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Royal Mail has told customers that its services are on track to returning to normal in spite of absences among staff caused by Covid-19.
A report published by Citizens Advice suggested that almost one third of people experienced a delay in receiving or sending letters in January.
According to the survey, almost one in 20 people received no post at all last month which left them being unable to pay bills and missing job interviews and appointments with the doctor.
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Following its survey of 2,000 adults, the charity suggested that people living in London, the West Midlands and southeast England were most likely to have faced postal problems.
Citizens Advice praised the Royal Mail for having worked “tirelessly” despite new pressures affecting the service due to the pandemic. These have included absences of as high as 50 per cent of the staff in some delivery offices because of the crisis.
Royal Mail expressed its disappointment with the report and said that it felt the statistics did not match its internal data.
Alistair Cromwell, acting chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “We know Royal Mail have faced new pressures during the pandemic, and postal workers have worked tirelessly to ensure we can all stay connected.
“But letter delivery is a vital public service, relied on by many for bills and other critical information.”
Mr Cromwell went on to “urge” Royal Mail to be more transparent, saying that they should manage people’s expectations, perhaps by making sure people are able to receive letters “at least once a week.”
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “From the start of this crisis, we have worked hard to keep the UK connected. As Citizens Advice has recognised, the ongoing pandemic has led to unprecedented new pressures on our network.”
They added: “Given the exceptional volumes we have experienced during lockdown, and the ongoing impact of Covid-related staff absences, we recognise that at times our service has not always been as we would have wished.”
The spokesperson underlined the fact that customers should be able to expect deliveries “at least every other day” adding that this would only not be possible in “extreme cases” which they called an “exception.”
This news comes as the postal delivery service is struggling with wintery conditions and increased demand in its service, as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.
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