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RESIDENTS in West Fife have hit out at the “absolutely appalling” service from Royal Mail during the festive period.
Some in the Dunfermline area have told the Press that deliveries were only being made once a week in the run-up to Christmas.
Eric Travers, from Dunfermline, wrote to the Press and said: “I’ve written previously bemoaning the postal service in my area. It hasn’t improved any since then, and, in the lead-up to Christmas, it’s been absolutely appalling. Now, I know that they’re inundated at this particular time, and I appreciate that things aren’t quite the same as they were last year, but how can a Christmas card, with a first class stamp on it, take a fortnight to be delivered from Rosyth?”
Bill Linton, of Dunfermline, contacted the Press and asked: “What has happened to letter deliveries in the Dunfermline area in the last two months? Since a new service of parcels being uplifted from our doorstep commenced, the delivery of letters is now only happening every three days, if we are lucky. Today, (December 29) I received a very small packet with first class postage on it and it has taken 18 days to travel from Edinburgh to Dunfermline.
“In addition, eight Christmas Cards also arrived – so much for coping with the Festive rush! How can increasing the postage rates in the New Year be justified when we are not even getting a third class service at the moment?”
Meanwhile, a woman from Fairways in Dunfermline claimed on December 23 that they hadn’t had a Royal Mail delivery in over a week.
She said: “I appreciate it is a busy time of year and obviously the coronavirus situation is a factor but surely this is an unacceptable level of service?”
Another resident, this time in Carnock, also suggested it was a similar problem in the village as well, adding: “When it comes, it’s just in a stack, so it appears they’re keeping them to deliver bundles at a time.”
Royal Mail told the Press that they had received “exceptionally high volumes of parcels ahead of the festive period” and were working hard to cope with the “unprecedented” increase of parcels into their network.
A spokesperson said: “Following an outstanding effort from our people, the majority of the Royal Mail network is now running as usual in line with this seasonal peak in demand.
“Ahead of the Christmas peak, we hired around 33,000 temporary workers to support our 115,000 permanent postmen and women. Temporary staff, many of whom return year after year, are helping to sort parcels, cards and letters at sites across the UK.
“The combination of greatly-increased uptake of online Christmas shopping, in no small part driven by the recent lockdown, and the ongoing COVID restrictions, mean that all delivery companies are experiencing exceptionally high volumes this year.
“Throughout the pandemic, every decision we make puts the health of our people and customers first. From the start, we have always said that despite our best endeavours, it is possible that some areas of the country may experience a reduction in service levels due to COVID-related absences and necessary social-distancing measures at local mail centres and delivery offices. Every single parcel, letter and card is important to us.
“We remain grateful to all our customers for their patience and understanding as our dedicated workforce work hard to deliver these exceptional volumes, while also adhering to necessary social-distancing measures. Our amazing postmen and postwomen, who have kept the UK connected throughout the pandemic and two lockdowns, are doing everything necessary to get letters and parcels to everyone over the festive period.”
