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One resident posted himself a letter by first class to test how long it would take – and still hasn’t received it after three weeks.
A road in East Dulwich is on the verge of picketing their local Royal Mail branch as their post is taking weeks to arrive.
One resident of post-deprived Overhill Road, David Brady, says he posted a letter to himself three weeks ago by first class post to test it – but, at time of writing, has yet to receive his letter.
Residents report that they have complained multiple times, but have ‘gotten nowhere’, and now say they are considering picketing the local post office to try and get the message through.
“You can’t run a life on email alone,” said David. “You actually do need to physically receive things every now and then. A driving licence, legal documents, bank cards.
“It’s at a ridiculous level where a visit from a postman gives the same amount of joy as a visit from Santa Claus.”
As the News reported at the time, there have been problems with the post in SE22 ever since the East Dulwich branch merged with the Peckham office in 2017.
Letters that should have been delivered within days take weeks to arrive, causing residents to miss key events such as birthdays or the delivery of passports.
“I understand that in any kind of change like that, you’ll get some teething problems,” said David, “but not after four years, and this has been going on for a while.
“It’s a basic level of expectation for a service that we’re paying for.
“It’s like going to a restaurant – if you order your meal, would you be satisfied with it arriving two weeks later?”
This is what led David to post the letter to himself, which had written inside it: “let’s wait and see when I get back..?”
“It’s a little tongue-in-cheek, obviously,” he said, “but this is a serious issue that is effecting a lot of people.
“I don’t think it has any reflection on the actual people doing the work – they’re working really hard. But I think they’re being managed poorly and not being given the budget.
“Cynically I would think Royal Mail are prioritising packages because they’re more profitable.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “In the East Dulwich area, we are experiencing some disruption to service due to high levels sick absences and colleagues on annual leave. We are looking to resolve the situation in the near term by offering colleagues additional overtime and by getting in more resource.
“We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for six days a week. In cases of high sick absences, we typically commit to delivering at least every other day.
“We apologise to customers for any inconvenience they may experience as we work hard to resolve the situation”
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