Royal Mail managers have faced angry questions from residents in Southend over claims of persistent delivery delays.
The public meeting was called by David Burton-Sampson, MP for Southend West and Leigh, on April 1, after reports of missed appointments, fines and late legal post.
Around 30 people attended between 10am and 11am to raise concerns directly with senior Royal Mail representatives.
Regional operations manager Adam Pestell and customer first business partner Samantha Exton heard accounts of letters arriving after hospital dates, missing bank cards and parcels marked as not delivered.
At the meeting, Mr Burton-Sampson said "we have heard of missed hospital appointments” and adds that residents were also missing jobs and funeral arrangements.
Mr Pestell said Southend had been selected for a universal service obligation pilot that changed delivery patterns, adding: “My message is that we are sorry”.
Ms Exton said the pilot used algorithms to decide when bulk mail was released, but admitted targeting had been “off par recently".
Royal Mail also cited staffing pressures, while officers said NHS letters were being prioritised for separate delivery where possible.
Councillor Paul Collins warned the trial was “putting people’s lives at risk” and urged the company to return to basics.
Westcliff resident Richard Frood said he had complained 30 times, while others described subscriptions arriving together and deliveries every eight days.
Leigh resident Bob Walker said first class credit cards had been delayed, stolen and used, and a replacement pin still had not arrived after 40 days.
One attendee asked for a show of hands from those receiving post on time, and none were raised.
Mr Burton-Sampson said the explanations did not “connect with the reality of how bad the service was” for many households.
Mr Pestell said Royal Mail would send a mailshot explaining how to report problems and added: “If you are not seeing improvements in the next seven days then you need to tell us that it’s not happening.”
Mr Burton-Sampson ended by saying: “The message from Southend is, ‘enough is enough’.”