Shetlanders Christmas post to their neighbours sent on 700-

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Shetlanders’ Christmas post to their neighbours sent on 700-mile round trip

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Christmas cards and packages posted on Shetland are being sent on a 700-mile round trip to Edinburgh and back to the islands because the local sorting office cannot cope.

Residents have been baffled by receiving letters with Edinburgh postmarks, while others have raised concerns about whether post will reach them in time for Christmas.

Now the local MSP and senior local council officials have called for a rethink of the way post is handled on Shetland. Some islanders claimed the reroute was “crazy”.

The Royal Mail confirmed it has had to carry out the diversion on four occasions, but insisted it was normal. It was unable to discuss how many letters and packages were affected.

In a statement to The Herald, it said: “On a few occasions, at the peak Christmas pressure, mail was dispatched to our processing centres on the mainland to be sorted.

“This is due to the high volumes Royal Mail handles at Christmas time and space constraints at Lerwick delivery office. It is normal for Royal Mail to do this at our busiest time of the year.

“The mail stays within our system and, due to the large network Royal Mail has, the mail still meets the correct timescales for delivery.

“On occasions, mail from the Western Isles and Orkney has been sorted on the mainland.”

Shetland residents have protested about the sorting office problem, believing hundreds of Christmas letters and packages have been affected.

Local MSP Tavish Scott was concerned that mail may not reach Shetlanders in time for Christmas.

He said: “The travel chaos due to snow has caused delays in mail arriving in Shetland before Christmas.

“I want the Royal Mail to redouble their efforts to deliver Christmas mail in time.

“Local staff I met when I visited the Lerwick general post office are working really hard, and if they need assistance due to the backlog of parcels and mail, they should get it.

“That’s the priority for Shetlanders.”

One local resident told the Herald he was surprised to find that his letter had an Edinburgh postmark and other people he knew had begun noticing it too.

“I know this was posted on the island so how on earth is it sensible to send it not just to the mainland, but to Edinburgh?

“How can it be cost-effective? It’s a waste of time and public money and just seems crazy.”

A Shetland Council spokesman said officials had been told that some mail was sent out for sorting and that the situation was “extremely unusual, fuelled by atrocious weather and was aimed at speeding up deliveries”.

One senior council official told The Herald: “We would generally have some raised eyebrows about sending local mail to Edinburgh and back before delivering it. I am not sure anyone will be able to see how that is efficient.

“A few more packages and parcels at Christmas can’t be a totally unexpected phenomenon. The implication must somehow be that there is a lack of capacity locally, and we would want the Post Office to address that.

“Things are complicated enough here with communications, particularly in winter, without making them worse.”

Council convener Sandy Cluness paid tribute to the efforts of local mail staff in ensuring deliveries in the teeth of the bad weather, and also praised the roads department.

“Our gritter and snowplough drivers have done a wonderful job in keeping Shetland moving, enabling Royal Mail staff to get through in very difficult circumstances. I believe this has included Sunday deliveries.

“I’m sure the people of Shetland have nothing but gratitude for the efforts of their local mail men and women.”


Delays for online orders

BRITAIN’s biggest online traders are warning customers that thousands of packages might not arrive for Christmas Day.

Parcel courier City Link has not accepted new deliveries to Scotland for nearly a week, and has also stopped its “collect from depot” service from Monday at Glasgow, Edinburgh and 16 other depots.

In a memo, City Link said adverse weather conditions and exceptionally high seasonal volumes led to the decision.

Play.com – one of Britain’s biggest online traders – had been accepting orders up to December 19 for delivery before Christmas.

It has now said in an email to customers: “Adverse weather conditions are causing issues throughout the transport network in the UK and this has resulted in delays.”

Amazon promised orders placed up to December 23 would be delivered by Christmas. But it – and many other online shops – has withdrawn that promise.

[Lounge Lizard]

Shetlanders moaning about an Edinburgh postmark on their Christmas cards.
Would they really prefer a January delivery for them ?