Royal Mail delays causing havoc across Oxfordshire

Households across the county have been receiving letters and parcels late, or not at all, over the last six months and many people claim that post is only being delivered once a week.

Some have reportedly resorted to visiting their sorting office in person to demand their mail.

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Royal Mail admitted a lack of staff was causing delays in Oxfordshire and claimed it was recruiting to fill the gap.

The delays have hit homeowners in East Oxford, Banbury, and Thame, according to reports.

Charlie Hicks, an Oxfordshire county councillor for Cowley, said that Royal Mail was “seriously letting residents down.”

He said: “I spoke to a local Royal Mail worker a few days ago who was out delivering parcels in a postal van in the Cowley area.

“They told me that the Royal Mail worker who owned the postal van had been off ill for a couple of weeks and that there had been no-one to cover the area while they were off sick…

“It beggars belief that the management at Royal Mail don’t seem able to arrange sick cover…

“We need an explanation from management on what is causing these issues and what they are going to do to fix it so that Oxford residents can get their post on time, as they rightfully deserve.”

MP Victoria Prentis said her constituents in Banbury had reported unpredictable postal deliveries. (Image: n/a)

MP Victoria Prentis said her constituents in Banbury had reported that postal deliveries had been “very unpredictable since the summer.”

Royal Mail reportedly told her that Banbury Delivery Office had “a higher than normal absence for the time of year” which was causing the delays.

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She was recently told that five new postmen and women have been recruited.

“I have asked to visit the Banbury Delivery Office soon to see what more can be done to improve the service,” she said,

One North Oxford man reported on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, that houses in the area only “seem to get one delivery a week”.

Another man said it was the same situation in Thame and that “many people are resorting to visiting the sorting office to demand their mail.”

Royal Mail said a recruitment plan was in place to improve its service.

Around 6,000 postmen and women have been recruited nationally over the last 12 weeks, and the postal service is taking on 16,000 temporary workers in the lead up to Christmas.

A spokesperson said: “These actions plus others are already making a difference in some areas and we are confident that they will continue to improve quality of service for our customers.”