Royal Mail has warned of potential service delays across more than 100 UK postcodes, citing recent storms and increased staff sickness as the cause of disruption.
The announcement follows a period of mounting complaints regarding delayed mail, with concerns also raised that parcels are being prioritised over letters.
On Monday, the postal firm identified 38 delivery offices across the country, covering approximately 100 postcodes, as those most likely to experience slower service.
A spokesperson for the company explained that “adverse weather, including storms Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra in January, alongside higher-than-usual sick absence, has caused some short-term disruption to certain routes.”
Royal Mail sought to reassure customers, stating: “We want to reassure customers that the vast majority of mail is delivered as planned and understand how frustrating it is when post does not arrive as expected.”
The company added that it would deploy extra support to affected routes to “restore deliveries as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, a report by the BBC uncovered instances where some letters were reportedly held in delivery offices for weeks, leading individuals to miss urgent communications such as appointment notices and bank statements.
Citing anonymous postal workers, the report said that parcels were being prioritised over letters in some depots, even if they are first class, while staff shortages were more broadly impacting the service.
It is understood that Royal Mail will opt to clear parcels first if they build up quickly and block walkways in delivery offices.
The company has said it is delivering more parcels as online shopping continues to grow, while the number of addressed letters going through its network is falling.
Royal Mail serves nearly two million postcodes and is required to deliver mail six days a week, and aims to deliver both letters and parcels on time.
Regulator Ofcom last year gave the go-ahead for Royal Mail to scrap second class letter deliveries on Saturdays and change the service to every other weekday.
It launched the changes across 35 delivery offices as a pilot, but has yet to expand this nationwide across all 1,200 sites due to failing to reach agreement with the staff union.
It is in the middle of a month-long dispute resolution process with the Communication Workers Union with the aim of reaching an agreement over how the workforce will be impacted by the overhaul.
