Royal Mail denies hiding excess mail during MP’s visit

Royal Mail has denied claims managers hid undelivered mail from an MP during a visit to one of its north Wales delivery offices last Christmas.

The allegation that the service concealed undelivered mail from Wrexham MP Andrew Ranger during a visit to its Regent Street delivery office was made during a meeting of Wrexham County Borough Council’s Executive Board earlier this week.

There members granted Council Leader Cllr Mark Pritchard permission to challenge Royal Mail over reports of delayed deliveries that residents say have led to difficulties including missed hospital appointments.

As they discussed the issues, Cllr Marc Jones said: “I’ve also been told that when the local MP visited Wrexham sorting office, because I think this is a specific problem in Wrexham, that the mail was concealed by management from the MP.

“Now it’s a very serious allegation and I’m taking the word of people who were there, but we really do need to get to the bottom of this.”

Following the meeting, Wrexham MP Andrew Ranger said: “I visited Wrexham Sorting Office at Christmas as I do each year but was unaware that Royal Mail management allegedly made the decision to hide post in advance of my visit.

“If this is correct, I am deeply concerned about this practice, and I will be contacting the Sorting Office.”

Mr Ranger also welcomed Wrexham Council’s decision to challenge Royal Mail on its performance in the borough.

“A number of Wrexham constituents including residents and postal workers have contacted me regarding issues with Royal Mail both in terms of postal deliveries and working practices,” he said.

“I have raised these concerns with UK Government Minister Blair McDougall. I am pleased that Wrexham County Borough Council has now added its weight behind the issue.

“The more of us that call out Royal Mail for their actions and their continual service failures that affect the people of Wrexham, the better.”

Royal Mail has now denied the claim that management hid excess mail during Mr Ranger’s visit in December.

In a statement it added: “During Christmas, our busiest period, Ofcom does not apply its regular delivery targets given the significantly higher volumes and items can take longer to arrive than usual.

“Delivery offices handle significantly increased volumes over this period.

“Our independently verified results show that 99% of items posted by the last recommended posting dates were delivered in time for Christmas.”

Addressing the concerns of Wrexham councillors and residents regarding deliveries in the borough a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We understand how concerning it is when important letters, such as hospital appointments, do not arrive as expected.

“Currently in North Wales 84.8% of First Class letters are delivered the next working day, with the remainder arriving in the days that follow. Across the UK, around 92% of all letters are delivered on time and 99.4% arrive within a week, meaning longer delays are rare.

“While the vast majority of mail is delivered as expected, there can be short-term, localised issues which we work quickly to resolve.”