Frustrated Frome residents, some of whom claim they’ve gone months without receiving vital post, may finally see light at the end of the mailbox.
Following on from last year’s appeal to residents of Frome, in which Frome MP Anna Sabine asked for experiences of the current post system and possibly delays on delivery, she has now written to the Royal Mail to get answers on why the town seemed to be so badly affected.
This week she has received a response from the corporation wherein they state that having spoken to the customer operations manager at Frome, who “reaffirms that we are currently delivering to the majority of addresses served by Frome Delivery Office six days a week”.
From feedback received from residents, Anna raised her concerns that many were going some times as long as six months, without receiving post resulting in missed hospital appointments and non-delivery of bills and payments.
The Royal Mail, through their spokesperson, have also assured Anna that they continue to actively recruit for new post people and encourage interested parties to apply on their website.
As well as seeking to reassure Anna and residents that they are “working hard to further improve the service so that [they] can deliver consistently six days a week to all addresses served by Frome Delivery Office.”
Addressing concerns that had been raised around management directing postal workers to prioritise packages, they admitted that they during the Christmas period they do prioritise packages in order to get them out of the way in order to further sort letters, but said that beyond these seasonal plans, Ofcom have not “identified any suggestion that Royal Mail senior management have directed the prioritisation of parcels over letters”.
She said: “With the assurances given that this will not be the case going forward, I am hopeful that the Royal Mail stick to their word and that the service for those residents administered by Frome Sorting Office will improve in 2025. However, as they suggest this is an issue relating simply to the Christmas period, which the experiences constituents have shared with me seems to believe, I will continue to be aware of how the situation progresses.
“I hope that with its new acquisition and the push to employ further postal workers in the area, the existing staff of hardworking postmen and women will be properly supported to do their job as I know they wish to.”