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21
Jan
Harrogate resident finally receives Christmas card after post delays
Royal Mail has responded after numerous residents in Harrogate villages were left without post for several weeks.
The Stray Ferret initially approached Royal Mail last week after receiving complaints about its service from readers.
A spokesperson attributed the delays to recent adverse weather conditions caused by heavy snow and ice.
But when other post-less residents approached us this week, we went back to Royal Mail to ask when normal deliveries would resume.
Chris Leak, who lives near Brearton, told the Stray Ferret he had not received any post since December 23. His nearest neighbour also suffered the same fate.
Mr Leak said:
We usually get a delivery every couple of days, and they’re usually very good. I’ve tried contacting Royal Mail on several occasions but it’s just pillar to post.
They tell you there’s a minimum of half an hour’s wait just to speak to someone, and if you email, you should only expect a response within 72 hours.
We’ve got a set of glasses coming and medication for the dog, but the most important thing is that I don’t know if the hospital is trying to contact me. When they do, it’s always by post, but now I just don’t know.
Mr Leak said his post finally appeared "as if by magic" today (Janaury 21), including a Christmas card sent on December 23.
"A pile of post has been dumped today", he told us.
Denise Rawson, who lives in Norwood, said she had been without post for 16 days.
Ms Rawson said parcels delivered by DPD arrived at her house, but she had not received any letters since the start of the month.
She said:
The road has been fine for at least eight days so no excuse there!
When she phoned Royal Mail to complain, Ms Rawson waited on hold for 20 minutes to no avail.
She said:
We are waiting on an important piece of paper from the DVLA before we can sell our car, so it’s very frustrating. I am sure other people are waiting for all sorts of other things.
Finally, Ms Rawson managed to track down her post yesterday. She told the Stray Ferret:
We have now managed to collect our big pile of post from the postman at The Sun Inn in Norwood. His van broke down and it would have been returned to the sorting office.
Royal Mail response
When the Stray Ferret first approached Royal Mail on January 15, they said the local delivery office would be cleared of all post shortly.
We contacted it again this week after receiving more enquiries about delayed post.
A spokesperson said the Royal Mail was still working to clear the backlog, and the improved weather “does not instantly solve these issues”.
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