Royal Mail delays mean Medway letters are taking weeks to arrive

KentOnline / KMTV

Hospital appointments, doctor referrals, and other important letters are reportedly being delivered weeks late in Medway due to Royal Mail delays. The company says it is employing more staff to help with festive demand.

Transcript

00:00 The lead up to Christmas is the busiest time of year for Royal Mail.

00:05 In Medway, residents tell us they're already going days without mail.

00:09 And they say when their postman does arrive, they've got weeks worth of letters.

00:16 Hospital referrals, bills and of course speeding and parking tickets all come through the post.

00:24 And that's leaving many people worried about what they are missing.

00:28 Yes, well I'm waiting for appointments myself, referrals from the doctor and everything like that.

00:35 And I haven't heard anything for three weeks.

00:39 It comes in batches, so you get all of them all at once and that's quite annoying.

00:46 It doesn't seem that safe now, does it?

00:49 The more I don't get mail, the better it is, because then you don't get bills.

00:53 We've ended up having the cheques stopped and reissued because we didn't receive the post.

00:59 It's been like that for a couple of months now.

01:01 This isn't the first time there have been delays from Royal Mail.

01:05 Can our local authorities step in and help?

01:09 We could certainly, through officers, try to establish what the situation is with Royal Mail.

01:15 I've heard that they're failing to meet the six day delivery service.

01:22 And clearly the residents locally are not getting vital hospital operation letters and things that they need.

01:31 So I think there is an angle for the council here.

01:34 Royal Mail say they aim to get first class letters delivered within one working day.

01:40 For second class letters, it's three working days.

01:43 But it seems across Medway and some parts of Kent, that's far from the case.

01:48 I think it's important that Royal Mail step up first of all and acknowledge the problem.

01:52 I think they need to explain to the public the gravity of the situation.

01:56 What is the current number of mail that they've got sitting within sorting centres?

02:00 And what is their estimated timelines in terms of real delivery, both for first and second class mail?

02:06 But also I think Royal Mail need to set out a strategy, particularly for the medium and longer term,

02:10 about how they're going to ensure that this isn't repeated.

02:13 Well, in a statement, Royal Mail told us they can confirm mail is being delivered to homes daily,

02:19 with the vast majority arriving on time.

02:22 If delays occur, they have dedicated teams in place to take immediate action.

02:27 They've also confirmed 16,000 seasonal workers have been hired.

02:31 But it's this Christmas season that is leaving many fearful across Medway.

02:36 Will their mail arrive?

02:38 Gabriel Morris for KMTV.

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