Ofcom is investigating Royal Mail as scores of complaints about a lack of deliveries in Woodley and Earley.
Royal Mail is required to deliver at least 93% of first class mail within one working day, and 98.5% of second class mail within three working days. But readers have been inundated us with emails and social media messages saying they are going days without anything and then receiving a glut in one go.
This means that urgent hospital appointments are missed, bills remain unpaid, and birthday cards arrive well after the special day. In one case, a resident missed the grace period for challenging a parking fine, meaning instead of paying the discounted rate, they had to fork out the full fee.
Wokingham Today first raised the issue last month, and since then more readers have been in touch, all wanting to know what is going on.
Reading East MP Matt Rodda, whose constituency includes Woodley and Earley, says he has also received comments from affected residents wanting a solution.
“The Royal Mail is a vital public service and residents should be able to depend upon a reliable postal service,” he said.
“I have raised concerns about the reliability of the post with the Royal Mail and I also spoke in a debate in Parliament about this important issue.”
Royal Mail says that vacancies have been causing the problems, and the situation is starting to get better on a weekly basis. With the festive rush around the corner, it is expected that more posties will be doing the rounds, and service should get back to normal.
A spokesperson said: “We are committed to restoring our quality of service to our customers. We have plans in place and dedicated teams responsible for improving deliveries in Woodley and Earley and throughout our delivery offices nationwide.
“Over the last six weeks we have recruited around 3,000 postmen and women and are continuing to recruit around 500 permanent positions a week in delivery.
“To support the physical and mental health of our employees and assist them in their return to work, we have introduced a wellbeing programme which provides colleagues with free, confidential, and independent healthcare support, including unlimited 24/7 access to an online GP.”
They continued: “In the lead up to Christmas, we are taking on 16,000 temporary workers, more vehicles and additional parcel sorting sites to handle double the normal volume of parcels we expect over the period.
“These actions plus others are already making a difference in some areas and we are confident that they will continue to improve quality of service for our customers.”
Ofcom is currently investigating delivery performance for the 2022/23 financial year. Its previous review found that covid had impacted in the 2021/22 year, but in 2020, it had fined Royal Mail £1.5 million for missing a target in 2018/19.
A spokesperson told Wokingham Today: “We know how frustrating and disruptive it can be when your post is delayed.
“We assess Royal Mail’s performance every year against annual delivery targets, and we are currently investigating its failure to meet its targets for 2022/23.
“We take quality of service very seriously, and if we determine that Royal Mail has failed to comply with its obligations, we may consider whether to impose a financial penalty.”
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