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Royal Mail has said it is doing ‘everything necessary’ to deliver post after claims some are still receiving Christmas cards which were posted on time.
The postal service has admitted it had to process ‘exceptional volumes’ of parcels and envelopes due to a huge uptake of online Christmas shopping at the end of last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes after it was reported yesterday that three members of staff tested positive for Covid-19, with 18 more self-isolating, at just one delivery office in Margate, Kent.
A spokesperson said: ‘Despite our best endeavours, it is possible that some areas of the country may experience a reduction in service levels due to Covid-related absences and necessary social distancing measures at local mail centres and delivery offices.’
Some people have reported still not receiving post which was sent in early December, while others say they have not had any mail for weeks.
Martin Bullock tweeted: ‘We had half a dozen Christmas cards come through today… not sure if they’re late for last Christmas or very early for next?’
‘I still haven’t received stuff that was sent of on the 2nd of December for Christmas,’ said Lawrie Thomson.
Chunk Solkhon wrote: ‘These cards were sent on 11th December. They arrived today! They only came from Suffolk. Thanks for prompt delivery NOT!’
Jilly Jones added: ‘I fully understand you are experiencing issues at the moment but we’ve had no mail here for nearly three weeks now.’
Royal Mail would not give any further details or numbers of how many of its staff were self-isolating.
A spokesperson said: ‘Royal Mail received exceptionally high volumes of parcels ahead of the festive period.
‘We have been working hard to process this unprecedented increase of parcels into our network.
‘Following an outstanding effort from our people, the majority of the Royal Mail network is now running as usual in line with this seasonal peak in demand.’
The postal service already warned of delays in early December due to unprecedented demand.
To tackle the pressure on services the company said it hired around 33,000 temporary workers to support its 115,000 permanent postmen and women.
For the past 10 years it has opened a network of temporary sort centres to handle additional Christmas volumes – and this year two extra ones were added,
Eight temporary centres were opened, including two additional sites in Northampton and Milton Keynes, and a campaign was launched to encourage people to post items early.
‘Throughout the pandemic, every decision we make puts the health of our people and customers first,’ the spokesperson added.
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‘Every single parcel, letter and card is important to us. We remain grateful to all our customers for their patience and understanding as our dedicated workforce work hard to deliver these exceptional volumes, whilst also adhering to necessary social distancing measures.
‘Our amazing postmen and postwomen, who have kept the UK connected throughout the pandemic and two lockdowns, are doing everything necessary to get letters and parcels to everyone over the festive period.’
You can check the Royal Mail website for service updates here.
A number of other postal companies also experienced delays over the festive period.
DHL temporarily stopped road deliveries just before Christmas after transport bans were placed on the UK due to a mutant strain of coronavirus.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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