A BUSINESSMAN claims his company's work is being severely hampered by postal chaos, with £50,000 in payments lost in the post.

Martin Stuchfield, managing director of Intercity Print Financial in Grove Road, Walthamstow, says that payments, cheque-books, road tax and other important items are getting lost.

He claims there are major problems at the Walthamstow sorting office, adding that he gets bundles of other people's post through his letterbox.

Mr Stuchfield will now have to pay his staff wages out of his personal bank account because a cheque book that the bank sent was also lost in the Royal Mail mess.

"Our business is being severely affected by this obvious problem in Walthamstow sorting office," he said.

"It is something that has been going on for months and months.

"It is having a very detrimental effect on our business."

He said the company had not received road tax for its vehicles that he has been waiting for from the DVLC. Some of his cars, which are important to the firm, are now untaxed.

Large numbers of invoices had gone missing, affecting the company's ability to pay and be paid.

Mr Stuchfield said it was making business relations awkward and embarrassing because he kept having to ask if customers had sent payments and often they had.

A cheque book posted by NatWest wasn't delivered and he will now have to wait ten days before he can get another one.

"I have a pile of mail on our premises belonging to other people in Walthamstow. I think they have got major problems at the sorting office and I am at my wits' end.

"It is having a financial impact. The cashflow of the company has been affected to the tune of £50,000. It must be affecting other businesses as well."

He said that one of his staff who lived in the area had missed an important hospital appointment because the letter of notification was lost in the post.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: "We are not aware of any problems with the office at all.

"There is no industrial action or anything going on. But we are investigating it internally to find out what the problem is."