Northwich residents anger at Royal Mail over lack of post

There have been reports that some people have missed medical appointments as a result of not receiving letters from the NHS, while others are waiting on debit cards from their banks.

Helen Weltman, Cheshire West and Chester councillor for Davenham, Moulton and Kingsmead, where she is also a resident, said she has heard stories from many people living in the area and has even experienced sporadic delivery issues herself.

She said: “We do indeed have a real issue on Kingsmead, for example people are not getting doctors/hospital appointment letter s through in time and are missing appointments.

“There is no consistency to the deliveries days and times.

“For example I subscribe to a magazine, the issue for November 18 was delivered on 22, while the edition for the November 11 was delivered on 23.

“It’s like they’re playing catch up.

“I’ve also heard of people not getting bank debit cards through, so can’t use them to pay for their shopping or withdraw cash.”

Several residents, including Cllr Weltman’s husband, have gone down to the sorting office in Northwich and been told a change of policy is to blame, however, Royal Mail maintain the issue being down to staffing shortages.

“Lots of residents have also made written complaints, while others have been told there is a back log due to a new sorting system,” she added.

“I have emailed the CEO of Royal Mail myself to ask them to investigate.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are currently experiencing some staff shortages in the Northwich area which may cause some disruption to our service.

“We are in the process of recruiting new members of staff and are looking to restore our normal high service levels as quickly as possible.

“Every item of mail is important to Royal Mail.

“We apologise to customers for any inconvenience they may experience as the situation improves.”