Residents in Exeter have slammed Royal Mail for delivering an 'abysmal' level of service. Neighbourhoods across the city have reported waiting almost two weeks for letters to drop through the door.
When they do arrive they often come in bundles - as if they have been piling up at the depot.
There are fears that payments are being delayed, deadlines missed and hospital appointments going unanswered. Residents from St Thomas to Whipton, Pinhoe to Alphington have reported issues with the post.
One resident in Exwick told DevonLive she waited 10 or 11 days for mail - then 37 came at once.
Denise Hunt said she was selling a car and waiting for new logbook details but there was no post at all. "When I checked with DVLA I was told it had been issued the day after I applied," she said. "My thought was 'Where on earth is it?'
"Eventually it turned up. I had 37 pieces of post in two bundles. It's just ridiculous.
"I know I'm not the only person this is happening to. What if you are waiting for something urgent like a hospital appointment or getting medicines? They might offer an appointment at short notice and you can't go because it's taken nine days to arrive.
"I bank online but what about people expecting statements? It must be affecting so many people. It's a ridiculous way to run a business. It's no longer an occasional thing it's becoming a perpetual problem."
Another resident told DevonLive: "We live in the St Thomas area, and we hardly get any mail. It can be four or five days and then we get a bundle with an elastic band around in through the door.
"It is very annoying as they are obviously saving it up. I still pay my credit card by cheque and I have missed the payment date and had to pay interest because I am not receiving the statement in time.
"It used to always arrive around the 5th of the month giving me plenty of time to pay it now it's not arriving till the 10th/15th of the month and it's not good enough. I don't have the option to pay the card on my phone or by an app, I need to post it, so I wish they would just go back to normal."
One resident in Pinhoe reported not having any post for nine or ten days. He said: "I'm waiting for a couple of bills which should have been paid by now, and I'm worried about being penalised for late payment.
"It's like living a third world country, an absolute shambles."
Tony Stevens, county councillors for St Thomas and Exwick said service levels are 'abysmal'.
He added: "This is a nationwide issue. I have been getting people from all over the city contacting me saying what a poor service Royal Mail our providing . They say that no mail comes for seven days and then it all comes at once.
"Ever since it has been sold off Royal Mail have put profit before residents, who are missing appointments getting important documents late and bank cards arriving the same time as the pin number.
"Royal Mail staff have said overtime has been cut and rounds made bigger, as well as being told to prioritise packages. This is unacceptable. People trust that their post will be delivered as promised not when Royal Mail want to do it. Action must be taken to get the backlog cleared this can not go on."
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We understand how frustrating it can be when post does not arrive as expected. The vast majority of mail in Exeter is delivered on time. Our latest published, independently verified figures show that 71% of First Class mail in Exeter is delivered the next working day, with the near total arriving in the days after
“This is broadly in line with our national performance, where 73.4% of First Class mail is delivered the next working day and 96.2% within three working days.
“Where issues do arise, they are temporary and limited to individual routes, for example due to short-term sickness absence. In these cases, performance is reviewed daily and additional support is put in place to restore regular deliveries as quickly as possible.”