Police called after 77-year-old woman presented wrong type of ID at French post office
Police were called to a post office in a village in southeast France after a 77-year-old woman tried to withdraw cash from her account using a photocopy of her ID.
Postal workers in France have a reputation for being strict when it comes to presenting the right type of ID at their counters, but this story from the commune of Sorgues in Vaucluse department suggest that maybe some of their employees are taking it a bit too far.
A 77-year-old local woman called Raymonde is still waiting for an official apology after being accused by a postal worker of being a “terrorist” in July.
The unfortunate incident occurred when Raymonde entered her local post office to withdraw money from an account opened many years earlier.
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She handed over a laminated colour photocopy of her French carte national d’identité (CNI) to the postal worker that was serving her, who first inspected it suspiciously before leaving her counter for half an hour.
Upon her return, the clerk gave Raymonde the bad news: the photocopy she’d handed over was a fake ID.
Moments later, French police arrived at the scene to speak with Raymonde.
“The postal worker told me she thought she was dealing with a terrorist,” the septuagenarian, told France Bleu.
Police were quick to realise that Raymonde’s ID didn’t contain any inaccurate information about her - nor that she posed a terrorist threat - the document was just a laminated photocopy of her authentic carte d’identité.
Since then Raymonde, who happened to worked for France’s Ministry of Justice for 30 years, has asked the Sorgues branch of La Poste for an official apology for their unfounded accusations.
The only reply from management was sent on July 13th not long after the incident, reading: “You have presented a false identity document (...)You have expressed your dissatisfaction with my colleagues. Your behaviour was inappropriate and isn't helping your case in any way, on the contrary, it affects our relationship."
“I’m flabbergasted,” the pensioner admitted.
Bur for Sorgues’s La Poste management, the case is closed.
"The client refused to present another piece of ID before the arrival of the gendarmes, she was rude and the ticket office suspected it was an attempt at extortion," they told France Bleu.
"The case is settled for us and there’s no chance we’ll be apologising to this lady."
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Postal workers in France have a reputation for being strict when it comes to presenting the right type of ID at their counters, but this story from the commune of Sorgues in Vaucluse department suggest that maybe some of their employees are taking it a bit too far.
A 77-year-old local woman called Raymonde is still waiting for an official apology after being accused by a postal worker of being a “terrorist” in July.
The unfortunate incident occurred when Raymonde entered her local post office to withdraw money from an account opened many years earlier.
READ ALSO:
- French postman guilty of stealing 13,000 letters
- French woman has part of finger sliced off by La Poste mailbox
She handed over a laminated colour photocopy of her French carte national d’identité (CNI) to the postal worker that was serving her, who first inspected it suspiciously before leaving her counter for half an hour.
Upon her return, the clerk gave Raymonde the bad news: the photocopy she’d handed over was a fake ID.
Moments later, French police arrived at the scene to speak with Raymonde.
“The postal worker told me she thought she was dealing with a terrorist,” the septuagenarian, told France Bleu.
Police were quick to realise that Raymonde’s ID didn’t contain any inaccurate information about her - nor that she posed a terrorist threat - the document was just a laminated photocopy of her authentic carte d’identité.
Since then Raymonde, who happened to worked for France’s Ministry of Justice for 30 years, has asked the Sorgues branch of La Poste for an official apology for their unfounded accusations.
The only reply from management was sent on July 13th not long after the incident, reading: “You have presented a false identity document (...)You have expressed your dissatisfaction with my colleagues. Your behaviour was inappropriate and isn't helping your case in any way, on the contrary, it affects our relationship."
“I’m flabbergasted,” the pensioner admitted.
Bur for Sorgues’s La Poste management, the case is closed.
"The client refused to present another piece of ID before the arrival of the gendarmes, she was rude and the ticket office suspected it was an attempt at extortion," they told France Bleu.
"The case is settled for us and there’s no chance we’ll be apologising to this lady."
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