Letters piling up undelivered as Royal Mail hit by Covid staff shortages

Undelivered letters have been piling up due to Covid staff shortages at the Royal Mail – which has affected more than 34 postcode areas.

Delays in postal services over the New Year’s and Christmas period have carried over into early January as the Royal Mail updated customers on impacted offices on Wednesday.

Stories of missing letter were shared online from across London.

One resident who lives in Plumstead, south-east London, said: “I’m still waiting for a letter from my dad which he posted two weeks ago. I spoke to the postman today who said that letters are piled up in the depot but they just haven’t been able to deliver them.

“He said they were prioritising parcels over letters.

“I said I hadn’t received any letters since Christmas and he said that loads of people have been saying the same thing.”

Royal Mail have updated their website with a growing list of postcodes with reduced services.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.

“In a small number of local offices this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as COVID-related self-isolation, higher than usual levels of sickness absence, resourcing or other local factors.

“Every item of mail is important to us. We continue to remind colleagues that the delivery, collection and processing of letters and parcels should be treated with equal importance.

“Our staff are continuing to work incredibly hard, as they have done throughout the pandemic, and we are thankful for all of their efforts and determination.”