Postal strikes cause delays to families across Norwich

The chaos caused by Royal Mail strikes and delivery firms struggling has affected families around the city with deliveries being cancelled or not arriving.

Rosemarie King, who lives on the outskirts of the city in Flordon, purchased £350 worth of presents for Christmas but has yet to receive one item.

Rosemarie King, 50, is still waiting for £350 worth of Christmas presents to be delivered (Image: Rosemarie King)

The 50-year-old, who works in telesales, said: “I ordered a number of gifts like shirts, jeans, perfume and jewellery from a couple of companies in mid-November which came to about £350.

“After being delayed I was told they would arrive on December 28 but they’re still not here.

“I understand there’s been a few courier issues with the strikes but this is the worst experience I’ve ever had and it’s put me off online shopping a little – it’s depressing.”

Samantha Reed lives just south of the city centre and ordered an “expensive shirt” online for her brother which has still not arrived.

Samantha Reed, 30, is still waiting on a present she purchased her brother for Christmas (Image: Samantha Reed)

“I ordered it on December 2 and received an email saying it had been delivered to me on December 12, but I never received it.

“But in order to get my refund I was told I needed to return the package, which I don’t have, something which I have stated over and over again.

“I’m very disappointed and frustrated as I feel no one is listening to me.”

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Both families were expecting their deliveries from Evri, which has apologised to customers but pointed to still making over three million deliveries a day, blaming “Royal Mail strikes, staff shortages and severe weather conditions”.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) mounted picket lines outside Royal Mail sorting and delivery offices across the country on five days in December, including Christmas Eve.

The Royal Mail strikes have caused a number of gifts and parcels to arrive late (Image: Archant)

A Royal Mail spokesman apologised for the disruption and said: “Throughout, we have prioritised essential government mailings and NHS letters for delivery.

“After each period of industrial action, we have increased our network capacity and used additional resources to assist with getting services back to normal as quickly as possible.”