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Knowle Close residents say they are “extremely concerned” that mail is being withheld in the sorting office in Fore Street.
Above: Nigel Ecclesfield inside his house, waiting patiently at the letterbox for mail to arrive
A cul-de-sac in Cullompton, Devon is feeling left out by Royal Mail as residents say they are not regularly receiving their post.
Knowle Close residents say they are “extremely concerned” that mail is being withheld in the sorting office in Fore Street.
Diana Speaight said: “We have documented evidence commencing on November 12, 2019, through the Royal Mail complaints system beginning with the Customer Service Centre through the escalated Customer Resolution Team to the ‘final point of escalation’ according to the Royal Mail, the Postal Review Panel, whose response on June 24, 2020, which was almost identical to the one given on November 14, 2019.”
The letter from Royal Mail states: “The sorting office manager has investigated this issue and there are no issues with delivering to your address. Mail is cleared on a daily basis.”
However, Ms Speaight says that this is not the case.
She added: “Two envelopes postmarked May 5, 2020, both with first-class stamps were delivered on June 13. One envelope postmarked June 6 was also delivered on June 13.
“We have been informed by several postal workers that we are on a lapsing round which is only completed by postal workers who have time to deliver our mail after completing their usual rounds.”
She called for Royal Mail to realise there is a problem.
“Royal Mail need to realise that this is a problem. People are paying first class postage expecting letters to arrive the following day because that should be the standard in this country. That’s not the case. They deny there is a problem, but we are saying there is a problem and we have proof.”
Another neighbour, Frances Smart, added: “Our next-door neighbour was expecting a message from the hospital. In fact, when he went down personally to pick up his mail on June 13, there was the letter inviting him to a hospital appointment.
“Fortunately, the hospital rang him, and he was able to keep his appointment; if he had waited for the post, he would have missed his appointment.”
Former postman Michael May said he had fought a similar battle three times in the seven years he has lived in Knowle Close.
He said: “I was a postman myself in Bradninch for two years, so I know the workings of it. If you’ve been into a sorting office you know full well what you do; your mail comes in in big boxes, and you sort it into a frame by a house.
“Living locally as I did for a long time, I knew some of the posties, and speaking to them about it, they all say that because we’re a small close off of Langlands Road, our post is being left in the frame.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Service levels on Knowle Close have improved, and deliveries are being made every day.
“We have implemented a rule that means there is only one person in a Royal Mail delivery vehicle at any one time. These new social distancing measures are aimed at offering further protection for our colleagues and customers.
“Regular deliveries are being made, there is no backlog of mail. Customers who have concerns about their post should contact our customer team.”
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