Sickness outbreak hits Christmas mail deliveries

Royal Mail admitted this week that postal services in Oban and the surrounding area have been affected by an ‘unusually high level of sickness absence’.

The Oban Times believes around 11 employees at the Albany Street depot have been on sick leave over the past two weeks, hitting local deliveries.

While service users understand the high volume of mail at this time of year can cause some disruption, frustration is growing with people complaining of letters and parcels being delivered to the wrong addresses, being left in unsuitable places, such as doorsteps and even a recycle bin, or not being delivered at all.

Lorna MacLennan, who runs the Post Office in Taynuilt, is losing patience with the national company.

‘People have been coming in here and asking me to sort it out,’ she said.

‘It’s nothing to do with us.

Royal Mail and Post Office are two entirely different companies with different functions.

‘Royal Mail deals with the deliveries and there seems to be some sort of problem at the Oban depot at the moment.

‘People are waiting weeks for items that were posted first class.

‘People are waiting weeks for items that were posted first class. I really hope the problem is sorted out soon.

‘I have put a card in my window with a Royal Mail number to phone but they are still coming in to complain to me. I really hope the problem is sorted out soon.’

When The Oban Times contacted Royal Mail this week, it acknowledged there was a problem and told us it was working hard to get the backlog of mail delivered in time for Christmas.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: ‘We regret that some customers in the Oban area may have been experiencing delays in receiving their mail. This has been due to unusually high levels of sick absence during the busy Christmas period.

‘Our team at Oban Delivery Office have been working extra hours to ensure customers receive their mail as quickly as possible and we are grateful for all their hard work during this busy time.

‘We are continuing to provide extra resource to Oban Delivery Office where we can to ensure we continue to provide our usual high levels of service this Christmas.’

The last recommended posting date for first-class Christmas mail is tomorrow (Friday December 20).

Any customers with concerns about their mail should contact Royal Mail customer services by calling 03457 740 740 or by visiting royalmail.com