Widnes resident slams Royal Mail after weeks of no post

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.runcornandwidnesworld.co.uk ... s-no-post/

AN elderly resident has slammed Royal Mail for failing to deliver any post to his area of Widnes for a number of weeks.

Lawrence Powell raised complaints with the service, claiming that the company is prioritising parcels over letters, after he and his wife have waited more than two weeks for hospital appointments to arrive in the post.

The 79-year-old, who lives at Barkla Fields apartment complex on Ashley Green, told the Runcorn and Widnes World that his calls and emails to Royal Mail have been left unanswered.

He said: "I can't get through on the complaints line at the post office, I have sent them an email and they sent a reply telling me nobody reads them so I don't know what to do.

"We're not getting any post.

"I'm 79 and my wife's in her 70s, we're getting no hospital appointments coming through.

"I've got mail that I know was posted two weeks ago, nothing's coming through.

"Occasionally you might get a postman for a day or two days in the week, the postman do deliver but only parcels."

Lawrence added that he has been informed that post can be collected from a local post office nearest him at certain times of the day.

He added: "Do they want to pay for a taxi for me to go down and come back? I don't think so."

The national postal delivery service has faced backlash over a number of years at its failure to deliver letters on time.

In May, the BBC reported that 'just over three-quarters of first class letters, or 75.7 per cent, were delivered on time by Royal Mail in the year to the end of March'.

This being far off the company's target of 93 per cent.

Meanwhile in February, the company were in hot water after the Business and Trade Committee of MPs wrote a letter asking Royal Mail to respond within two weeks to allegations that it was prioritising parcels over letters.

Commenting on the local complaint about the dropping service in Widnes, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We take the timely delivery of mail very seriously.

"Following a review of this route, we can confirm that it has recently been affected by short-term sickness absence.

"First Class letters and NHS letters have continued to be delivered daily, although other mail has been delayed. We intend to have all delayed mail delivered by tomorrow.”