MPs describe 'postbag full' of mail delay complaints

An MP has said more than 500 people have contacted her to report issues with delays in receiving post over the past six years.

Labour MP for Oxford East Dame Anneliese Dodds said she had repeatedly met with Royal Mail management after hundreds of people contacted her office.

Her neighbouring MP, Liberal Democrat Layla Moran, echoed a similar sentiment, saying her "postbag" was "full" of stories of serious delays to deliveries.

Multiple Oxfordshire residents have also contacted the BBC to share their experiences. Royal Mail has previously apologised for the delays.

"Problems with Royal Mail have been evident for a number of years now," Dame Anneliese said during a BBC Radio Oxford hotseat debate on the issue on Monday.

"We've had 515 different cases of people contacting me about Royal Mail delays since 2020... and I've got to say, it ebbs and flows."

"But the impact of it is always the same - it's always difficult for people who are waiting for important mail, who miss really important letters, who don't get the information that they need on time."

During Monday's hotseat, listeners told BBC Radio Oxford's Adam Ball about their delivery delay woes.

Among them were late birthday cards, out-of-date bills and one case where a resident had gone more than a week without any post before 21 letters were all delivered on the same day.

Last year, Oxfordshire's Lib Dem MPs accused Royal Mail of leaving "countless people in the lurch" after company data showed only 67.9% of first-class deliveries in OX postcodes were delivered on time in 2024/25 - well below the 93% target.

Among them was Oxford West and Abingdon MP Moran, who said that "structural changes" to Royal Mail operations in Oxfordshire were "leading to serious issues for my constituents".

"I've raised many of these cases with Royal Mail, but heard little of substance about what they plan to do to fix this," she said.

Dame Anneliese said she had held "a number of meetings with Royal Mail" in recent years, including visits to local sorting offices.

"They say to me they've made changes, they've got a new operating model that's coming in, but it hasn't, I don't think, been fully implemented in Oxford yet," she said.

"They think that this new model may help a bit... but we really need to see a strong focus on getting this sorted out - it's so important."

The Labour MP said she wanted to "underline that our posties work incredibly hard" and that they were not at fault for the issues.

Royal Mail has not responded to BBC requests for a comment, but previously said it was "sorry to hear" about issues reported in Oxfordshire and that it "takes these concerns seriously".

"We are actively recruiting to strengthen our delivery teams and encourage any residents experiencing problems to contact us directly so we can investigate," it added.