Royal Mail deliveries Sheffield: Stocksbridge services delayed as people elsewhere claim post not arriving

The Stocksbridge office, in the S36 postcode area, is one of 25 across the UK and the only one in Sheffield where the Royal Mail announced on Tuesday, December 14 that services were being disrupted.But customers elsewhere in the city say they have had no post for more than a week in some cases, despite bosses not acknowledging there is any problem there.

Royal Mail said services in Stocksbridge and the other 24 offices were being affected due to issues including staff having to self-isolate due to Covid.

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It said: “Deliveries are operating as normal across most of the country today. We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.

“In a small number of local offices this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as Covid-related self isolation, high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.

“In those cases we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers. We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.

“We're sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. We will regularly update customers on the offices most impacted.”

One customer in the Gleadless S12 postcode area contacted The Star to complain that he had received no mail for more than a week, despite expecting a number of items.

The resident, who asked to remain anonymous, told how he had not received any post for seven days until Saturday, December 4, when he got 35 items through his postbox at once, and he had not had anything since.

He said he had tried calling both the Pit Lane office and Royal Mail’s customer service helpline without success.

“The managers at Royal Mail are making reassuring noises, saying everything’s under control, when clearly it’s very far from being under control,” he said.

“When I got all the post the other Saturday, I checked the dates on the postmarks and things had taken something like 12 days to arrive, so there’s a problem somewhere.

“My outgoing mail, which has been sent to addresses all over the country, has all reached its destination, so it’s just deliveries which seem to be affected here.

“Royal Mail should be honest with those people who are expecting mail. If they explained they don’t have enough staff due to Covid, I think people would understand.

"I feel sorry for the posties because year in, year out, they do a damn good job, but I don't feel sorry for Royal Mail’s management because they should have seen this situation coming and taken action to prevent it.”

Royal Mail this week confirmed to the BBC that its staff absence levels were almost double those seen in 2018 before the Covid pandemic, but it insisted deliveries were being made as normal across most of the country.

However, a BBC source said to have ‘close knowledge’ of operations called the situation ‘horrific’ due to the number of people being off sick and the increased demand in the run-up to Christmas.

The Star has contacted Royal Mail for a response.