Residents in Oxford are missing hospital appointments and bill payments due to ongoing issues with the postal service.
Royal Mail is reportedly only delivering to communities in East Oxford once every two to three weeks.
This comes following delays in 2021 when residents in the area labelled the postal service as ‘completely broken.’
Littlemore resident Jeff Bowersox said: “I have lived here since August and when I first moved in there were lots of strikes and the postman warned that I should not expect to see post everyday.
“But now post is only arriving once every two to three weeks.
“I know they have staffing problems but it is completely unacceptable.
“I have called Royal Mail but the response is always there is nothing we can do.”
Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East explained she had had an ‘enormous correspondence’ from concerned constituents and was seeking an ‘urgent meeting’ with Royal Mail about the problem.
She said: “I know that it is causing huge problems, and that many people have missed hospital appointments because they haven’t received notification of their appointment in time.
“I have contacted Royal Mail about these issues a number of times, and have also visited our local sorting offices to talk them through.
“I am seeking another urgent meeting with them in order to understand why the latest round of problems with deliveries has taken place, and what can be done to restore a reliable service to Oxford East residents.”
The Communications Union (CWU) who represent postal workers have been in dispute with Royal Mail since May last year over pay and working conditions.
A spokesman for the East Oxford branch of the union explained that the last thing postal workers wanted was to let their customers down.
He said: “We have seen several long term employees leaving Royal Mail because they can no longer cope with the workload.
“For many of those who remain, I have to say morale is at an all time low.
“Despite Royal Mail committing to visiting the failed revisions they have implemented with no CWU involvement, no action has been taken to fix the problems.
“Throughout the dispute the CWU have been pushing for the need to protect the service.
“Sadly only the employees of Royal Mail seem to care what gets delivered and what doesn't.
“I have spoken to many members who have been in tears because they cannot complete their jobs and feel they are letting their customers down.
“Sadly, East Oxford and the delivery staff are the victims of Royal Mail's plan to reduce cost over service.”
Royal Mail were contacted for comment on the claims made to this newspaper.
A spokeswoman said: “We are sorry to residents who have experienced delays in Littlemore.
“Improving our quality of service is our top priority and we are committed to restoring service levels to where our customers expect them to be.
“Every day, efforts are taken locally to ensure any delays are kept to a minimum, and those who do not receive their mail are prioritised the next day.
“Across our business we have plans in place to drive service levels and reduce absence at our delivery offices, we hope and expect to see further progress in the coming months."
Those with concerns about the delivery of their mail should contact the Royal Mail customer service on 03457 740 740 or via www.royalmail.com.
