Postal Services Act 2000

111 Exclusion of liability in relation to postal and money orders

(1) No proceedings shall lie or, in Scotland, be competent against the Post Office company for any loss or damage as a result of—

(a) a reasonable refusal by the Post Office company to pay a postal or money order which has been issued by it or a foreign postal administration, or

(b) a reasonable delay by the Post Office company in paying any such order.

(2) Where a postal or money order issued by the Post Office company is presented for payment in the United Kingdom by a banker to whom it has been delivered for collection, payment of the order to the banker discharges it.

(3) Where a relevant uncrossed order issued by the Post Office company is presented for payment in the United Kingdom otherwise than by a banker to whom it has been delivered for collection, payment of the order to the person by whom it is presented discharges it.

(4) A postal or money order issued by the Post Office company is discharged by the payment of the order outside the United Kingdom in accordance with arrangements made by the Post Office company in that regard.

(5) Where a postal or money order issued by a foreign postal administration is paid by the Post Office company to a banker to whom it has been delivered for collection on behalf of a person other than the true owner of the order, the Post Office company shall not be liable to the true owner of the order by reason of having paid it to the banker.

(6) Where a relevant uncrossed order issued by a foreign postal administration is presented to the Post Office company for payment otherwise than by a banker to whom it has been delivered for collection or the true owner of the order, payment of the order by the Post Office company to the person presenting it shall not make the Post Office company liable to the true owner of the order.

(7) Any person acting as a banker in the United Kingdom who, in collecting in that capacity for any principal, has received payment from the Post Office company in respect of any postal order, or any document purporting to be a postal order, shall not incur liability to anyone except the principal by reason of having received the payment or having held or presented the order or document for payment.

(8) Subsection (7) does not relieve any principal for whom any such order or document has been so held or presented of any liability in respect of his possession of the order or document or of the proceeds of the order or document.

(9) In this section “relevant uncrossed order” means—

(a) an uncrossed postal or money order which—

(i) is expressed to be payable to a person specified or described in the order, and

(ii) is signed by or on behalf of that person or purports to be so signed, or

(b) an uncrossed postal order which is not expressed to be payable to a person specified or described in the order.

(10) In this section and section 113 “banker” includes a body which carries on the business of banking.