A couple say they were left “anxious” after Royal Mail delays left them waiting more than a week for an important hospital letter.
Ian and Kathy Renton, who live in Johnstone, say they had to wait for a letter giving them the results of a CT scan after it was thought Ian might have cancer.
Ian, 82, explained: “I was anxiously waiting on a letter because I’d been for a CT scan and they said it could be cancer.
“I knew it wasn’t cancer, fortunately, but I was waiting to see what they were going to diagnose, and I was anxious waiting on that all week.
“It was sent out a Friday first class by the hospital, and we didn’t get it until a week Saturday.”
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The couple say they started experiencing issues with their Royal Mail deliveries after Christmas, with them going from getting post almost daily to once a week.
Kathy, 78, said: “We just put it down to it being Christmas and maybe they were inundated.
“I think it might slowly be getting back to normal, but I don’t know for sure.
“It’s been terrible.”
Ian, who works in web design, did complain to Royal Mail but says he received a “standard reply” about a shortage of posties across the UK.
It comes after we reported last month that Royal Mail had confirmed delivery offices serving Uddingston (G71) and Johnstone, covering postcodes PA5, PA6, PA9, PA10, and PA12, were experiencing disruption with some other local residents also reported they had received little to no post since Christmas.
The postal service said the problems were due to staffing shortages and high levels of sickness.
More than 60 areas across the UK reported disruption in total, leading Telford MP Shaun Davies to raise concerns at Westminster where he claimed postal workers were being instructed to prioritise parcels over letters.
He told the House of Commons: “Posties have contacted me privately to tell me that they have been ordered not to deliver post and to prioritise parcels.”
A spokesperson for Royal Mail previously said: “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 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.”
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In April last year, the Glasgow Times reported that residents living in Garnethill, covered by the Glasgow G1-5 Delivery Office on Baird Street, were experiencing delays in postal deliveries.
One resident also claimed they had been told by their postie that they had been told to prioritise parcels over letters.
Royal Mail is set to introduce 3500 solar-powered digital postboxes across the UK which they say will make it easier for people to send, return and collect parcels.
The upgraded postboxes will include scanners and drawers and will allow people to send and return labelled parcels up to the size of a shoebox.
Royal Mail has been contacted for comment.
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