An investigation has found that Post Office’s handling of a £5.65 refund amounted to maladministration.
The Tynwald Commissioner for Administration has concluded that the postal service failed to properly handle a customer complaint about a Recorded Delivery item posted in January 2026.
The complaint concerned a package containing time-sensitive legal documents that was incorrectly dispatched to the UK. While the item was eventually delivered, the tracking number never functioned.
Isle of Man Post Office agreed to refund the original postage of £3.75 and reimburse £1.90 for the cost of re-posting the documents.
However, despite the complainant providing bank details on January 18, the refund was not processed. The postal service said the bank details could not be verified.
Alternative
The complainant provided alternative bank details in March, but was contacted again on March 23 requesting details that had already been supplied.
A payment of £3.75 was received by March 27, but the £1.90 remains outstanding.
The Commissioner found that the Chief Executive did not respond to a formal escalation request on February 7 until March 26, despite the organisation’s published complaints procedure requiring such a review.
“The IOMPO therefore did not implement the further referral procedure set out in its own complaints policy,” the Commissioner’s report states.
The complainant said: “This matter is not about the monetary value of the refund, but about the standard of service received.”
Isle of Man Post Office told the Commissioner it was “strengthening our complaints handling arrangements to ensure clearer ownership, better follow-through, and more consistent communication with customers.”