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According to Shoebury residents, Royal Mail services have significantly worsened since the summer, with some going weeks without any post.
The disruption comes as the firm warns of missed deliveries across the UK, with postcodes including Canvey’s making the unwelcome list.
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Shoebury resident Jaki Green, 67, says the ongoing issue has only gotten worse in the run-up to Christmas.
“We’re just not getting any post,” she said.
“Since July, we’ve been going five days or more without receiving anything despite being told to expect at least a few days of service each week.
“My partner gets a weekly subscription, which is sent first class but rarely ever comes on its scheduled days.”
Jaki believes that the cause of the disruption is a lack of capacity at Southend’s sorting office, and says she has been told by her postman that workers simply don’t have time to organise post for daily deliveries.
The delays have not only caused annoyance for Jaki, but in some cases, caused them to be chased by utility companies.
“We have always paid our gas bills by post, but since July they’ve taken so long to come that a day after sending the bill off, we will get another letter informing us that we’ve missed a payment,” she said.
“They can’t blame the Christmas demand because this has been going on for so long, but in that time, I haven’t got any good answers or solutions.
“For the cost of posting letters these days, you expect a better service.”
Last week, Royal Mail released a list of postcodes across the UK that can expect to see delayed or missed delivery days as a result of “local issues”.
Among those included in the list were postcodes on Canvey, where residents have previously complained about similarly delayed postal services.
A Royal Mail spokesperson: “We are currently delivering to addresses in Shoebury several times a week, where there is mail to deliver. During the Christmas period volumes can double and our posties work hard to ensure our customers receive their post on time.”
