East Herts charity gives advice on delayed postal services

The series of monthly columns from Citizens Advice East Herts continues this month and Rachael talks about rising concerns from residents about the delays to postal services.

Written by Rachael Williamson for Citizens Advice East Herts

“We’ve had a lot of issues receiving our post recently and haven’t seen our usual postie around in a little while. I know that a couple of Christmas cards I sent in December still haven’t been received. And some of my neighbours who are shielding, and completely reliant on shopping online, have had some of their deliveries delayed too. Is there anything I can do?”

You’re not alone, we know posties are currently working very hard, but we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of people coming to us for advice about post and parcel issues.

Letters

If you haven’t received any letters in your post, think about if there’s anything you were expecting like bills that might be due soon.  If you’re missing a bill you could check your account online to see how else you could pay. Lots of businesses offer online chat, email and phone as a way to contact them.

If you’re worried about missing letters about any benefits you receive you can contact the Department for Work and Pensions on the number given on any previous letters you’ve had. If you have questions about Universal Credit and don’t have a digital account, you can call the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644.

You can check Royal Mail’s website for updates on areas which may be experiencing delays.

Parcels

If you bought something from a business to be delivered, it’s the seller’s responsibility to make sure the item is delivered to you.

If the seller used a courier, they should chase the courier to find out what’s happened to your order – it’s not your responsibility.

Check the delivery address you gave the seller. Then contact them and ask where your order is.

If the seller claims they’ve delivered it or don’t know where it is, you can ask for a redelivery. You might be able to get a refund in some circumstances where the delivery time was essential and you let the trader know ahead of time.

Under the Consumer Rights Act, you can ask the seller to deliver the item again if the item wasn’t delivered either:

●      by an agreed date

●      within a reasonable time – usually within 30 days.

If the new delivery fails to come within a reasonable time you can ask the trader for a refund.

If you ordered something from a private seller or if you think a seller had broken the law by refusing to deliver an item, you can contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline for help on 0808 223 1133.

For more information you can contact Citizens Advice East Herts on 01920 459 944 or by visiting the website.

The Hertfordshire Mercury covers areas including but not limited to Broxbourne, Cheshunt, Goffs Oak, Ware and Hertford in Hertfordshire.