Royal Mail urged to show a heart

Royal Mail is facing an online backlash after accusations that it has been heartless in refusing financial assistance to the family of a former employee, who died of cancer last year.
The daughter of Barbara McVeigh, who worked for the company for over 20 years, has launched a petition on Change.org urging Royal Mail to change its mind over a decision not to pay out the remainder of her pension.
McVeigh was diagnosed with aggressive pancreatic cancer last year and given four months to live. She called Royal Mail asking for the remainder of her pension and was informed that all she had to do was send a letter in writing. But Royal Mail only received the letter on the same day she died and is now refusing to pay up.
The petition states: “They have given a number of different reasons, none of them clear. They have refused to give even a small discretionary amount to help pay for her funeral. For months I have battled with Royal Mail but they continue to insist that they can ignore my mum’s wishes.
“Big businesses keep putting families like us through this nightmare. But last week I saw Tesco give Martin Craddock’s family his pension after a petition. I hope you will join me, in asking Royal Mail to do the same for us.”
The petition, which launched last week, already has over 55,000 signatures.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We were saddened to hear of Mrs McVeigh’s passing in September 2014. Mrs McVeigh was a member of the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme. Under this scheme, a lump sum death benefit is only payable within the first five years after retirement. The five-year pension anniversary in Mrs McVeigh’s case passed in 2011 and therefore no death benefits were payable in 2014.
“Mrs McVeigh asked whether she could ‘cash in’ or commute her pension a short time before her death. Mrs Hawkins raised the same issue in later correspondence. The administrators explained that this was not possible under current pensions legislation. These rules are defined and strictly enforced by HMRC.”