A phrase that’s commonly associated with delayed payment or a disbelief that something will arrive, “It’s in the mail”, has now quite literally become a reality for all post intended for a rural area in County Armagh, says one local resident.
Speaking to Armagh I, the resident – who wished to remain anonymous – said for “quite a while now” it’s become more and more apparent that post isn’t being delivered to her address in a timely fashion.
Her home sits on a quiet road near Collone, on the outskirts of Armagh city and, in recent months, post has been delivered much less regularly than usual and – when it is delivered – it has been coming in “bundles”, leading the resident to make the assertion that “there may be some new economic policy” at play.
“I don’t know really if it’s an economic policy from higher up or just workers inside almost like a ‘gang-led’ thing that they follow each other,” she said.
“It is annoying because there were two letters in particular, pretty important letters, that I was dependent on getting. One was needed for an accountant and other for a solicitor and I just thought it’s not right if someone is using their authority to decide when we get letters and when we don’t.”
After speaking with neighbours, it has become clear to the resident that her address is not the only one being impacted.
She added: “It would seem when we don’t get letters others don’t as well. A Saturday delivery, for a long time, rarely happens.”
Some neighbours, she says, are only receiving post on a Tuesday and Thursday each week.
After making a phone call to the sorting office, the resident said she was assured by a “defensive” member of staff that Royal Mail “do not hold on to post”.
However, when a friend in Belfast sent her a letter that took nine days to reach her home in Armagh, she grew ever more sceptical of the response.
She said: “We have all heard the story, ‘it was sent out in the post’, ‘aww yes, blame the post’… but there might be something to it!”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We always do our utmost to ensure letters and parcels are delivered on time, but recent resourcing challenges at Armagh Delivery Office have an impact on deliveries locally.
“We would reassure residents that mail continues to be delivered at least every other day where there is mail to deliver. We are working hard to improve our service and the team is focused on bringing new staff on board as quickly as possible.”
