A married couple are demanding an apology from Royal Mail after an error left them without their pension for a month and saw their post redirected 500 miles away – to Belfast.

Trevor Wells, 78, and Christine Wells, 77, described the “anguish” they faced after shelling out for the courier’s Keepsafe service while they were away on holiday.

The pair from West Malling departed for a three-month cruise in November and paid £90 for the postal company’s service which holds onto your mail in secure premises while you're away and posts it back to you upon your return.

However, a mistake at the Snodland sorting office meant their post was either returned to sender or sent to a post centre in Northern Ireland where it was either forwarded, or destroyed.

To add to their horror, upon their return to the UK on February 20, Mr and Mrs Wells discovered their pension had not been paid into their accounts owing to the error.

Mr Wells told KentOnline: “The whole situation has been really really stressful, from not having any pension, I had to go to the bank and organise an overdraft because they decided not to pay my pension in.”

After making enquiries, the married couple were told by their pension provider that letters sent to them had been returned and marked ‘not at this address’.

As a precaution – because the pension providers had not been told of a change of address – they froze their pensions.

Mr Wells then spent hours on the phone to Royal Mail and his pension company to resolve the issue which left him “very stressed”.

On discovering his pension hadn’t arrived, Mr Wells said: “I was very upset, not only from a financial point of view but from a psychological point of view. We are never in debt to anybody, and I was very upset about it.”

The pensioner then visited the Medway Valley Delivery office in Sortmill Road, who were supposed to hold onto his post, and explained the situation to the assistant manager there who investigated and phoned back the same day to explain why his post had returned.

Mr Wells was told a driver – who was in training and was not familiar with the Keepsafe service – picked up the couple’s box of mail “to be helpful” but had, in fact, returned any mail with a return address to the sender and sent everything else to a post centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Diane told Mr Wells that mail sent to Belfast is opened, with authority by Royal Mail, and any mail which does not have a clear source or forwarding address, is destroyed.

Mr Wells said: “We did not receive any Christmas, anniversary, or birthday cards, all of which should have been here waiting for us on our return.

“They were destroyed by the Post Office and any messages contained in them have disappeared forever.”

Mr Wells, who had also contacted Royal Mail customer services about the situation, was told by an adviser that they would investigate with Keepsafe.

However, after five days passed Mr Wells had not heard back from Royal Mail regarding his query and contacted them once again only to receive an “extremely rude response.”

Mr Wells, of St Leonards Street, West Malling, said: “It made me totally lose faith in Royal Mail and also lose faith in human nature, that people can be so unsympathetic and not realise the problems it has caused you.”

The couple, who have lived at the address for 45 years, endured a month without their pension and have described the impact of the ordeal.

Mr Wells added: “The situation was very emotional; there I am with no money in the bank. You can’t do that – it is not fair and Royal Mail are responsible.

“We ask no more than an apology and a small amount of money that will cover the anguish we have suffered over that interim period.”

While Mr Wells was told he would receive a £90 refund for the cost of the Keepsafe service, he was told “you will not get any compensation” by a customer services operative who then put the phone down.

“The customer services department are supposed to be there to help you, but they were certainly no help at all,” Mr Wells added.

The couple, who are still waiting for their £90 refund and an apology, have said they hope Royal Mail admit there was an oversight and offer some form of compensation for the inconvenience.

He said: “I’m not talking about a lot of compensation, but I want somebody to know, realise, and understand the problems it has caused us.”

Mr and Mrs Wells also discovered a small amount of their mail was delivered a fortnight before it should have been and was taken in for safety by a friend.

The pensioner said: “If she had not seen it, someone less honest could have known that we were not there.

“Keepsafe is most certainly a misnomer.”

Earlier this week, KentOnline reported how another couple had “lost all faith” in Royal Mail after receiving a letter about an upcoming operation the day after the surgery took place.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “I can confirm that unfortunately there was a fault and this was down to a driver who was unfamiliar with the service, training has been provided.

“We apologise and as per our terms and conditions for this service, we have refunded the amount paid.

“We have since received correspondence from the customer and will be engaging with him directly.”