think anyone who's illegally opening mail would complain about a small flesh wound acquired while engaging in said illegal activity regardless of whether they work for AnPost or USPS.

skimpydoo

slimjimmc wrote: »

Somehow I don't think anyone who's illegally opening mail would complain about a small flesh wound acquired while engaging in said illegal activity regardless of whether they work for AnPost or USPS.

Who said a small flesh wound . If it's done on the job they have to get seen by the registered first aider as it's a work injury and they won't be able to stem the bleeding or have a bandage to hand to cover the wound.

Solair

The best way to root this out would be a few prepay gift cards which are hotlisted.

The thief nicks them, the card issuer quietly notes the transactions.

Check shop CCTV. Call Gardai...

wingnut

Relatives posted cash :rolleyes: in a card from Wexford to Limerick. Envelope arrived crudely taped together without the cash :mad:

GearMaven

Aaaghhh! Now cards with absolutely nothing but a letter in them have been sliced open and sent along. This is unreal!

Arciphel

Had a good one today, thought you'd appreciate this.

Received a letter containing a door plaque I bought off of eBay. The item is about the size of a credit card, but a good bit thicker; but looks like someone in An Post thought they would check it out on my behalf.

Here's the front of the letter...



Here's the back - complete with a nice exploratory slit in it...



Before anyone says that it is from a sorting machine, the slit is quite plainly made with a sharp blade and doesn't reach the corners of the card.

dilallio

Looks definitely cut.

I would contact An Post and make a complaint to the Inspector. It may have been like that when it got to Ireland.

However, An Post should implement a policy of logging any letters/parcels which appear to have been interfered with as soon as they enter the Irish system and during the sorting/delivery process. This would take away any suspicion from innocent mail workers, and also enable them to investigate irregularities once the mail is within the Irish system.

I'm sure though that there would be a cost issue and potential union issue in implementing such a system.

Opinicus

Could it have been customs checking the parcel? To see if duty was payable on it?

barone

amen wrote: »

I've had the same problem in Galway city. Just birthday cards (no present inside) disappearing. I changed to use brown envelopes and no issue.

I've reported it to An Post but no response.

who in an post did you report it too? in fairness if there is no proof it was ever posted there is zilch an post can do.. most people dont get that, they dont keep a record of every letter..

Ronan Leonard wrote: »

Well I have an idea that you could try but its not for the faint hearted. Get a card and put in it some monoply money. You also put in something sharp so that when the card is opened you could cut yourself. You then post the card to yourself. If the card is opened before you get it the person opening it will cut themselves. Anpost or their employees won't complain as they will have to explain why they were opening mail especially mail that appears to contain money.

and you would cause an injury to someone intentionaly ? who do you think would end up in court? all a dodgy (yes there have been a few,like every job description) postal worker has to say is the envelope was ripped/damaged and the sharp item cut them !

Arciphel wrote: »

Had a good one today, thought you'd appreciate this.

Received a letter containing a door plaque I bought off of eBay. The item is about the size of a credit card, but a good bit thicker; but looks like someone in An Post thought they would check it out on my behalf.

Here's the front of the letter...



Here's the back - complete with a nice exploratory slit in it...



Before anyone says that it is from a sorting machine, the slit is quite plainly made with a sharp blade and doesn't reach the corners of the card.

any item that is damaged like that should have a sticker on it from an post,taping over the damage, this is done before the postman brings it out for delivery,so he/she is coverd for any prior loss from the letter/package.

as this one dosent have one (did you take one off?) three things could have happend, it was damaged in transit (happens).. it was tampered with prior to the postman recieving it,or it was tampered with by the postman... in some cases it can be damaged by being damp from rain and just tears by being in a bag/box of other mail thats shifted around a lot,this happens quite a bit believe it or not.. (yes im a postie).

as for a bank employee saying never posts cheques in galway ????

im going to inform my bosses of this,ive worked in an post galway for many years and never once heard this story?

as stated in previous posts, mail is collected from postboxes/post offices,sent to athlone,sorted by machine...

an post have in my time caught two people stealing letters,one a postman,one a sorter.. each time with the gardai involved.

they take this thing very seriously..

