British Telecommunications Act 1981 (c. 38)

PART II The Post Office

Exclusive privilege of the Post Office with respect to the conveyance etc. of letters

67 General classes of acts not infringing the postal privilege

(1) The privilege conferred on the Post Office by section 66(1) is not infringed by—

(a) the conveyance and delivery of a letter personally by the sender;

(b) the conveyance and delivery of a letter by a personal friend of the sender;

(c) the conveyance and delivery of a letter by a messenger sent for the purpose by either correspondent;

(d) the conveyance of an overseas letter to an aircraft by a messenger sent for the purpose by the sender and the conveyance of that letter out of the United Kingdom by means of that aircraft;

(e) the conveyance and delivery of any document issuing out of a court of justice or of any return or answer thereto;

(f) the conveyance of letters from merchants who are the owners of a merchant ship or commercial aircraft, or of goods carried in such a ship or aircraft, by means of that ship or aircraft, and the delivery thereof to the addressees by any person employed for the purpose by those merchants, so however that no payment or reward, profit or advantage whatever is given or received for the conveyance or delivery of those letters ;

(g) the conveyance and delivery of letters by any person, being letters concerning and for delivery with goods carried by that person, so however that no payment or reward, profit or advantage whatever is given or received for the conveyance or delivery of those letters ;

(h) the conveyance and delivery to the Post Office of pre paid letters for conveyance and delivery by the Post Office to the addressees, and the collection of such letters for that purpose ;

(i) the conveyance and delivery of letters by a person who has a business interest in those letters, and the collection of letters for that purpose;

(j) the conveyance and delivery of banking instruments from one bank to another or from a bank to a government department, and the collection of such instruments for that purpose;

(k) the collection, conveyance and delivery of coupons or other entry forms issued by authorised promoters in connection with established competitions.

(2) Nothing in paragraphs (a) to (g) of subsection (1) shall authorise any person to make a collection of letters for the purpose of their being conveyed in any manner authorised by those paragraphs.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (f) of subsection (1) a person has a business interest in a letter if, and only if—

(a) he is an employee of one of the correspondents or of a member of the same group as one of the correspondents and the letter relates to the business affairs of that correspondent; or

(b) he and one of the correspondents are employees of the same person or of different members of the same group and the letter relates to the business affairs of that person or, as the case may be, the employer of that correspondent.

(4) In this section—

• " authorised promoter " means—

  (a)

  a registered football pool promoter;

  (b)

  a person who is or has at any time been an associate (within the meaning of section 184 of the [1974 c. 39.] Consumer Credit Act 1974) of such a promoter; or

  (c)

  a registered pool promoter to whom a certificate has been granted under section 1 of the [1971 c. 57.] Pool Competitions Act 1971;

• " bank " means—

  (a)

  the Bank of England;

  (b)

  a recognised bank or licensed institution within the meaning of the [1979 c. 37.] Banking Act 1979 ;

  (c)

  the Post Office or a trustee savings bank; or

  (d)

  the central bank of a member State other than the United Kingdom;

• " banking instrument" means—

  (a)

  any cheque or other instrument to which section 4 of the [1957 c. 36.] Cheques Act 1957 applies;

  (b)

  any document issued by a public officer which is intended to enable a person to obtain payment from a government department of the sum mentioned in the document;

  (c)

  any bill of exchange not falling within paragraph (a) or (b) or any promissory note;

  (d)

  any postal order or money order;

  (e)

  any credit transfer, credit advice or debit advice; or

  (f)

  any list of items, or any copy of an item, falling within the foregoing paragraphs;

• "established competition", in relation to an authorised promoter, means a competition which is of the same kind as or is broadly similar to a competition held by him before the passing of this Act;

• "government department" includes any Minister of the Crown and any Northern Ireland department;

• "group" means a body corporate and all of its wholly owned subsidiaries taken together;

• "overseas letter" means a letter which is directed to a specific person or address outside the United Kingdom ;

• " pre-paid letter " includes any letter which, in pursuance of arrangements made with the Post Office, does not require to be pre-paid ;

• " registered pool promoter " has the meaning assigned by section 4(2) of the [1963 c. 2.] Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Act 1963, and "registered football pool promoter" shall be construed accordingly;

• " ship " includes any boat, vessel or hovercraft.