Royal Mail: Couriers experiencing delays over Christmas
Royal Mail has explained it will no longer run its special international delivery service for Europe until further notice. This will not affect parcels that have already been sent.
With Christmas just days away, courier services across the country have been busy.
Sales for ordering online jumped 50 percent in the first two weeks of December compared to last year, according to reports.
While the increase in orders has affected delivery services, the impact of coronavirus travel bans means some letters and parcels can not be delivered as planned, according to a statement on the Royal Mail website.
It said: “Royal Mail has temporarily suspended all mail services to Europe, with the exception of the Republic of Ireland.
We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.
“We are keeping the situation under close and constant review. Customers should check our website for regular updates.”
Travel bans to and from the UK have made it more difficult for people to move between countries.
This has caused Royal Mail to temporarily suspend processing of packages to some countries.
However it has not affected parcels which have already been sent, the statement continued.
“Items that are already in the system will be processed as normal and made ready for dispatch. These items will be held securely until we are able to get them to their relevant destinations,” the post continued.
“This is a fast-moving situation and we are monitoring things on an hourly basis.
“We are working to keep as many international mail services running as possible given the current restrictions around air, road, ferry and train movements from the UK.”
The delivery service was already experiencing high demand following an increase in letters and packages being sent.
A statement said: “The combination of greatly increased uptake of online Christmas shopping, in no small part driven by the recent lockdown, and the ongoing coronavirus restrictions mean that all delivery companies are experiencing exceptionally high volumes this year.
“We continue to focus on delivering all Christmas mail as quickly and as reliably as we can.”
Royal Mail explained it had hired additional workers to help over the Christmas period and most services would go ahead as normal.
It added: “The majority of the Royal Mail network is running as usual in line with this seasonal peak in demand.
“Ahead of the Christmas peak we hired around 33,000 temporary workers to support our 115,000 permanent postmen and women.
“Temporary staff, many of whom return year after year, are helping to sort parcels, cards and letters at sites across the UK.
“For the past ten years, Royal Mail has opened a network of temporary parcel sort centres to handle additional Christmas volumes.
“This year, Royal Mail expanded its portfolio of seasonal sites to help manage the anticipated growth in parcel volumes. Eight centres have been opened, including two additionalsites in Northampton and Milton Keynes. We also launched a campaign to remind our customers to shop early and post early for Christmas.”
Source: Read Full Article
