Post Office

Royal Mail Holdings Plc

ROYAL MAIL HOLDINGS PLC SCHEME P1/2006

This Scheme, which will come into operation on 10 April 2006, makes provision for:

(a)  the issue, payment and treatment of Postal Orders by Royal Mail Holdings Plc in the United Kingdom;

(b)  the issue and payment of Postal Orders with the authority of Royal Mail Holdings Plc and on its behalf by Overseas Postal Authorities; and

(c)  the issue and payment of Postal Orders under the authority of Royal Mail Holdings Plc outside the United Kingdom in a Royal Navy ship or at a British Forces Postal Office.

(This note is not part of the Scheme)

ROYAL MAIL HOLDINGS PLC (POSTAL ORDER) SCHEME 2006

Made:                  31 March 2006

Coming into Operation:              10 April 2006

Royal Mail Holdings Plc, which is the Company nominated by the Secretary of State as the Post Office Company1 in accordance with section 62 of the Postal Services Act 20002 by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by section 112 of the Postal Services Act 2000 and all other powers enabling it in this behalf, hereby makes the following Scheme:

1. Commencement and citation

This Scheme shall come into operation on 10 April 2006 and may be cited as the Royal Mail Holdings Plc (Postal Order) Scheme 2006.

2. Interpretation

2.1  In this Scheme

2.1.1  “the Act” means the Postal Services Act 2000;

2.1.2   “encashment” means the payment by a Royal Mail Representative of the issue value of a Postal Order to a Payee (or person purporting to be the Payee), an agent authorised to accept payment on the Payee’s behalf (or person purporting to be such person), or a banker. “To encash” will be construed accordingly.

2.1.3  “Overseas Postal Authority” means a non-UK postal authority which organises collection and delivery of post within its area of control;

2.1.4  “Payee” means the person entitled to receive the amount of a Postal Order;

2.1.5  “Postal Order” means a postal order issued as a postal order by Royal Mail Holdings Plc or by an Overseas Postal Authority in pursuance of such an arrangement as mentioned in section 114(2) of the Act;

2.1.6  “Royal Mail Representative” means a person engaged in the business of:

(a)  Royal Mail Holdings Plc; or

(b)  any company appointed by Royal Mail Holdings Plc as its agent;

2.1.7  “subsidiary” has the meaning ascribed to it by section 736 of the Companies Act 1985.3

3. Issue and amounts of Postal Order

3.1  The minimum permitted issue value of a Postal Order is one pence sterling (£0.01) and the maximum permitted issue value of a Postal Order is two hundred and fifty pounds sterling (£250).

3.2  Royal Mail Holdings Plc will determine the minimum permitted issue value of Postal Orders available for purchase from Royal Mail Representatives from time to time.

3.3  The issue value of a Postal Order is the figure security printed or handwritten on the face of the Postal Order.

4. Circumstances in which payment may be refused

4.1  A Royal Mail Representative may refuse payment and impound a Postal Order when that order is presented for payment, and may refuse to make payment thereon if:

4.1.1  the Postal Order is:

(a)  cut, defaced or mutilated; or

(b)  contains an erasure or alteration;

4.1.2  the Royal Mail Representative is unable to validate the validity of the Postal Order against Royal Mail Holding Plc’s record of issued Postal Orders;

4.1.3  the Royal Mail Representative is not satisfied that the person presenting the Postal Order for payment is the Payee or an agent authorised to accept payment on the Payee’s behalf;

4.1.4  the Royal Mail Representative has reasonable grounds to believe that the personal identity document provided by the person presenting the Postal Order for payment is not genuine and correct;

4.1.5  the Royal Mail Representative has reasonable grounds to suspect that the Postal Order has not been properly issued, is fraudulent or stolen; and/or

4.1.6  the Postal Order is presented for payment after the expiration of a period of six calendar months, starting on the date it was issued (in these circumstances paragraph 11 below shall apply).

5. Fee on issue of a Postal Order

The fee payable for a Postal Order shall be such fee as Royal Mail Holdings Plc may from time to time determine.

6. Prepayment

The purchaser must pay the amount for which a Postal Order is to be issued, together with the fee for issuing the Postal Order, in full before the Postal Order is issued.

7. Name of Payee

7.1  The blank space in a Postal Order for the name of the Payee may be filled in before or after issue.

7.2  Where the Payee’s name is not inserted before the Postal Order is issued, the purchaser must insert the Payee’s name in the marked space on the face of the Postal Order (whether or not the Postal Order is crossed with a view to payment through a banker).

7.3  Notwithstanding 7.2 above, where a Postal Order is presented for payment without a Payee name stated on the face of the Postal Order, the Postal Order may be paid to the person or banker presenting it for payment.

7.4  No alteration shall be made to the name of the Payee appearing on a Postal Order, except by the direction of Royal Mail Holdings Plc.

8. Crossing of Postal Orders

8.1  A Postal Order may be crossed generally by the addition on its face of two parallel transverse lines.

8.2  A Postal Order may be crossed specially by the addition on its face of the name of a banker, in which case the Postal Order may only be presented for payment to Royal Mail Holdings Plc by that banker.

8.3  A Postal Order which is crossed generally may be crossed specially.

8.4  A banker to whom a Postal Order is crossed may cross it specially to another banker as his agent for collection.

8.5  Where a Postal Order is crossed generally, it shall not be paid except to:

8.5.1  a banker; or

8.5.2  Post Office Limited where the Postal Order is presented at a Post Office® branch by the Payee in settlement, whether in full or in part, of a bill capable being paid through Post Office Limited.

