Royal Mail post chaos sees Wheatley woman advised to send Christmas cards six weeks early

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https://www.oxfordshirelive.co.uk/news/ ... es-6180894

It comes after reports of a worsening Royal Mail service in parts of Oxfordshire

A woman from Wheatley says she has been advised by her local Post Office to send her Christmas cards six weeks in advance of the big day in order for them to arrive on time.

It follows numerous reports of a worsening Royal Mail postal service from people living in Headington, Cowley, Blackbird Leys and the Wheatley area.

Susan Manning said that the issue with delayed post has been going on all year, but now that Christmas is fast approaching there are worries over how the postal service will cope.

She said: "One of the ladies that works at the Post Office actually said when I bought second class stamps, 'it might be as well for you to start writing them out and getting them in the post within the next week'."

When asked about the potential causes for such delays, Manning added: "Wheatley sorting office had closed and they moved our postman so we don't have any regular postmen.

"They are using, I suppose, temporary people who are coming into Wheatley, doing some of the deliveries then taking them back again to the sorting office and not doing the full delivery."

The problems seem to lie mainly with Royal Mail as "parcels and packages from Hermes are all arriving", say affected residents.

Many angered people have reported waiting unreasonably long times for post that is not arriving from far away.

One Oxford resident, Kim Smith, said: "It took eight days for a letter to be delivered from OX4 to OX4."

Similarly, those living in the OX3and OX4 postcodes have had "had nothing for two weeks".


Many who live in the area have even complained to Royal Mail, asking for an explanation and a date for when they can expect the issues to end.

Patrick Roche, who lives in the OX3 postcode area, said: "I filled in the Royal Mail complaint form after a card posted in London on October 23 took 12 days to be delivered in OX3.

"I just received an email from Royal Mail with a standard response. They are not even bothering to consider the issues. Disgraceful service. We should be refunded for the postage costs."

'Resourcing issues'
When asked specifically about the ongoing troubles in the Oxford area, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: "In the local area, we are currently experiencing some resourcing issues which we are addressing as quickly as possible.

"We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for six days a week. If resourcing issues prevent this, we'll deliver at least every other day.


"We apologise to customers for any inconvenience they may experience as we work hard to resolve the situation. Anyone who has concerns over the delivery of their mail should contact the Royal Mail customer service team on 03457 740 740 or via the Royal Mail website: www.royalmail.com."

Have you been affected by delayed post? Get in touch with us at oxfordshirelive@reachplc.com.