Royal Mail Christmas parcel chaos as ‘severe delays’ hit 21 offices

CHRISTMAS cards and presents could be delayed this year as Royal Mail services are disrupted in parts of the UK.

The postal service said the issues were due to Covid-related self isolation, high levels of sick days, resourcing problems and “other local factors”.

In total, the number of delivery offices facing issues has hit 21 including Warrington, Willesden and Chelmsford.

The operator has 1,200 offices, so the majority of the country is experiencing a normal service.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Deliveries are operating as normal across most of the country.

“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, high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.

“In those cases we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers.

“We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.”

The postal service was impacted by delays during the summer due to the “pingdemic”, when workers had to self-isolate more frequently.

That caused disruption in 12 areas of the UK, and came months after delays in 28 locations following the third national lockdown in January.

When is the last date for Christmas post?’

Royal Mail is encouraging customers to send their Christmas post earlier than usual this year, as well as ordering online well in advance.

It said that will help postmen and women “deliver the bumper festive mailbag”.

If you’re sending letters or packages to loved ones in the UK, here are the last dates to pop them in the post.

It’s always better to try and send your parcel a few days before the deadline if possible.

• Friday, December 17: Royal Mail Bulk Mail Economy
• Saturday, December 18: 2nd Class, 2nd Class Signed For and Royal Mail 48®
• Tuesday, December 21: 1st Class, 1st Class Signed For, Royal Mail 24 and Royal Mail Tracked 48®
• Wednesday, December 22: Royal Mail Tracked 24®
• Thursday, December 23: Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed®

Which areas are impacted by Royal Mail delays?

Royal Mail keeps its website updated with the latest delays, so you can keep an eye out for any problems affecting your area.

You can also sign up for email updates to be alerted to any changes.

These are the areas that are affected by the disruption:

• Belfast West DO (BT10 – BT12 and BT17)
• Belper DO (DE56)
• Bowthorpe DO (NR5, NR8)
• Burnham On Crouch DO (CM0 8)
• Buxton NR SUDO (NR10 5)
• Chelmsford DO (CM1 to CM3)
• Congleton DO (CW4 and CW12)
• Eccles DO (M30)
• Farnborough DO (GU14)
• Finsbury Park DO (N4 and N15)
• Havant DO (PO9-10)
• Hornsey DO (N8)
• Kinlochleven SPDO (PH50)
• Longton DO (ST3 and ST11)
• New Ferry DO (CH32, CH62 and CH63)
• Northwich DO (CW8 to CW9)
• Pontypridd DO (CF37, CF38 and CF46)
• Rayleigh DO (SS6)
• Shrewsbury DO (SY1 to SY5)
• St. Helens DO (WA9 to WA11)
• Stocksbridge (S36)
• Upminster DO (RM14)
• Upton DO (CH30 and CH49)
• Warrington DO (WA1 to WA2 and WA4 to WA5)
• Willesden DO (NW10 and NW26)