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Royal Mail’s Colchester depot, in Moorside, came under fire from residents on Tuesday after councillor Julie Young raised concerns over the length of time Greenstead residents are having to wait for their mail.
Many have said they have missed essential hospital appointments as a result of not receiving letters in a time, while one parent said her child can no longer claim Disability Living Allowance because he did not get his renewal documents before the deadline.
The issue has seemingly plagued Colchester for several months, and now hundreds of residents have shared their experiences.
Tara Ince said: “We got two weeks’ worth delivered last Thursday. Two sets of birthday cards and a hospital letter in there. I get parcels fine, just no letters.”
Many residents also encounter a lot of mix-ups with mail being delivered to the wrong address, making it more difficult to receive their own mail on time.
Penelope Andrews said: “I think I’ve had post three, maybe four times since we moved into the area in December. And one of them was for a different road.”
Thankfully, some of those who have not received hospital appointment letters in time, have been sent text message reminders.
Carolyn Youngs said: “We got no post for ages, but I got a text message this morning reminding us of my daughter’s MRI.
“I didn’t even know she had one booked yet, luckily the NHS are on the ball and send out reminders.”
Margaret Harvey added: “I’m in CO4 and our post is atrocious and has been for about a year now.
“We are lucky if we get one post a week often more like a fortnight.
“My partner had a hospital appointment with the letter arriving two days after the appointment.”
Despite modern communication forms being on the advance, many people are still relying on actual mail, not only elderly residents.
Business owners have also complained that the lack of deliveries is affecting their companies.
Emma Gem said: “It’s the same in Highwoods, we get all our post at once about once a week or fortnight.
“I have missed important appointments and it’s not great when trying to run a business.”
Some residents are trying to avoid delivery issues by visiting the Colchester Royal Mail site in person to pick up important and long-awaited mail.
But the issue seems to run deeper, as even personal visits to the collection site leave people going home empty handed.
Katie Read said: “We have had problems – I mean no mail at all. We have been down there three times and apparently nothing is there – even when we both have very important letters on the way.”
Other people have said personal greeting and birthday cards do not arrive on time either, despite paying more money for a first-class delivery, which aims to deliver letters and parcels the next day.
Anne Cox said: “Our cards have still not come and I think it’s unlikely to now. The money wasted in buying a card and first-class stamp is so annoying.”
Speaking previously, bosses at Royal Mail apologised to residents who have experienced delays and said it is committed to improving the quality of the service it provides and restoring service levels in line with its customers’ expectations.
A spokesman said: “While on occasion there are delays to our service, mail is being delivered daily across the county.
“When a person has mail to be delivered and does not receive it on the day they expect, we will always try to prioritise them the following day.
“We have plans in place to continue driving our service forward and encourage anyone who has concerns about their mail to please get in touch.”
Royal Mail has been contacted for comment.
