What to do if…
mail or funds you sent to someone in custody were rejected

What to do now

1. Verify the contact first.

   • Look up the prison or detention establishment through an official website.
   • Call the main switchboard or use the official contact route.
   • Ask to be put through to the mailroom for mail, or the business hub, finance, cash office, or prisoner money team for funds.

2. Check what type of custody it is.

   • Ask whether the person is in a prison, immigration detention centre, police custody, court custody, or another holding facility.
   • If it is not a prison, ask that facility for its own mail and money rules before sending anything again.
   • If the message used vague wording such as “detention facility” but will not name the establishment, treat that as a warning sign and verify through official channels only.

3. Get the rejection details and write them down.

   • Ask what was rejected: letter, parcel, card, documents, online payment, or money sent another way.
   • Ask for the date received, the rejection reason, any reference number, and what happens next.
   • Ask whether it has been returned, held, refused, or not matched to the person’s account.

4. Confirm the person’s current details.

   • Confirm the current establishment.
   • Check the full name used by the establishment.
   • Check the prisoner number, date of birth if needed for the payment service, and any exact reference the establishment requires.

5. If funds were rejected, use the official route for where they are held.

   • For prisons in England and Wales, the usual route is the GOV.UK “Send money to someone in prison” debit-card service.
   • If you cannot use the online service for a prison in England or Wales, ask about the exemption process before posting any money.
   • For prisons in Scotland, check the Scottish Prison Service guidance and use the reference details it gives.
   • For prisons in Northern Ireland, check the nidirect payment route and the requirements for visitor registration, prisoner nomination, visitor ID, and prisoner ID or number.
   • For any non-prison facility, ask the facility for its own official payment or property process.

6. If mail was rejected, correct the specific fault before re-sending.

   • Ask for the exact address format.
   • Put the person’s full name and prisoner number on the envelope if the establishment asks for it.
   • Include your full return name and address where the establishment requires it.
   • Remove anything the establishment says is not allowed, such as prohibited enclosures, coded content, or items that need separate permission.

7. If it is legal or court-related mail, check the confidential legal mail route.

   • For prisons in England and Wales, use the official legal mail guidance if it applies to you.
   • If you are not eligible to use the barcode service for prisons in England and Wales, check the Rule 39 marking and envelope requirements before re-sending.
   • For Scotland, Northern Ireland, immigration detention, police custody, or court custody, ask the establishment for its own confidential legal correspondence route.

8. Protect yourself while it is being checked.

   • Keep screenshots, receipts, postal tracking numbers, payment IDs, rejection notices, and the names or roles of staff you speak to.
   • If an official payment shows as paid but the establishment says it has not arrived, ask what evidence they need to trace it before making any second payment.

9. If it remains unresolved, ask about the correct complaint route.

   • For England and Wales, the person in custody can usually start with the internal prison complaints process.
   • If the internal process has finished and the issue is still unresolved in England and Wales, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman may be the next route.
   • For Scotland, Northern Ireland, or a non-prison facility, ask the establishment for the local complaints route.