Royal Mail: Couriers experiencing delays over Christmas
Royal Mail is facing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic with consumer habits turning online and social distancing measures making work slower. With Britons waiting weeks for their mail, many are afraid important post will be delivered too late.
One borough facing the impact of mail delays is Redbridge in East London.
A number of people in the area haven’t received post since the beginning of December with the Ilford Recorder reporting that a number of residents have gone “more than a month” without any deliveries.
Some elderly residents in the area are concerned they will miss the letter which states that they can get the coronavirus vaccine.
Others shared how they were concerned they would miss important mail such as credit card bills.
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Express.co.uk has contacted Royal Mail and The Communications Workers Union for comment.
A statement on Royal Mail’s website which was released today explained: “Deliveries and collections should take place across the UK today.
“Royal Mail is working hard to deliver the most comprehensive and high quality service we can to all our customers, large and small.
“The combination of greatly increased uptake of online shopping, and the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, mean that all delivery companies are experiencing exceptionally high volumes.
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“Every single parcel and letter is important to us. Despite our best efforts and significant investment in extra resources, some customers may experience slightly longer delivery timescales than our usual service standards.
“This is due to the exceptionally high volumes we are seeing, exacerbated by the coronavirus-related measures we have put in place in local mail centres and delivery offices to keep our people and customers safe.
“In such cases, we always work hard to get back to providing our usual level of service as quickly as we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
The website also shares the areas in the UK which might have faced delivery delays due to “resourcing issues”.
Towns include Enfield, Highbury, Somerton, Margate, Wandsworth and Wellington.
Royal Mail said: “If you need to collect an item for which we’ve left a ‘Something for you’ card from the Customer Service Points at one of these offices, please check royalmail.com/services-near-you for details of our revised opening hours.”
People also took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the delays.
One person said: “I’ve had a package ‘due to be delivered today’ from Royal Mail since the 31st…I know it’s been Christmas so I don’t want to hassle the but also our postman has been out every working day since then without it?”
Another wrote: “I have had severe delays with my post. Important HMRC letters delayed for weeks.”
In other Royal Mail news, the price of first class stamps and second class stamps has risen.
The first class stamp has risen by nine pence to 85p while the second class stamp has risen by one pence to 66p.
Back in March prices for a first class stamp rose by six pence to 76p and second class stamps increased by four pence to 65p.
Royal Mail said the latest increase was “necessary to help ensure the sustainability” of the service.
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