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ACUTE staff shortages at the Royal Mail offices in Chippenham have left some residents fuming as they are still waiting for letters, cards and presents sent before Christmas.
Complaints began to rise after people noticed that birthday and Christmas cards, letters and parcels sent weeks ago failed to arrive at their destinations on time.
The town’s Royal Mail offices at Bumpers Way on the Bumpers Farm estate are allegedly short of around 20 staff due to Covid-19 pandemic sickness and managers’ failure to replace staff who have left.
One customer said: “Still waiting for my birthday cards. Should have been here on 17 December.
“My cousin went to sorting office on Bumpers Farm and asked for his mail as he is waiting for important documents, then overdue, and received a large handful.”
One woman said: “They are doing the best they can under the circumstances. They are taking it in turns and do parcels one day, post the next, as they have such a backlog of work.”
Mail delivery has been delayed by up to three weeks because up to 50 per cent of the staff at the centre are on sick leave or have left.
Acknowledging the staffing and backlog issues, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “The vast majority of mail is delivered safely and on time. We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.
“In the local area, we are experiencing some delays to service due to high levels of sickness absence, Covid-related self-isolation and resourcing issues.
“We apologise to any customers who may have experienced delays to their mail. We have been working hard to get our levels of service back to normal as soon as possible and the situation is improving.
“Anyone who has concerns over the delivery of their mail should contact the Royal Mail customer service team on 03457 740 740 or via the Royal Mail website www.royalmail.com.”
