Related Articles
People have been missing vital letters
Furious Stoke Gifford residents say they are going for weeks without receiving any post, casting doubt on Royal Mail’s capacity to serve parts of Bristol in the run up to Christmas.
One resident, John, said he had gone for at least two weeks without receiving any post. The backlog that had created so extreme that when a delivery was finally made he received 31 letters in one go.
“I would say about 70% of it was vital documents, if you like, that you need for your everyday life,” John said.
The slow post meant a long delay before John and his wife received new credit cards, despite their bank telling them they had posted them as soon as they switched financial providers towards the end of October.
“I wouldn’t have even raised this if I didn’t think it was a problem and I think it is quite a big problem here,” he said.
“This isn’t just where we live, we’re a new estate, and then I know there’s someone else at least half a mile away that was in the same position.
“The apparent lack of delivery is impacting significantly on individuals day to day lives.”
There were similar scenes in 2023 when residents of eight postcodes across Bristol reported they were going weeks without receiving post in the run up to Christmas.
John’s suspicions he wasn’t the only person in his neighbourhood experiencing problems were confirmed when he posted about the issue in a Facebook group for Stoke Gifford residents. The comments section on his post was quickly inundated with several other people who came forward to recount similar experiences.
“Just had a letter delivered that was posted by the Department of Work & Pensions over two weeks ago,” one man said. “Deliveries seem to be very sporadic. Almost missed a hospital appointment because the letter was delayed.”
“I’ve had one letter in three weeks and am waiting for a couple of letters that would have been posted before my child’s hospital appointment,” another person said. Some people on nearby streets reported they had not suffered the same problems with their post.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We’re aware of reports of delays to deliveries in the area. Our local team is continuing to work hard to deliver mail as quickly and efficiently as possible. “
While there are delays on occasion, deliveries are taking place regularly and we remain focused on providing a consistent and reliable service for all customers.”
Royal Mail, which has been privately owned since 2011, posted an adjusted operating profit of £12m for the most recent financial year after “significant” losses in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Its parent company, International Distributions Services, announced an operating profit of £278 million for the financial year ending March 30 2025.
Meanwhile, a recent report in the House of Commons found the Royal Mail significantly underperformed on its delivery targets. “Most of these targets are not being achieved”. In 2024/25, Royal Mail delivered 76.5% of first class mail within one working day of collection against a target of 93% and delivered 92.2% of second class mail within three working days of collection – against a target of 98.5%.
Regulator Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21m for its performance, or lack thereof, in 24/25. In July this year, Ofcom announced a change to allow Royal Mail to deliver second class letters on alternate weekdays, but still within three working days of collection.
Source link