8.6  Where a Postal Order is crossed specially, it shall not be paid except to the banker to whom it is crossed, or to his agent for collection.

8.7  Where a Postal Order is crossed specially to more than one banker, except when crossed to an agent for the purpose of collection, Royal Mail Holdings Plc may refuse payment of the Postal Order.

9. Payment of Postal Orders otherwise than to bankers

9.1  Paragraphs 9.2 to 9.6 below apply in relation to the payment of a Postal Order presented for payment otherwise than by a banker to whom it has been delivered for collection.

9.2  Where a Payee’s name appears on the face of the Postal Order in the correct space, the Postal Order shall not be paid unless the Payee (or a person purporting to be the Payee) or a person acting on behalf of the Payee (or a person purporting to act on behalf of the Payee) signs the Postal Order.

9.3  Where no Payee’s name has been inserted on the face of a Postal Order, the paying Royal Mail Representative may require the person presenting the order to sign the Postal Order before payment is made.

9.4  A Royal Mail Group Representative to whom a Postal Order is presented for payment may, before making payment, make reasonable enquiries to confirm that the person presenting the Postal Order is either the Payee or an agent authorised to accept payment on the Payee’s behalf.

9.5  A Royal Mail Group Representative may refuse payment of a Postal Order if:

9.5.1   unsatisfied that the person presenting the Postal Order for payment is the Payee or an agent authorised to accept payment on the Payee’s behalf;

9.5.2   the Postal Order is presented for payment more than six months after the issue date; and/or

9.5.3   The Postal Order is not signed in the Royal Mail Representative’s presence.

9.6  The paying Royal Mail Representative may refuse or delay the payment of a Postal Order when it appears to him reasonable to do so in cases other than those mentioned in this Scheme.

10. Payment of Postal Orders to bankers

10.1  All Postal Orders must be presented for payment by a banker who is a member of the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company Limited (“CCCL”) and shall be cleared in accordance with the rules, procedures and standards of CCCL.

10.2   Where a banker is not a member of the CCCL, the Postal Order must be presented for payment by the CCCL agent for that banker and shall be cleared by the banker’s CCCL agent in accordance with the rules, procedures and standards of CCCL.

10.3   A crossed Postal Order presented for payment by a banker to an Overseas Postal Authority may be paid at any office of that Overseas Postal Authority that is permitted to encash Postal Orders.

10.4   Where Royal Mail Holdings Plc has paid a banker the value of a Postal Order when it should not have done so including, but without limitation to, Postal Orders which:

10.4.1  have been presented for payment by the banker after a period of six calendar months, starting on the date of issue of the Postal Order, has expired;

10.4.2  have not been validly issued by Royal Mail Holdings Plc;

10.4.3  have been cut, defaced or mutilated; and/or

10.4.4  contain an erasure or alteration,

the amount shall be repayable to Royal Mail Holdings Plc on demand by the banker, or where relevant, the banker’s CCCL agent, in accordance with the rules, procedures and standards of CCCL.

11. Payment of Postal Orders after expiration of six months after the date of issue

11.1  If a Postal Order is presented for payment after the expiration of a period of six calendar months, starting on the date it was issued, but within nine calendar months of the date of issue, it shall not be encashed unless the Postal Order is sent to Royal Mail Holdings Plc and then only when the Royal Mail Holdings Plc is satisfied, at its own discretion, that the Postal Order was validly issued and ought to be paid.

11.2   Where a Postal Order is presented for payment after the expiration of a period of nine months after the date it was issued, it shall not be encashed unless the Postal Order is sent to Royal Mail Holdings Plc with the required investigation fee as determined by Royal Mail Holdings Plc from time to time and Royal Mail Holdings Plc has conducted an investigation and is satisfied, at its own discretion, that the Postal Order was validly issued and ought to be paid.

12. Remission of fees

Royal Mail Holdings Plc may remit in whole or in part any fee payable under this Scheme in such cases or classes of case as it may determine.

13. Application of Scheme to Overseas Postal Authorities and other special cases

13.1  Except as provided by this paragraph, this Scheme shall apply only to the issue, payment and treatment of Postal Orders within the United Kingdom.

13.2  The provisions of this Scheme relating to the issue and payment of Postal Orders shall apply to the issue and payment of Postal Orders under the authority of Royal Mail Holdings Plc:

13.2.1  outside the United Kingdom in a ship of the Royal Navy (whether on the high seas or in any port or place) or at a British Forces’ Post Office; and

13.2.2  by an Overseas Postal Authority authorised by the Royal Mail Holdings Plc to encash and/or issue Postal Orders on its behalf

as they apply to the issue and encashment of Postal Orders by a Royal Mail Representative.

SIGNED BY Jonathan Evans

a duly authorised signatory for and on behalf

of ROYAL MAIL HOLDINGS PLC

1 The Post Office Company (Nomination and Appointed Day) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/8) which came into force on 5 January 2001, nominated Consignia plc (registered number 4074919) for this purpose. On 25 January 2001 the name of Consignia plc was changed to Consignia Holdings plc and on 4 November 2002 it was changed to Royal Mail Holdings plc.

2 2000 c. 26.

3 1985 c. 6. as substituted by section 144(1) of the Companies Act 1989, c. 40.