CHRISTMAS may well and truly be over, but Paul Gascoigne and his children are still waiting for their presents to arrive.No, not a forgetful relative but Royal Mail who seem to have lost a parcel full of presents which was posted to them on December 13.

CHRISTMAS may well and truly be over, but Paul Gascoigne and his children are still waiting for their presents to arrive.

No, not a forgetful relative but Royal Mail who seem to have lost a parcel full of presents which was posted to them on December 13.

"It was sent to us from some friends near Wales. We sent theirs around the same time and they got it but we have not seen any sign of ours.

"What is really annoying is that the total value of the parcel is around £60 but Royal Mail said they will only compensate us for £27," said Mr Gascoigne, of Tasmania Road, Ipswich.

The family who sent the parcel, which was sent first class in a special Royal Mail box, have spoken to Royal Mail as has Mr Gascoigne but to no avail.

Mr Gascoigne said: "Their customer service system seems to be non-existent. Every time our friends have tried to speak to them they said Royal Mail have sounded uninterested and been unhelpful.

"I think it would be a great help if people were asked what the value of the parcel was before sending it and then told that the maximum they would be compensated if it was lost is £27.

"At least people would be fully aware of the situation," added Mr Gascoigne angrily.

Mr Gascoigne is not the only one who has been left frustrated by Royal Mail.

Mr Campbell lives at 11a Chilton Road and for the past ten years he has been receiving mail for 11a Bucklesham Road and 11a Roy Avenue.

"I have written to Royal Mail but they never got in contact and all you get when you telephone them is an automated answer phone and more numbers to press.

"If you try to hand them back to the postman they say they cannot receive them once they have been posted. But the whole problem lies with the postman not reading the addresses properly in the first place," he said.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to any customers if they are caused any inconvenience and we try to do everything possible to avoid this.

"When items are sent first class the maximum compensation available is £27. For valuable items we urge customers to use out special delivery service which has the advantage of next day delivery and £250 worth of protection.

"Details of this are available at all post offices."

* Have you experienced problems with the post? Write to Evening Star Letters, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN.