Royal Mail sorry for delays near Bristol amid watchdog complaint

Royal Mail has apologised after persistent disruption to postal deliveries in an area near Bristol.

Many residents in South Gloucestershire have been going weeks without letters and cards being delivered, only for piles of post to arrive all at once.

Claire Young, the Liberal Democrat MP for Thornbury and Yate, said it was a “huge problem”. She has written to the company and to industry regulator Ofcom urging them to investigate the issue.

Royal Mail – which has already been fined £37m in recent years for poor performance – said it has hired more staff to help. It blamed a “bigger-than-expected rise in parcel volumes” for the delays.

Mike Davies, 71, who lives in Yate, said his postal service had been “erratic” for more than a year, and he almost missed a cancer screening because the NHS letter arrived four days after the appointment.

“I was so mad I went down to the sorting office and asked to see the manager,” Davies said.

“He didn’t come down so that’s when I contacted the BBC and the MP.

“You feel like you’re nothing – you’re not important – I think that’s what makes you angry, that you’re not getting anywhere.”

Davies found out about the appointment thanks to a reminder text message.

Brenda Morgan, also from Yate, has experienced similar delays in healthcare paperwork.

“In general I think the post is rubbish,” she said.

“I had a hospital appointment, and they were going to send a letter about some stuff I had to drink.

“It came three weeks afterwards, so I couldn’t have the X-ray, I couldn’t take the stuff that I was supposed to take, and then I had to wait then another six months for an appointment.

“It said ‘urgent’ on it. It’s just ridiculous really.”

MP Young has now written to both Royal Mail and the industry regulator Ofcom.

“It’s a huge problem, and what’s happening is people are having to go to the delivery office to pick up their mail.

“They (Ofcom) have the power to take enforcement action and impose fines, and we think they need to look at this closely because this service just isn’t good enough.

“I want to be clear, I’m not blaming individual postal workers – it’s a hard job done in all weathers they are doing their absolute best – but there aren’t enough of them.”

In response, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Resourcing challenges and a bigger-than-expected rise in parcel volumes have recently impacted on deliveries in Yate and Thornbury and we apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this has caused.

“We have brought in new recruits and posties from neighbouring offices to assist, and our posties are going above and beyond to ensure regular deliveries resume as quickly as possible.

“We are reaching out to Ms Young to arrange a meeting to discuss her concerns.”