Swindon residents missing birthday cards and hospital letters due to Royal Mail

Frustrated Swindonians have had birthday cards and hospital appointment reminders turn up late due to delays with their post.

Important letters have been left undelivered for days due to issues with the postal service in Swindon.

Annoyed neighbours complained to the Adver about the situation and alleged that mail was being stockpiled.

The Royal Mail apologised for the recent delays and insisted that no stockpiling takes place as “every effort is made” to deliver post as soon as it comes to the sorting office.

One disgruntled citizen spent a week waiting for post that never arrived, then went to the Dorcan sorting office to raise a concern – and received a pile of more than 25 letters.

David Head said: “Three of these were for appointments – fortunately, none missed – and one a follow-up letter after a consultation.

“Surely this isn’t right and needs to be rectified before someone actually misses appointments.”

Jackie Crook added: “It was my birthday in the middle of August and I felt it strange to have not received birthday cards from some of my friends.

“To my dismay and shock, five cards arrived between five and eight days late, all using first and second-class mail.

“It is terrible that a customer pays for such an amount for a first-class stamp that should arrive the next day and likewise for a second class to arrive a further day later.

“It seems to me that Royal Mail is stockpiling mail, and only delivering when they want to.”

Rodney Wirdam said: “We regularly receive a bulk delivery once per week, usually Thursday or Friday. Never Saturday or Monday.

“I recall when living at home  when much younger, home postal deliveries were timed to the minute almost and at least twice per day.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are sorry to residents in Swindon who have experienced delays.

“Improving quality of service is our top priority and we are committed to restoring service levels to where our customers expect them to be.

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“There have been some issues with staffing levels at the local delivery office.

“However, every effort is being made to keep delays to a minimum, and staff are working to ensure any mail is delivered as soon as possible.

“We encourage anyone with concerns about the delivery of their mail to contact Royal Mail customer service on 03457 740 740 or via www.royalmail.com.”