In August this year we reported on problems with the postal service in Yeovil and Ilchester. There were significant delays in receiving mail deliveries being reported by residents. At the time Royal mail which runs the service told us: “We are sorry to residents who have experienced delays receiving their mail. Improving our quality of service is our top priority and we are committed to restoring service levels to where our customers expect them to be. The local service has been impacted by high levels of vacancies. This has led to delays in the area. However, we have new staff joining the business in the area and every effort is being made to ensure post is delivered on time. Those who do not receive their mail on the day they expect will be prioritised the following day.“

Which all sounded optimistic. In fact the problems remain and complaints about the service have continued. Today LibDem prospective parliamentary candidate for Yeovil, Adam Dance is on the warpath. He told us: “One of my team visited the queue at Yeovil sorting office yesterday morning at 9.45.  45 people were waiting for between 30 and 40 minutes.  The sorting office is only open from 8 to 10 and those who have not reached the counter by 10 would, we were told, be sent away.   Those in the queue said that they had had no post for 3 weeks and that this was an ongoing problem since the summer.  Most were there to receive letters they were waiting for, in particular notices of hospital appointments.  We could see the limited number of staff were doing the best they could but this is not good enough for the people of Yeovil.
“I am writing today to the Chief Executive of Royal Mail, Martin Seindenberg, as well as to the Chairman and the Group CEO.   At the same time I am asking for a meeting with the Manager of Yeovil Royal Mail to see what can be done in the short term.  Immediate action should be prioritising getting post into the hands of local residents by increasing the opening hours of the sorting office, and then ensuring that letters are given priority for delivery across Yeovil as a whole on at least a twice weekly delivery, with the expectation that a full delivery service will be up and running as soon as possible
“In the run up to Christmas it is appalling that despite the cost of postage Royal Mail is unable to fulfil its Universal Service Obligation, agreed earlier this year, which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week to 32 million UK addresses, including in Yeovil.”

Royal Mail’s advice is as follows: “We encourage anyone with concerns about the delivery of their mail to please get in touch with Royal Mail customer service on 03457 740 740 or via www.royalmail.com.”