Polvanie View fire victims faced Royal Mail diversion charges after losing everything in blaze
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Residents of a fire-hit block of flats were being charged more than £30 to have mail re-diverted after losing “everything” in the blaze.
But Royal Mail has now scrapped the fee after the Inverness Courier contacted the postal service about the situation.
A man has since appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court accused of the attempted murder of five police officers following events on March 31.
Prosecutors in the private court hearing alleged that Krzystof Andrusczak (40) had thrown Molotv cokctail style petrol bombs at the officers at Polvanie View on the day.
Andrusczak also faced charges of wilful fire raising, and possessing two knives and a metal chain.
He was committed for further examination and is being held at Carstairs State Hospital.
Neighbours of the displaced 11 families – now in temporary accommodation due to the extent of the fire – contacted the Inverness Courier over the mail re-diversion charges.
Royal Mail has since confirmed to the Courier that the charges - £33 per household – will be dropped.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We are very sorry to hear about the fire on Polvanie View, and the deeply distressing experiences of residents who have had to leave their homes as a result.
“In the circumstances, we will be offering these customers free use of our mail redirection services for the next three months.
“We will be distributing leaflets explaining this to residents, and will be re-funding any charges that these customers have already paid for redirection of their mail.”
A fundraiser for the 11 displaced families has now raised nearly £1000.
Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/polvanie-view-fire-fundraiser
