A south Essex MP is set to publicly challenge Royal Mail in a bid to end their “terrible legacy”.
Southend West and Leigh MP David Burton-Sampson will hold a public meeting after reports of people being charged for fines they did not receive, missing hospital appointments and having difficulty making funeral arrangements as result of failures by the postal service.
The “top brass” from Royal Mail are due to attend the event on Wednesday April 1 between 10am and 11am, where Mr Burton-Sampson will call for improvements.
The Southend MP has invited constituents to sign up to share their experiences, and said people “have an expectation of improvement” amid a lack of progress.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said there is “more to do” to deliver a high-quality service, and local issues are usually related to temporary resourcing issues.
Mr Burton-Sampson said Royal Mail has not improved after a Universal Service Obligation pilot – whereby the courier legally must deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days – had teething problems.
He added: “This is leading to terrible situations that my constituents have reported to me, of people losing job offers, people being penalised for non-payment of fines when they have not received the original demand and sadly, bereaved people trying to make funeral arrangements.
“Most tragically, we have heard of patients who have not received hospital appointments or test results and that has resulted in serious life-threatening conditions not being dealt with in time.
“This is a terrible legacy the Royal Mail are leaving and it has to stop.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We know how important it is that customers receive their mail on time, particularly when it includes time-sensitive correspondence.
“Recent UK-wide figures show 92% of letters are delivered on time and 99% within a week, so longer delays are rare, but we recognise there is more to do to deliver a consistently high level of service everywhere.
“Where there are local issues, these are typically due to temporary resourcing pressures, and we work quickly to restore a consistent and reliable service.”