An emergency service worker said she received a "tirade of abuse" from Post Office staff after she had questioned why she was unable to send Christmas presents to family in Northern Ireland.
Laura Scott, 45, visited the Post Office counter located in Limetree Avenue, Wymondham, on Monday, December 21, to post four small parcels to family on the Emerald Isle.
Mrs Scott said she was "abruptly informed that mail is not being take for Ireland" by staff, despite having already been told by Royal Mail that deliveries to Northern Ireland had not been halted.
She returned to the counter the following day, but once again the manager and another staff member refused her parcels and told her there was no mail going to Ireland.
"I told them they were wrong and read them the statement from their own head office," she said. "And the manager said to me 'drop the attitude' and told me I'd have to take them to another Post Office because they were not taking them.
"As I left I said 'Merry Christmas' sarcastically, to which she responded with a tirade of abuse. This was three members of staff ganging up on me.
"I spent 18 years in the military, and I've used the Post Office for a long time. I've never, in all my years of sending mail around the world, experienced customer service as low, demeaning and aggressive as this."
Royal Mail has confirmed to both Mrs Scott and this newspaper that customers were still able to send mail to Ireland at that time.
The Post Office confirmed it was "looking into the complaint".
A spokesperson said: "Christmas is always the busiest time of the year and the volume of parcels being sent was much higher than usual as people could not visit family and friends. Both Parcelforce and Royal Mail had to bring forward their last recommended posting dates and last guaranteed next day Special Delivery date.
"There were delays at UK ferry ports causing delays to Northern Ireland. There were many changes happening at once and this may have caused confusion."
Fortunately, after visiting another branch in Barnham Broom, she was able to send off the gifts for her four aunties in time for Christmas.
"But I'll never use the one at Lime Tree Avenue ever again," she added.
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