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Published:
4:25 PM December 21, 2021
Residents in Cricklewood have been left without post for “over a week” in the run-up to Christmas due to Royal Mail staffing shortages.
Jenny Thomas, who lives on Dartmouth Road, said that she first noticed an issue with deliveries around one month ago when her regular postman was moved to a different round.
Since then, her post has only been delivered once every seven to 10 days.
Similar issues have been reported by other residents on Dartmouth Road, as well as by people living on neighbouring Teignmouth Road.
“Apparently we will only get letters if we have a parcel delivery by a Royal Mail van,” said Jenny. “We haven’t had many Christmas cards yet – it’s pathetic.”
Residents also criticised the lack of engagement from the local Post Office in responding to their concerns.
“They just say that everyone’s got Covid so you can’t really win can you,” said Jenny.
Between December 14 and 20 December, the Borough of Brent recorded 4,177 coronavirus infections, an increase of 136.4 per cent on the previous seven days.
Jenny also expressed disappointment that her usual postman no longer covered Dartmouth Road on his route.
“I think it’s a really bad policy to take away your postman,” she said. “Our old postman knew us all and there was a nice community feel.
“I’ve got loads of friends who live on their own and never speak to anyone all day other than the postman. I’d be glad if the Royal Mail decided not to move people on.”
In response to these issues, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.
“In the Cricklewood Delivery Office this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as Covid-related self-isolation, higher than usual levels of sick absence, resourcing or other local factors.
“We are providing targeted support to the Cricklewood Delivery Office and we apologise to customers for the inconvenience they may have experienced.”
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