Lack of staff causing long delays to post

STAFFING shortages have left residents across the Stratford district waiting days – and sometimes weeks – for letters and parcels to be delivered by Royal Mail.

Staff absences have become such a problem that the postal service said it has to rotate the routes covered by postmen and women, leaving some areas with deliveries once or twice a week, while others have reported receiving as little as two letters in three weeks.

Stratford resident, Sian Davies, told the Herald: “We have gone weeks without post sometimes. I had important hospital letters come through on 17th November which were actually sent about four weeks ago. This happened about a month ago as well, then I received a hospital letter that was sent so long ago that the appointment was the next day. We have been led to believe there is no one on our post round and it’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Another Stratford resident said: “Unfortunately mail is quite critical for me at the minute as I’m eight months pregnant and was expecting a referral letter due to some concerns flagged at our last scan.

“As you can imagine, it’s quite distressing not to know where we are or when my next appointment is, or if I’ve already missed it.”

Barney James, another resident, reported that he had received a hospital letter regarding an x-ray ten days after it was sent, and as a result missed the appointment.

Jill Meddins, who also lives in Stratford, said: “It’s got to the stage now where you dare not pop stuff in the post because you don’t know what’s going to happen to it. It’s a bit disconcerting considering how much it costs to send a letter.

“Most of the time, when you ring somebody [to complain] all they want you to do is go online, nobody wants to speak to you. It’s continual aggravation, chasing people up, and all you want is acknowledgment that they’ve got your query.”

The issue has been raised with Stratford town councillors by residents concerned about the delays.

Cllr Jenny Fradgley (Guildhall) said: “I have had some concerns expressed and so has my husband from his ward of Bridgetown. I think it’s a widespread problem. We asked the postman delivering to our house at the time and he confirmed that there are restricted deliveries.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson apologised to customers.

“We are experiencing disruption to service due to resourcing issues which we are addressing as quickly as possible,” they said. “Due to the number of staff absent we have been rotating deliveries in the area so that our customers receive their mail as frequently as possible.

“We apologise to customers for any inconvenience they have experienced. We expect our levels of service will begin returning to normal very soon.

“We are getting ready to deliver Christmas, including recruiting around 20,000 seasonal workers to help sort the Christmas post at sites across the UK.”