A PENSIONER said she was told to collect her own post after she complained about repeated missed rounds.
78-year-old Patricia Tyson, who is retired and lives in Outcast, near Ulverston, said she has complained to the Royal Mail office in Ulverston several times.
She said this year has seen a gradual worsening of the delivery of her mail which has dropped down to around once a week.
Royal Mail said there had been 'a high level of sick absence and vacancies' at the local delivery office which has had an impact on deliveries.
"The Royal Mail office in Ulverston is in a dire state - it's in meltdown," Patricia said. "The mail began to arrive late and then in the past two to three months, it's dropped down to once a week.
"The mail is often a week old, currently last week's New Statesman is five days late.
"You can't complain to Royal Mail as when you call the phoneline options are related to parcels.
"If you call in and manage to speak to someone, you are told people are on holiday, 'your round is a rough one, better call in to pick up your mail'.
"There seems to be no-one in charge. The office phone is never answered.
"When I went in to complain I was advised to call in to pick up my own mail.
"The staff at the depot are quite pleasant and it's not them I'm blaming.
"Honestly, what is happening in society?"
Patricia is pursuing compensation and complaining to OfCom, which regulates Royal Mail.
Royal Mail operates under the Universal Service Obligation to deliver a ‘one-price-goes-anywhere’ service on a range of letters and parcels to over 30 million addresses across the country, six-days-a-week.
There are some circumstances where the obligation does not apply. These are
Health and Safety
Insecurity
Difficulty of Access
Customer Request
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, a high level of sick absence and vacancies at the local delivery office has had an impact on deliveries. Plans are in place to minimise the impact on customers and we are actively recruiting.
"Regarding this customer, a new recruit has been working on their round in recent weeks with deliveries being made at least every other day.”
The telephone number for the Ulverston Delivery Office has also recently changed, which might be the source of any issues with getting in touch, said a spokesman.