Royal Mail postal delays prompts Worcester 'experiment'

[POSTMAN]

https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/26 ... xperiment/

THE Worcester News has launched an experiment to test how bad postal delays are in the city after multiple complaints about late mail, including urgent hospital letters.

To gauge the severity of the delays in Worcester, we have posted 11 letters, all with first-class stamps, to measure how long it takes them to reach their intended destination.

The letters - 10 sent to addresses within Worcester and one to an address outside the city - were posted from a post box in London Road in Worcester on Thursday afternoon.

According to the notice on the box the letters would have been collected for delivery the following day - Friday (September 4) at 9am.

We aim to test whether the people of Worcester are getting a first, second or third class service for the £1.80 price of a first class stamp.

It is an ongoing issue which has seen Worcester's Labour MP Tom Collins and Liberal Democrat councillor Sarah Murray visit the city's delivery office seeking answers on behalf of the people of Worcester, some of whom have told us important letters are taking three weeks or more to arrive. Some have spoken of delays of five weeks.

A first-class letter sent through the Royal Mail aims to arrive by the next working day, including Saturdays. However, while next-day delivery is the target, it is not a guaranteed service. Standard first-class mail can occasionally take one to two days.

Royal Mail has previously stated that 'more than 92 per cent of letters arrive on time and over 99 per cent within a week'.

The issue has even prompted Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which manages Worcestershire Royal Hospital, to expand the range of options they have for communicating with patients, including text messaging and digital communications.

We intend to keep you informed about what we find out.

[Mr Rush]

According to the notice on the box the letters would have been collected for delivery the following day - Friday (September 4) at 9am.

Even if the duty was out that early and cleared the boxes down first, it would sit in the van for potentially five hours before being deposited into the COLOD bag and belatedly making the connection to the inward MC some time in the late afternoon.