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The Business and Trade Committee of MPs has given Royal Mail bosses two weeks to explain themselves after allegations parcels are being prioritised over letters up and down the country.
The allegations have been made by both members of the public and Royal Mail staff themselves.
The problem has been affecting Northwich sorting office for several months, with residents in Moulton, Davenham, Lostock Gralam, and Kingsmead all raising concerns in December, last year.
One Moulton resident, Leah Zentek, contacted the Guardian after a parcel was left on her doorstep with three weeks’ worth of letters strapped to it with an elastic band.
She said: “There are people in the village who haven’t had post for weeks.
“We’re having to go to the sorting office in Northwich and stand in line to get our own post.
“That is, those of us who can. People are missing hospital appointments because they don’t know about them.
“A neighbour was told at the sorting office they are prioritising parcels over letters as they don’t have enough staff to do both.”
Royal Mail has consistently denied claims of structural problems with its current operating model, rebutting claims of understaffing.
In a comment to the Guardian in December, last year, its spokesman put the issues in Northwich down to it being ‘a busy time of year’.
Royal Mail added: “We know how important letters and parcels are in the run-up to Christmas, and while this is a very busy period, the overwhelming majority are delivered on time.
“Where a route is affected, our teams work to resolve any delays as quickly as possible.”
Royal Mail also told the BBC it only prioritised parcels when bulky items in sorting offices were causing health and safety concerns.
It added it is usual for people to receive several items at the same time, creating the impression of so-called ‘batching’.
MP for Mid Cheshire, Andrew Cooper, visited the Northwich sorting office in December, last year, where he raised these concerns with management.
Ahead of the meeting, he said: “Over the past few weeks, I’ve received a very large number of messages from residents across Mid Cheshire about late and missed postal deliveries, including people missing hospital appointments and important correspondence.
“I will continue to push for answers and will update residents once I receive a response.”
The Business and Trade Committee has given now Royal Mail until Monday, March 2, to respond to allegations by its own staff parcels are being prioritised over letters.
Committee chairman, Liam Byrne MP, told the BBC he was seeking ‘categorical reassurance’ the alleged prioritisation was not happening.
