A LOCAL Councillor has slammed the Royal Mail for not delivering mail to rural parts of Fermanagh.
Cllr Victor Warrington states that those living in the east of the County have been waiting days – and in some cases more than a week – for letters, including hospital appointments and Mother’s Day cards, to be delivered.
A whistleblower from the Royal Mail contacted Warrington to inform him that the sorting office that serves east Fermanagh, Armagh, has a ‘parcels first’ approach in regard to the delivery of mail.
“The postal service over the last few weeks has been absolutely shambolic” said Cllr Warrington.
“Our post comes from Clougher which is controlled by the sorting office in Armagh.
“I’ve been informed by a post office whistle-blower, that postmen and women have been told to concentrate on delivering parcels and forget about letters.
“The whistle-blower said that the chutes where the letters are put in before going out for delivery are absolutely jam-packed.
“They’ve been concentrating on parcels and, in the rural area where I live, there was one road that didn’t have mail for eight or nine days. I myself have had a week where there was no delivery.
“There were mums recently who were not getting Mother’s Day cards until long after that day had gone. Hospital letters were also not coming through.
“I have been told that this is an across the board thing where the Postal Service is concentrating more on parcel deliveries.
“I have information that the manager of the sorting office in Armagh had a conference call with those in Clougher where they were told to ‘leave the letters and concentrate on the parcels’.
“I did speak to the manager in Armagh and challenged him on that. He didn’t deny it.”
However, a Royal Mail spokesman insisted to The Herald that such a policy is not in place.
He added: “Royal Mail does not operate a policy of prioritising parcels. Delivery, collection and processing of letters and parcels is treated with equal importance.
“However, at particularly busy times we may occasionally at a local level clear parcels to free up space and address health and safety concerns so that we can keep all mail – including letters – moving efficiently through our network.
“That was the case recently at our Delivery Office in Armagh, during a period that included severe weather and a Bank Holiday.
“We are very sorry for any delays that customers experienced, and are confident of now delivering a service of the quality that our customers expect from Royal Mail.
“Anyone who has concerns about the delivery of their mail should contact Royal Mail customer service on 03457 740 740 or via www.royalmail.com.”
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