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Late letters in a Surrey postcode area are leading to increased fines and missed appointments according to one Surrey MP.
Chris Coghlan, Liberal Democrat MP for Dorking and Horley, has said he is shocked by the Royal Mail delivery statistics for the RH postcode.
The MP said that 72.3% of first-class deliveries in RH were delivered on time, which is below the 93% target.This means that 20.7% of first-class deliveries in RH were delivered late.
Chris Coghlan says this is having a serious impact on his constituents, who have reported receiving NHS appointment letters after the scheduled date, resulting in missed appointments and wasted NHS resources.
Others have been handed parking fines that increased by 50% due to delayed delivery of penalty notices, while some received tax demands from HMRC after payment deadlines had passed.
The politician has now called for greater accountability on missed targets to help improve mail deliveries and turn around a service that is “failing people here in Dorking and Horley.” He also called on OFCOM to step in and act on these delays.
He said: “These missed targets are shocking and are leaving countless people in the lurch here in Dorking and Horley. This isn’t just about inconvenience—it’s costing people money and affecting essential services.”
“This saga has been going on for years and people are rightly sick of it. It is time OFCOM stepped in to act on these unacceptable delays and hold this failing service accountable for letting people down.”
“I have been reporting it to Royal Mail regularly since I was elected and we have not seen a significant improvement.”
The RH postcode covers part of Surrey and West Sussex including places like Oxted, Reigate and Dorking.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We acknowledge that our quality of service is not yet where we want it to be, and we’re working hard to deliver the standard our customers in Dorking and Horley expect.
“Across the UK, the vast majority of First Class letters arrive the next working day, with 92.3% delivered within two days. For Second Class, 92.2% arrive on time and 98.6% within five days.
“We encourage any residents who experience delays to reach out and we will investigate, however delays lasting weeks are not something our local delivery offices are reporting.
