Royal Mail not delivering mail

Gaberdeen

Good Morning,

As per the title, we've been living at the same address for the last 9 years and have always gotten our mail on time until the start of this year.

In march, I phone to complain about it because I failed to receive a medical appointment invite from our local hospital - I was advised at the time that this was due to staffing shortages and that it wouldn't be repeated.

Well, it has. An invite to a bowel screening appointment sent by the hospital last month (17th July) has only just arrived (last night) at my home - I'm currently offshore in the North Sea and will in all probability not make the appointment (this Tuesday coming)

I am incredibly angry about this, but short of complaining - what can I reasonably do?

All I want is for my mail to be delivered on time - and you know, not die as the result of a horrible disease that the Royal Mail had a hand in delaying treatment for - I'm absolutely shocked at this and if it's happening to me, it must surely be happening across the country.

I can't imagine how much NHS money / time is being wasted because of issues with getting letters / invites to people.

It's ridiculous.

david29dpo

Same here.
I live in the middle of nowhere and sometimes get mail once a week if i am lucky.
My theory is the posty cant be bothered to drive that distance for one letter so it stops on his dashboard till another day.
Complains have got me nowhere.
Broken England?

GrumpyDil

Same here, recently found out about an appointment on the following day purely by chance (I phoned to chase and was told about it, although the letter still needs to arrive).

My wife gets the vast majority of her appts notified via the NHS app/texts which might help, albeit the place I had to go to doesn't do app or text notifications.

QrizB

Gaberdeen said:

I am incredibly angry about this, but short of complaining - what can I reasonably do?

Nothing.

Why do you not want to complain?

david29dpo said:

My theory is the posty cant be bothered to drive that distance for one letter so it stops on his dashboard till another day.

My theory is that RM aren't staffed or funded to achieve their universal service obligation, and the regulator isn't enforcing it.

david29dpo said:

Broken England?

Usually it boils down to people not being prepared to pay for an adequate service, and so they get an inadequate one.

See for example water, energy, NHS, local council services, etc.

twopenny

Getting letters up to 10 days late and over the last 3 months they've been throwing them on the porch floor.
That's all my medical and banking details for anyone to take.
It got me really worried for the same reason as Gaberdeen.

I'm an easy mile from the sorting office and struggled with an injury to get there before 10am. Was told it would be taken care of.
It was not.

Tried to return to ask for managers number. Could not park within half a mile for the parcel vans and couldn't walk there. They take up the parking for a whole street without penalty.

I do wonder if the parcel delivery is taking priority and the posties are doing that first and letter delivery is done if there is time left.
Letters arrive at 3pm now when they do and the posties look grim where they used to be polite and cheerful.
Parcels for profit? Not enough staff for the new venture?

Used to be that Royal Mail had to put them through the letterbox to fulfil their remit on security but I looked it up.
Apparently no more.

There was even a joke made at an open air concert that you could find your letters in the hedge wherever they'd thrown them and a cheer went up so it's universal.

la531983

I get all my appointment letters sent via email these days. Does your local NHS Trust not offer this facility?

Gaberdeen

david29dpo said:

Same here.
I live in the middle of nowhere and sometimes get mail once a week if i am lucky.
My theory is the posty cant be bothered to drive that distance for one letter so it stops on his dashboard till another day.
Complains have got me nowhere.
Broken England?

I'm in Scotland so would be Broken Britain!

Gaberdeen

la531983 said:

I get all my appointment letters sent via email these days. Does your local NHS Trust not offer this facility?

I don't believe so, NHS Grampian.

I know that they will shortly be trialling an app-based appointment service, I hope that helps to cut the waste.

Gaberdeen

QrizB said:

Gaberdeen said:

I am incredibly angry about this, but short of complaining - what can I reasonably do?

Nothing.

Why do you not want to complain?

david29dpo said:

My theory is the posty cant be bothered to drive that distance for one letter so it stops on his dashboard till another day.

My theory is that RM aren't staffed or funded to achieve their universal service obligation, and the regulator isn't enforcing it.

david29dpo said:

Broken England?

Usually it boils down to people not being prepared to pay for an adequate service, and so they get an inadequate one.

See for example water, energy, NHS, local council services, etc.

Oh I have complained, don't worry about that. I meant that as a bare minimum I can complain - but what else can I do?

Get my MP involved? She's as much use as a chocolate ashtray but that's also the only other thing I can think of doing.

david29dpo

Only my opinion. You didnt say you are in scotland. 
Wished i hadnt bothered.

MeteredOut

To save my postie additional work, all the companies that my household receive communications from have now started working together to ensure their letters arrive at our house on the same day, no more than once a week.

With this level of collaboration going on amongst these companies, I can't really understand why people think things are broken.