Post Office Act 1908

MONEY ORDERS

23Money orders

(1)So long as the Treasury think fit, the Postmaster-General may provide for the remission of small sums of money through the Post Office by means of money orders, and may demand and receive for the use of His Majesty in respect of those money orders such rates of poundage as may be fixed by Post Office regulations, and all poundage so received shall be deemed to be part of the Post Office revenue.

(2)Post Office regulations may make provisions with respect to money orders, and to the payment thereof, and to the persons by or to whom they are to be paid, and the times at which and the mode in which they are to be paid.

(3)Subject to the said regulations the Postmaster-General may repay the amount of any money order to the person to whom the order is issued, or his executors or administrators, whether the order remains in the possession of that person or not, and upon that repayment all liability on the part of the Postmaster-General, or any officer of the Post Office, or the Post Office revenue, or the Consolidated Fund, in respect of the money order shall, as against the payee of the money order, and the holder thereof, and every other person whomsoever, absolutelv cease.

(4)No action or other legal proceeding shall be instituted against the Postmaster-General or any officer of the Post Office, or any person whomsoever, in respect of any compliance with the said regulations, or otherwise in relation thereto, or in respect of the payment of any such money orders being refused or delayed by or on account of any accidental neglect, omission, or mistake, by or on the part of any officer of the Post Office, or for any other cause whatsoever, without fraud or wilful mis-behavioxir on the part of any such officer of the Post Office.

24Special provisions as to postal orders

(1)The Postmaster-General, with the consent of the Treasury, may authorise his officers or any of them to issue money orders in a special form to be prescribed from time to time by the regulations made under the preceding section, and those money orders (in this Act referred to as postal orders) shall be paid in the manner and subject to the conditions prescribed by the said regulations.

Provided that—

(a)A postal order shall be for one of the amounts prescribed by the regulations not exceeding twenty-one shillings, and the poundage shall not exceed twopence:

(b)A postal order shall not be issued until the amount of the order and the poundage have been paid to the officer issuing the order :

(c)After the expiration of three months from the last day of the month in which a postal order is issued by the Post Office, the order shall be payable only on payment in manner prescribed by the regulations of a commission equal to the amount of the original poundage.

(2)No interest shall be payable in respect of any postal order.

(3)If the regulations so provide, the Postmaster-General may authorise any person holding office under the Crown to issue postal orders, and a person so authorised shall, for the purpose of the issue and payment of postal orders, be deemed to be an officer of the Postmaster-General and of the Post Office within the meaning of this Act.

25Liability of bankers in respect of postal orders

Any banker or corporation or company acting as bankers in the British Islands who, in collecting in that capacity for any principal, shall have received payment or been allowed by the Postmaster-General in account in respect of any postal order, or of any document purporting to be a postal order, shall not incur liability to anyone except that principal by reason of having received the payment or allowance, or having held or presented the order or document for payment; but this section shall 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 thereof.