.

just let me say one last thing.

the amount of times people have said to me over the years that some familly member or friend posted them something from abroad that never arrived is staggering..

equally the amount of times its been said and the letter arrives postdated long after its supposed to have been sent is staggering..

in other words just because someone says they sent something in the post dosent always mean its true.

make official complaints by registerd post or email,and keep asking questions, but for the last time,if their is no record of anyone posting something there is ZERO anyone can do about it..that works for every postal system worldwide.

dilallio

barone wrote: »

as for a bank employee saying never posts cheques in galway ????

im going to inform my bosses of this,ive worked in an post galway for many years and never once heard this story?

as stated in previous posts, mail is collected from postboxes/post offices,sent to athlone,sorted by machine...

an post have in my time caught two people stealing letters,one a postman,one a sorter.. each time with the gardai involved.

they take this thing very seriously..

Hi barone - As I was the poster who wrote about what the bank official said in Galway, feel free to pm me if you need more details or info.

dilallio

BrianD

As regard to the photos of the envelope. This could easily caused by a machine.

How much post is actually handled by humans these days? I thought it was all machine sorted until it reaches the local post office for delivery.

barone

BrianD wrote: »

As regard to the photos of the envelope. This could easily caused by a machine.

How much post is actually handled by humans these days? I thought it was all machine sorted until it reaches the local post office for delivery.

the marks on the envelope suggest it did get caught in a machine,you can see them prior to the tear on the left..


all mail i know of is now machine sorted to specific offices,from there its divided into the seperate deliveries... the machine will soon be able to do this aswell so will eliminate human sorting,except for hard to read envelopes.

GearMaven

barone wrote: »

as for a bank employee saying never posts cheques in galway ????

im going to inform my bosses of this,ive worked in an post galway for many years and never once heard this story?

I also know this to be true as it was said to my elderly mother in the Salthill Bank of Ireland in July!!

barone wrote: »

in other words just because someone says they sent something in the post dosent always mean its true.

What you are not getting is that WE are saying it is true! We've had it happen to items WE have actually mailed...and multiple items at that. If An Post staff would only read a thread like this they would understand there is a serious problem. We are NOT ALL making this up! And we are not ALL going to start registering regular mail at an expense to ourselves. An Post needs to investigate the incidence of unregistered mail being interrupted and opened, robbed or destroyed without sending. This IS happening!

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Perhaps shouting at An Post about it directly would reap more rewards than putting it on a messageboard.

cofy

With regard to checks surely there would be a record of where this check was cashed or lodged to the bank?

In this day and age where jobs are so difficult to come by, I cannot understand why a postperson would risk their job and any possibility of a future career like this. Any person who left permant job particularly with somewhere like An Post, would seem very suspicious to any employer.

Mr. Presentable

GearMaven wrote: »

Anyone else having letters containing checks being "lost" when mailed in Galway? We've mailed four envelopes containing birthday and bill payment checks since June from Salthill and one from Ballinasloe. ALL have gone missing!! They all were addressed to relatives or businesses in the U.S.

We've never had a birthday card with check or bill payment check go missing in all our time when mailing in the States. What is going on here? Is there no security in An Post processing facilities?

Here's a thought. Post your items from a different county. I think you'll find the results are the same. Or post them from NI - I bet they still get interfered with.

Obviously it is possible there are thieves in the Ireland postal system, but to be fair comparing the results from internal US mail with inbound external originating mail in the US is spurious. The problem seems most likely to be at import sorting in the USA.

I run a business that depends on postal service for payments etc. I can count on one hand the number of items (from tens of thousands) "lost" and on one finger the number lost due to An Post. However, I have had mail to the USA go missing about 10% of the time (unregistered)

foggy_lad

cofy wrote: »

With regard to checks surely there would be a record of where this check was cashed or lodged to the bank?

In this day and age where jobs are so difficult to come by, I cannot understand why a postperson would risk their job and any possibility of a future career like this. Any person who left permant job particularly with somewhere like An Post, would seem very suspicious to any employer.

An post uses a lot of contractors to empty post boxes especially in rural towns like Carlow, these people may not provide the same level of care to the post handled by them as they are not an post employees and are mostly employeed by private companies and getting low wages.

cofy

foggy_lad wrote: »

An post uses a lot of contractors to empty post boxes especially in rural towns like Carlow, these people may not provide the same level of care to the post handled by them as they are not an post employees and are mostly employeed by private companies and getting low wages.

