Royal Mail responds to mounting concerns over delayed post in Maidenhead

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The Royal Mail has said that postal services are ‘improving in the SL postcode’ after mounting concerns from residents in Maidenhead and the surrounding areas over late post.

The company has come under fire over recent months both nationally and locally for late post, with residents in some instances waiting weeks for letters to arrive.

This summer, Maidenhead resident Sara Balzano spoke out on the issue, stating that she was ‘absolutely fuming’ and has been left upset after receiving bereavement cards around a month after they had been sent.

Over recent weeks, posts have been seen on social media across Maidenhead, Cookham and surrounding areas sharing concerns over widespread delays.

Robin Williams, who lives in Chiltern Road, said that while postal delays were a ‘bit of a problem before’, they became ‘absolutely terrible’ after the local postman retired.

Last month there came a point where Mr Williams said they ‘really were not getting any mail at all during the week.’

Mr Williams got into the habit of visiting the delivery office to pick up batches of mail. He added that a new postman has since been installed and the service has improved.

Another Maidenhead resident William Cherry, 84, said in September that ‘nobody had received any mail for about a month’ at his flats.

Mr Cherry said: “[At] the start of August, I had to go into hospital for a major operation.

“I came out on August 9, and I couldn’t go virtually anywhere for four weeks.

“I had to stay indoors. Of course, you’re expecting letters from the hospital and what have you, and of course, nothing ever came.

“I should think they were still in the boxes, still to be delivered.”

Mr Cherry said that service has ‘improved’ but ‘it’s not better’.

The issue has been raised by MPs, including Maidenhead MP Josh Reynolds who launched a survey over the summer asking residents to share their experiences of late and missing post deliveries.

He has also met with representatives from Royal Mail to discuss the issue.

Mr Reynolds said: “[The service is] still not good enough.

“They still haven’t fixed the problems.

“We’re at 700 signatures now [on the survey].

“It’s really concerning for people. People will want to make sure that post is delivered on time.

“It’s very clear that it’s not happening at the moment.

“Royal Mail have got to up their game and deliver on their promises.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We know how important it is that customers receive their mail when expected, particularly important items such as hospital appointments.

“Our latest published figures show services are improving in the SL postcode area, with 88.8 per cent of first class letters now delivered the next working day, up from 80.1 per cent a year ago.

“Mail continues to be delivered every day, although individual routes can at times be affected by short-term local issues.

“Where this happens, our teams work to deliver any outstanding mail as quickly as possible.

“We know there is more to do and are investing £500million over five years to improve reliability. We are also making significant changes across our network to provide a more reliable and consistent service for customers.”