Residents angry as mail delivered '10 days' late'

HOUSEHOLDERS CLAIM ROYAL MAIL PRIORITISING PARCELS, WHICH FIRM DENIES

- By ANDY PHILLIPS

RESIDENTS are seeing red over the delivery of letters by the Royal Mail, with some telling The Herald that cards have taken up to 10 days to arrive.

Three residents have separately shared their stories of cards not arriving, and said they believed the Post Office was prioritising more lucrative parcel deliveries over ordinary stamped post.

Royal Mail this week said residents in more than 50 postcodes across the UK - including Plympton DO (PL7) - were being affected by late deliveries.

However, when The Herald contacted Royal Mail seeking a response, they insisted that 'the vast majority are continuing to be delivered on time, and insisted that parcels are not being prioritised over letters.

Residents in Plymouth, including Plymouth historian Chris Robinson, said that their mail has been delayed by a week or more, with several other residents saying birthday cards were late despite having been dispatched 10 days earlier.

On the same day that The Herald spoke to residents, the postal service said that numerous local sorting facilities throughout the country are battling to maintain standard service levels owing to "high levels of sick absence, resourcing issues and other local factors".

Royal Mail said it is dedicated to its six-day weekly delivery commitment, but has acknowledged that in certain regions this target will "temporarily not be possible".