Ownership of items in the post

[Johnstone93]

When a letter is posted or otherwise handed to Royal Mail for delivery, who becomes the legal owner of the item? Royal Mail or the addressee? or does the sender still have any legal claim upon it?

[TEAK36]

Its been 15 years since I worked for Royal Mail,but I seem to recall that any item of mail becomes the property of Royal Mail from the moment it is posted,right up until the time it is posted through a letterbox.Postmen are not even supposed to hand you your mail on your doorstep,it has to be posted through your letterbox.

[FTVS]

I would have thought that the Royal Mail holds the property in trust until it is delivered to the receiver. As such, my guess is it remains the property of the sender, in trust to the Royal Mail, until delivered to the receiver in the proscribed way ie through the letter box, whereupon their duty of trust ends..

[FTVS]

Still thinking about that, that can't right can it because if you purchase something then it is your property and the sender is merely facilitating the delivery of your property to you, via the auspices of the Mail. Eitherway, it is certainly never the property of Royal Mail.

[KEJ2000]

If it works the same way in the UK as it does in the US, then an item would become the property of the Royal Mail only if it is unable to be delivered to the addressee AND the sender doesn't [or won't] reclaim it.