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Ellie Reeves is the latest MP to wade into the East Dulwich postal service fiasco but locals fear she will be “fobbed off” by Royal Mail.
East Dulwich residents have raged over delayed post ever since Royal Mail closed the Silvester Road delivery office and merged it with Peckham in 2018.
Reeves dropped by the Peckham and East Dulwich Delivery Office on Friday, October 4, after receiving “numerous complaints” from constituents about delays.
The MP for Lewisham West and East Dulwich was “glad to hear” about plans to recruit two extra members of staff.
Royal Mail said it takes “the delivery of mail very seriously and work to ensure all items are delivered on time”.
But locals across SE22 and SE27, say they have little confidence it will make a difference. Barbara Richardson, Co-Chair of the Dovercourt Road Residents’ Association, said: “I do not trust the postal service one bit. They couldn’t organise a booze-up in a brewery.”
She continued: “It impacts me because I get no post for ages and then I get tonnes all at once… But I think those who suffer most are those who don’t know how to complain.”
“I think they [MPs] are being fobbed off,” she said.
Bruce Sherman, a Dulwich resident, agreed that politicians’ interventions would amount to “zilch” unless they “ball out” Royal Mail bosses.
“All Labour politicians are completely useless,” he fumed. “All she [Reeves] has to do is ball them out!”
He continued: “We are still waiting for our Spectator, which was supposed to be delivered on Friday!”
On the popular website East Dulwich Forum, residents are sharing tales of mailing misery.
One resident said he’d seen posties looking “defeated” by a “huge load” of mail stacked up inside a van.
Several residents we spoke to repeated the claim that postmen were being told to prioritise parcel delivery because it “brings in money”. Royal Mail has consistently denied this is true.
‘I have zero hope or faith in getting my delivery unless I contact my bank and ask them to resend my A4 sheet of paper, but this time in a huge bloody box,’ one resident wrote online.
Ellie Reeves said: “I was very pleased to visit the Peckham and East Dulwich Delivery Office last week. I have been concerned to receive numerous complaints from constituents in East Dulwich who have experienced postal delays.
“While I was glad to hear that the office have a plan to recruit extra staff to ensure post is delivered on time, I am conscious these issues have been ongoing for some time.
“I will therefore continue to monitor the situation closely and I would encourage any resident impacted by postal delays to get in touch – sending me the envelope that any late post arrived in where possible.”
Dulwich residents may be suffering a bout of déjà vu, given they faced a very similar situation this time last year.
We reported in October 2023 that important correspondence, including solicitors’ letters, has reportedly gone AWOL while some children have missed out on birthday cards.
In response, Helen Hayes MP, then representing East Dulwich, said: “Ever since Royal Mail closed the SE22 Silvester Road delivery office, we have seen unacceptable disruption to postal services. I warned Royal Mail that the closure would lead to chaos and campaigned against this reckless decision with the local community.
“Royal Mail’s management has failed to take any long-term action since then to support their hardworking staff and ensure a decent level of service for local people.”
Royal Mail responded at the time saying it had recruited around 6,000 postmen and women in the previous twelve weeks, with plans to recruit 500 more delivery staff.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We take the delivery of mail very seriously and work to ensure all items are delivered on time.
“This is the case in East Dulwich where the majority of homes receive their expected mail daily. If a delivery is missed, whether due to local issues such as staffing or a period of high sick absence, we will prioritise it and aim to deliver the following day.
“We would reassure residents that we are taking additional measures to further improve the service, including the revision of certain routes, and the recruiting of two new staff-members who are expected to begin within the fortnight.
“We encourage any customer who has concerns about their deliveries to contact us directly so we can investigate.”
