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Jessica Toale, MP for Bournemouth West, penned a letter communications services regulator asking it to investigate the Royal Mail in Bournemouth after it residents they had not been receiving their mail regularly.
“For many months, a significant number of households have experienced severe disruption, including long stretches without any post and the consistent late delivery of time-sensitive items such as NHS appointment letters,” wrote Toale.
“With the Christmas period now underway, the situation for many residents is deteriorating further. Causing significant anxiety.”
She added on social media that residents had also told her they had missed important NHS appointments because letters had not arrived.
Royal Mail has stated that recent disruption has been caused by elevated sickness levels and staffing issues and have pursued a programme of recruitment in order to address this, Toale said, but that recent disruption was not solely caused by sickness level and staffing issues.
“While these explanations may account for isolated short-term difficulties, they do not reflect the scale or the persistence of the problems being reported to my office,” said the Bournemouth West MP.
Her letter comes in the wake of BCP resident saying they were “frustrated, heartbroken and losing trust” in online shopping after issues with parcel delivery firm, Evri.
Evri responded to the criticism saying it was “continuing to monitor the situation” and that “necessary driver retraining” is carried out.
Toale added she been contacted by Royal Mail employees in the area, who said that these problems are not the result of temporary pressures but may reflect “deeper operational difficulties”.
Her letter also stated staff claimed it had internally reported mail is being left unsorted or, at times, not allowed at all, directly into the system for delivery and said Royal Mail has been aware of efficiency and resourcing issues for more than a year.
“My office has made multiple attempts to obtain clarity from Royal Mail on when full service will be restored, what measures are in place to prevent further disruption during the holiday period, how many staff have been recruited, and how delivery rotations are being managed.
“These questions either remain unanswered or not addressed in full.”
Toale has asked Ofcom to investigate this matter as a priority.
