a solicitors of a council is using app

over the past 12 months I have received several letters from a city council solicitors. after the yours faithfully ... his signature is signed however his name is not printed. there is a pp written under his signature and under the pp in type print is the department for which the solicitor has said he is pping for.

In the several letters to me there have been three different departments that the solicitor has pp for.

Is this a correct procedure for a pp, I understand that people use it in different ways due to them not knowing the proper way but shouldn't a solicitor know the correct way.

this is very important to my queries within the city council concerned.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alan999

over the past 12 months I have received several letters from a city council solicitors. after the yours faithfully ... his signature is signed however his name is not printed. there is a pp written under his signature and under the pp in type print is the department for which the solicitor has said he is pping for.

In the several letters to me there have been three different departments that the solicitor has pp for.

Is this a correct procedure for a pp, I understand that people use it in different ways due to them not knowing the proper way but shouldn't a solicitor know the correct way.

this is very important to my queries within the city council concerned.

---

Have you considered that no-one wants to deal with you, and that they're giving you the run around? The council solicitor has to send you the letter, but they don't want to identify themself as the person responsible for your case.
Perhaps you could scan the signature, and write Dear .

PS: I don't know the answer to your specific question, sorry.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Alan999

over the past 12 months I have received several letters from a city council solicitors. after the yours faithfully ... his signature is signed however his name is not printed. there is a pp written under his signature and under the pp in type print is the department for which the solicitor has said he is pping for.

In the several letters to me there have been three different departments that the solicitor has pp for.

Is this a correct procedure for a pp, I understand that people use it in different ways due to them not knowing the proper way but shouldn't a solicitor know the correct way.

this is very important to my queries within the city council concerned.

---

The actual "pp" itself stands for "pro procurationem" - meaning "by/through the agency of".

Effectively it means "signed on behalf of".

In many government departments, individual officers are not solely responsible for the letters/faxes they send, they are working on behalf of the entire department. Consequently, although someone is obliged to sign the letter, they wish to make the point that they are doing so in the name of the entire department.

By the same token, the secretary of a busy employer may sign all his letters for him (or her!) - the letter may or not have been written or dictated by the employer, typed by the secretary but if the author is too busy to sign perhaps hundreds of letters every day, he may ask the secretary to do it instead.

In that case you would have Yours Faithfully, followed by the secretary's signature, and under that "pp....actual name of author of the letter".

In your case, I would be inclined to partly agree with the first responder. People in many government departments do not have individual responsibilities for dealing with specific customers - queries are dealt with by whoever happens to be on duty on that desk that day. This is why you will rarely be given the name of a specific person to deal with. You can try scanning the signature and using it when you reply, but your letters will probably continue to be dealt with by a random group of people.

It is perfectly normal as a use of "pp", but like so many things with public offices, the staff will do anything to avoid taking responsibility. At the end of the day you could write to the Council head and put your case to him/her. Also, tell your local press about the runaround and let the office know that you are doing this. They are very jumpy about adverse public comment.

thanks, good idea