A postman is being investigated after apparently branding a customer a highly offensive slur in a delivery note - over a 'misguided grudge as he thought it was her dog that bit him'. Suzannah Ashton was stunned when she spotted the foul-mouthed surname a Royal Mail postie appeared to enter in the 'signature' box after being unable to hand the parcel over to her.
Self-professed 'fashion addict' Suzannah ordered £72-worth of clothing from Sparkles Boutique last month, but after failing to receive either the parcel or a 'something for you' card she contacted the store she bought it from. Boutique boss Sheryl Flint dug through her emails to trace the tracked item and unearthed a 'proof of delivery' notification from May 13 that provided the scanned location and a postman's 'signature'.
Shockingly, it appears the disgruntled postie tapped the 53-year-old PA's surname into the handheld device as an offensive swear word. Stunned Suzannah believes the postman holds a grudge against her because he mistakenly thinks her dog bit him in April - but she says it was someone else's pooch.
Royal Mail said they were 'sorry for any offence, distress and inconvenience caused' and confirmed they were investigating the incident. Suzannah said: "It's disgusting and incredibly insulting. At the end of the day they're meant to be Royal Mail.
"They work in the queen's name, the clue's in the name - Royal Mail. At Royal Mail they have those little handheld things that they put the surname in. It's meant to be my name, he's put my surname as 'c**t'.
"I was out at the time, I wasn't aware of any parcel being left. I contacted Sheryl and she said 'it's been delivered here's the details'. "I didn't see the 'c**t' at the beginning, all I was looking for was the signature.
"I told her 'that's not my signature' then she said 'have you not seen [the name]?'. I looked again and I went 'oh my god'. I went down to the sorting office and asked 'can I have my parcel? And while we're at it, why's he calling me this?'.
"That's when it all sort of kicked off. Royal Mail won't tell me anything, all they'll say is that they suspended him, they haven't even given me a written apology or anything."
Suzannah, who still hasn't received her parcel, said she believes the postman decided to exact revenge after mistakenly believing her to be the owner of a dog that bit him back in April.
Suzannah said: "A dog bit him about six weeks ago, [but] he's got the wrong person.
"We live in little purpose-built blocks and we've got private gardens at the back.
"We were all sitting out in the garden, our private space, and the postman in question shouldn't have been out in the garden.
"To come out of one block and go into another block via the gardens is our private property.
"The [previous] postman we had went through the correct way, he wouldn't have dreamed of coming out in our gardens to save ten paces.
"I've got a dog, but it wasn't my dog that actually bit him.
"I'd ordered £72-worth of clothing. I'm a fashion addict, I bought two blouses, two bardot tops and a jumpsuit.
"I went to the sorting office and I asked [a staff member] where the parcel was and he said they tried to deliver it but he never put a red slip through my door.
"My parcel is still missing, they don't know where it is.
"I want to make several complaints, we're not getting regular post because they're short on postmen, we're lucky if we get post once or twice a week.
"Second complaint - why am I paying for recorded delivery and no-one's leaving a card and taking it back to the depot?
"The third big whopper is the one you know about [the swear word on the device].
"I want an apology and maybe some kind of compensation as well.
"It's unacceptable. It's just disgraceful and unacceptable. You shouldn't go round calling your customers c***s."
Sparkles Boutique owner Sheryl Flint was stunned when she spotted the vile slur on the delivery note.
Sheryl said: "A woman who works for me spotted the surname, I actually couldn't believe it.
"I put my glasses on to look again as I thought 'no!'. It's nothing like her surname so he's obviously typed that into his machine and he signed it."
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "Royal Mail expects the highest standards from our people at all times. We have commenced an investigation, which will determine whether any further action, including disciplinary action, might be taken.
"We are sorry for any offence, distress and inconvenience caused, and have been in contact with the customers involved to apologise."