I did not know this, so thanks. But to anyone who has had checks go missing have you found out where these checks ended up? Surely that would be the place to start.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

foggy_lad wrote: »

An post uses a lot of contractors to empty post boxes especially in rural towns like Carlow, these people may not provide the same level of care to the post handled by them

I live in a "rural" town and only An Post employees empty postboxes. I've asked around at work and nobody has seen anybody but An Post empty boxes. Where did you get this from?

BrianD

foggy_lad wrote: »

An post uses a lot of contractors to empty post boxes especially in rural towns like Carlow, these people may not provide the same level of care to the post handled by them as they are not an post employees and are mostly employeed by private companies and getting low wages.

There's not much involved though in putting a sack into a back of a van?

Plus why would you be bothered going through mail on the off chance of finding a cheque? A cheque that if you cash can be traced to you. You walk into a bank and your on CCTV.

Even credit/atm cards that are posted have a high level of security and need to be activated. They are almost useless to anybody but the intended recipient. I was surprised how much the have upped the security on cards when I received my last card.

foggy_lad

Rachel Massive Matchbox wrote: »

I live in a "rural" town and only An Post employees empty postboxes. I've asked around at work and nobody has seen anybody but An Post empty boxes. Where did you get this from?

I have seen people in white/red/green hi-ace type vans emptying mailboxes around Carlow on a number of occasions, they were not wearing any form of an post uniform and there was no an post markings on their vehicles, they did however have an post mail bags which they emptied the mailbox contents into. on more than one occasion there were others in the vans, twice i saw children and another occasion a woman that could have been the drivers wife/girlfriend.

foggy_lad

BrianD wrote: »

There's not much involved though in putting a sack into a back of a van?

Plus why would you be bothered going through mail on the off chance of finding a cheque? A cheque that if you cash can be traced to you. You walk into a bank and your on CCTV.

Even credit/atm cards that are posted have a high level of security and need to be activated. They are almost useless to anybody but the intended recipient. I was surprised how much the have upped the security on cards when I received my last card.

Regardless of theft I am thinking more that mail might go missing due to being physically dropped on the roadside when the postboxes are emptied or lost/left in the contractors van(not intentionally) and then thrown out when found to avoid the contractor getting in trouble for delaying post.

maxer68

A lot of people reading this thread may not read all the messages. All the OP's letter were going to the USA. They are handled once this side of the atlantic and up to 7 times stateside.

Go to google.com and key in Checks missing in US Mail and see the thousands of results.

As I said - he shoudl be looking for answers stateside imo.

I'm not saying that the irish mail system is perfect, but I send a huge amount of stuff by mail including cheques, parcels and small packages and I can only detail 2 or 3 packages that have ever gone missing within Ireland. (sending 100+ a week) Plenty never arrive in the UK though and I blame royal mail for that or dishonest customers.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

foggy_lad wrote: »

I have seen people in white/red/green hi-ace type vans emptying mailboxes around Carlow on a number of occasions, they were not wearing any form of an post uniform and there was no an post markings on their vehicles, they did however have an post mail bags which they emptied the mailbox contents into. on more than one occasion there were others in the vans, twice i saw children and another occasion a woman that could have been the drivers wife/girlfriend.

An Post lease many vans which are unmarked.

You are stating that contractors collect post based on the van and clothing? Anything more concrete?



I agree that OP's problem in on the US side (from personal experience.)

Supraman

I must say it makes me laugh when people post opinions as gospel fact when in reality it's nothing more than speculation. I work in the post office and there is number of reasons mail goes missing for example wrong delivery address , insufficient address , no delivery point (no letterbox etc), dogs at address , refusal at address (not for a cheque you would assume lol ) , there is tens of thousands of items posted through our office everyday .

The amount of badly addressed items by the public is staggering , I had 7-8 badly addressed items by same person this morning (I assume wedding invitations or similar) peoples first names with the road they are living on with no number despite the fact each of the roads have 70+ houses on them . Of course there is a chance there is theft within the postal system BUT if it was rampant or even commonplace there would be a lot more complaints . For the service that goes out there is realistically a tiny percentage that doesn't get delivered as required . The majority of these is down to the customer in the first place .

foggy_lad

Rachel Massive Matchbox wrote: »

An Post lease many vans which are unmarked.

You are stating that contractors collect post based on the van and clothing? Anything more concrete?



I agree that OP's problem in on the US side (from personal experience.)

carrying passengers(not staff) which is forbidden by an post afaik and also an post employees would be required to at least wear a hi-visibility vest with an post on it to point them out as working for an post lest they be apprehended for theft of the post!