Residents of Banbury and neighbouring villages are expressing anger over undelivered mail that is stacking up at the town’s Royal Mail sorting office.
The depot is currently experiencing a massive backlog which Royal Mail told MP Victoria Prentis it was due to higher than expected absences. The service told the told the Banbury Guardian it was because of staff shortages and a recruitment drive was ongoing. However a search for Royal Mail jobs revealed nothing advertised for Banbury.
Townsfolk and village residents on social media have complained about missing prescriptions, hospital appointments and important legal documents that should have been delivered within one – three days according to the Royal Mail’s published delivery aims.
The problems have been going on for months. The Banbury Guardian highlighted an ‘undelivered mail’ crisis at the sorting office in March.
Banbury sorting office which is said to be holding a 'massive backlog' of mail
One businessman said he had sent a patient’s hearing aid to the manufacturers for repair on March 20 but it did not reach its destination until June 20.
A thread on Banburyshire Info Facebook page reported that a lot of staff had left the Banbury operation recently but had not been replaced so there are insufficient posties to manage the workload. Those left were ‘working their socks off’ to manage, they said.
Banbury MP Victoria Prentis said: “Some of my constituents have been in touch to tell me that their postal deliveries have been very unpredictable over the past few months. As a consequence, I wrote to Royal Mail back in June to share their concerns.
“I was told that the Banbury Delivery Office had faced resourcing issues because of a higher than normal absence for the time of year. At the time Royal Mail said that postal deliveries were taking place on a rotational basis to minimise disruption, although they hoped to be able to return to a six day a week service soon.
Royal Mail prices as detailed on the business's website. It shows first class mail should be delivered within one day of posting
“Given that the situation does not seem to be improving, I have written to Royal Mail to find out what more can be done. Constituents who have been experiencing patchy or unpredictable postal deliveries recently can continue to get in touch with me via victoria.prentis.mp@parliament.uk.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are sorry to residents. Improving quality of service is our top priority and we are committed to restoring service levels to where our customers expect them to be.
“The local service has recently been impacted by staff shortages. Mail continues to be delivered to the area and every effort is being made to keep delays to a minimum, this includes an ongoing recruitment plan with new staff expected shortly.
“We encourage anyone with concerns about the delivery of their mail to please get in touch with Royal Mail customer service on 03457 740 740 or via www.royalmail.com."
On Facebook, some blamed privatisation, saying more and more was being asked of unappreciated employees for less reward. Some said they were forced to collect their mail from the sorting office – one after three weeks of receiving no mail.
A number praised their hard-working posties, working hard in all weathers and keeping an eye on vulnerable residents. One said Royal Mail staff were having to do extra days to get the mail delivered. One complained they had paid extra for fast delivery. Another said their order was lost at Swindon.