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Royal Mail customers have voiced frustration after important letters containing replacement bank cards and NHS appointment details became stuck in the post amid continuing postal strikes.
About 115,000 unionised employees walked out of their jobs from Wednesday 30 November to Thursday 1 December after talks between the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail broke down.
Postal workers told i that the fresh wave of action only added to the post backlog, which has been gradually building since industrial action began in late August.
The CWU is planning to take further strike action on Friday 9 December, Sunday 11 December, Wednesday 14 December and Thursday 15 December 2022.
It comes after i obtained new images of a sorting office in the Midlands that show wall-to-wall trolleys. Leaked images published on Thursday show post piled high at sorting offices in the north-west and south-west of England and in Essex in the south-east.
Royal Mail said these images were “not unusual for peak season” when sorting offices process large amounts of post.
i understands that employees have been urged to prioritise Tracked parcels over letters, meaning vital post including hospital letters and bank cards has been delayed.
Emma Batrick, 41, said she had been forced to rely on her credit card because her replacement bank card was stuck in the post, meaning she was “kicking a can down the road financially” which was “not ideal”.
She needs the new card in order to return an £80 pair of glasses, but she is running out of time because of the postal delays. “My bank card has likely been delayed by Royal Mail’s inaction and refusal to do anything to meet postal workers’ needs,” she told i.
“In comparison to what postal workers are having to put up with and do, and the tough decisions they are having to make, mine is a minor inconvenience, but Royal Mail doesn’t seem to care about disruption,” she added
Ms Batrick said she relied on the postal service for letters and she appreciated the ease with which users could contact Royal Mail customer service, unlike with other couriers.
However, earlier this week, Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail, told Sky News that the company’s business model had changed, saying: “We used to be a letters business. We are now a parcels business.”
Meanwhile, another customer said she had not yet seen a letter from hospital she should have received. Tracey Ainsley, 57, described the delays as “frustrating” because she had still not received an NHS letter containing details of an allergy test she recently had in hospital.
She has been struggling with severe swelling and dry skin around her face after eating certain foods so attended the hospital for a series of tests. Ms Ainsley then got a phone call asking her to come in to discuss “the letter”, but she had not received any letters from the NHS.
“I still haven’t received the letter from the hospital about the allergy tests. Basically, to give me advice on what to do,” she told i. Asked if she blamed the delays on the strikes, she said: “Well, yes because where is it [the letter]? It hasn’t arrived yet.
“It’s really irritating because I’m all upset about this condition. Because I’ve got other things wrong with me. I’ve got MS, I’ve got fibromyalgia. And I’ve got this other thing going on. When I’m eating certain foods, I’m having major diarrhoea and a swollen face.
“It’s just getting me upset because it’s other things on top of my chronic conditions. The delays are so frustrating.”
Ms Ainsley said she relied on receiving physical letters in the post because she needed to keep track of her various chronic conditions.
“I keep them in a file to make sure that I keep a record because I’ve got medical conditions,” she said. “If I’m stressed, I forget things so I like to have the letters. I put the appointments on my phone. And I put the letters on a notice board in order.”
Royal Mail has brought forward its final posting dates to try to make sure presents and cards arrive in time for Christmas.
The latest posting day for second-class mail has been brought forward by seven days, from 19 December to 12 December.
The last date to post first-class mail is now five days earlier, having been pushed forward from 21 December to 16 December.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We have well-developed contingency plans in place to ensure our customers are looked after, and minimise delays during CWU’s industrial action to keep people, businesses and the country connected.
More on Royal Mail
“The CWU is striking at our busiest time, holding Christmas to ransom for our customers, businesses and families across the country. We apologise for any inconvenience the CWU’s industrial action is causing.
“We advise customers to post items as early as possible to ensure Christmas letters and parcels reach their destination in good time.
“Every item of mail is important to us. Royal Mail does not operate a policy of prioritising parcels. We regularly remind colleagues that the delivery, collection and processing of letters and parcels should be treated with equal importance.”
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