Postal service disruptions in certain areas of south London have left many residents feeling neglected by Royal Mail.

Recent performance statistics reveal that only 70% of first-class mail reached its destination on time in Croydon, while Sutton fared slightly better at 71%—both figures fall short of the legal requirement of 93%.

“It seems as though we have been entirely overlooked,” shared Anna, a resident of Wallington, who mentioned experiencing several weeks without any mail and expressed her worries about possibly missing crucial hospital communications and other significant letters.

Royal Mail attributed the delays to a high rate of staff illness and has publicly apologized for the inconvenience caused.

Anthony, a resident of Carshalton, informed the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he and his wife were compelled to retrieve important mail from the sorting office after enduring over a week without any postal deliveries.

“They’re just delivering parcels,” he relayed, quoting a Royal Mail driver who suggested that employees had been instructed “not to worry about letters for now.”

Under legal obligations, Royal Mail is required to deliver first-class mail within one working day.

The company did not meet its delivery targets across all London postcodes last year, and Liberal Democrat MP Bobby Dean remarked that there seemed to be no signs of improvement.

Dean, who serves Carshalton and Wallington, labeled the situation as “entirely unacceptable,” asserting that “Royal Mail is in chaos.”

“When I reached out to Royal Mail for clarification, they merely responded that they had ‘operational issues’. That’s insufficient,” he stated.

“Prior penalties have evidently failed to influence the company’s practices. Communities throughout the UK rely on this service, and there is an urgent demand for increased transparency and accountability.”

The MP has called on Ofcom, the regulator for Royal Mail, to intervene and address what he describes as ongoing failures and a lack of transparency from the company.

Residents and businesses in Croydon faced similar delays lasting up to two weeks during last Christmas due to workforce shortages at Royal Mail’s Factory Lane sorting facility.

These interruptions adversely affected the timely delivery of critical items, such as NHS appointment notifications and medical prescriptions.

In light of the recent delays, a Royal Mail spokesperson acknowledged, “We recognize that our service quality is not yet at the level we aspire to, and we are diligently working to meet the expectations of our customers in Carshalton and Wallington.”

They emphasized that across the UK, the majority of first-class letters are still delivered within two days, and due to a significant decline in letter volumes, households might no longer benefit from daily deliveries.

“Reports of delays extending to weeks are not something our local delivery offices are indicating,” they remarked.

“We will reach out to the local MP to gain a clearer understanding of the concerns expressed by residents and investigate further.”