Sunderland man hits out at Royal Mail over NHS Covid test kit delivery

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https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/ ... 20delivery

A NORTH EAST man has hit out at Royal Mail after a driver "made no attempt" to deliver an NHS Covid test kit, instead remaining in their delivery van.

The Sunderland man, who ordered a test kit through the Government website, was told by the company that delivery could not be made, despite footage suggesting otherwise.

The 34-year-old of the Millfield area said home security footage shows the delivery van arrive before the driver scans the parcel while in the vehicle, and then drives off.


Concerns have since been raised that Royal Mail is treating the delivery of such kits as a "non-priority," while the man said it was not acceptable.

Under the Government's home testing scheme, one member of each household can order a Covid 'rapid flow test kit' once per day.

The kit, which provides seven rapid flow tests to check for coronavirus, is then dispatched the next day with carriers such as Royal Mail used to deliver the item.


But the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said "no attempt" to make delivery of the free test kits was made on Sunday, June 13, leaving him perplexed as to why.

He told The Northern Echo: "I got an email to say the parcel had been a missed delivery because they couldn't get access to the property, despite no problems before.

"But when I checked my home CCTV, I could see the driver on the camera scan the parcel and then drive off."

The footage which has been seen by The Northern Echo appears to confirm the set of circumstances.

He said: "I'd complained to Royal Mail via their Twitter and they kept avoiding my question – they've now 'profusely' apologised but it is not on.

"The parcel was delivered the next day with no problems, as all the other ones have been, so why couldn't they have done that to begin with.

"I feel they are not prioritising the kits because they are free, which if the case is concerning."

The Northern Echo:

In an email reply from Royal Mail customer services, the man was told they "profusely" apologised for the situation and that it is "not acceptable" for items to be scanned but no delivery to be attempted.

The email response goes on to say that a complaint had been logged on its system to help "ensure" that extra effort is made and items are delivered in the timeframe.

A Royal Mail Spokesperson said: “Every day we service hundreds of thousands of test kits on behalf of the NHS both speedily and efficiently.

"We take this responsibility very seriously and we prioritise the deliveries of these test kits as well as the collection of results through our priority postbox network.

"As part of the National Testing Programme, we have been achieving in excess of 98% of next working day deliveries for test kits since April 2020. We are pleased that the item arrived with the customer, and have apologised for the delay on this occasion.

"Every item of mail is important to us. We are committed to delivering the highest levels of service for all our customers.”