Just to keep you "posted"
I had an email response from Royal Mail- regretting the loss however after the 25th Feb I might wish to submit a claim form? That will be a bit late to "bolt the stable door"
" Dear *******
Thank you for contacting Royal Mail.
I'm sorry to hear that an important item of your mail that contained cash has not yet been delivered.
Of the huge volumes of letters and packets we handle, very few encounter a problem along their way - but we take every single failure seriously, so I'm really sorry that you have had cause to contact us.
While I full appreciate your comments and empathise with the situation, especially as the item is for your Grandsons birthday; unfortunately, we are unable to log a loss complaint until the item is classed as such.
If the item still hasn't been delivered after 15 working days from its delivery due date, in this case by 25th February, you may wish to consider submitting a 'Lost, damaged or delayed inland mail claim form' (also known as a P58) to progress a claim for the loss of the item. These forms are available from all Post Office® branches or alternatively, you may wish to print one out from our website by clicking on the following link:
www.royalmail.com/p58Please ensure you complete the form in full, providing as much detail as possible to help with our investigations, including any evidence to support the posting of the item.
Please be assured that we use the data provided in this manner to investigate and also pass the details to our security people. They then use this information to try and minimise instances of loss, damage and delay within our system.
Finally, and this is purely speculation; there is a possibility that the thickness of the card along with two enclosures, may have classed the item as a large letter for which a normal 1st Class stamp would not be sufficient.
If this was the case, we would still process the item but will request payment of a 'surcharge fee' from the recipient: the amount charged will include a £1 charge to cover our extra handling costs, plus the amount of the missing required postage (this will also depend on the weight of the item). The receiving Delivery Office will keep the item and deliver a card to the addressee to inform them that an underpaid item of mail is being held. This card will also provide instructions on how they can pay the surcharge and receive the item of mail.
Once again, please accept my sincere apologies on behalf of Royal Mail for the problem you've had, and our thanks for taking the time to make us aware of this. Please be assured that we take letting our customers down seriously and will use this information to make further improvements."
Regards
Royal Mail