A new update released on 22 December confirms that Royal Mail is continuing to struggle with widespread delays across its network, just three days before Christmas. The postal service has published a list of 92 postcodes currently affected by “significant delivery disruption,” prompting a wave of customer complaints online.
According to Royal Mail, the delays are due to staff shortages and sickness at local depots. The company had hired 20,000 seasonal workers ahead of the festive period, but this has not been enough to maintain regular service levels in some locations. As a result, deliveries in the affected areas are now being rotated or delayed indefinitely.
92 Delivery Areas Hit as Royal Mail Confirms Rotating Service in Affected Depots
In a statement issued on Friday, Royal Mail said that while it aims to deliver to all households six days a week, “this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.” The company has published a full list of impacted areas:
- Whitehaven DO (CA18, CA19, CA20, CA26 and CA28)
- Stalybridge SUDO (SK15)
- Northwich DO (CW8 and CW9)
- Ashington DO (NE22, NE62, NE63 and NE64)
- Egremont DO (CA21, CA22, CA23, CA24, CA25 and CA27)
- Bristol East DO (BS5)
- St Helens DO (WA9, WA10 and WA11)
- Whitwood DO (WF6 and WF10)
- Renfrew DO (PA4)
- Callington DO (PL17 and PL18)
- Gloucester North DO (GL3 and GL4)
- Nottingham South DO (NG2 and NG12)
- Tipton DO (DY4)
- Dyce DO (AB21)
- Glasgow G52 DO (G52 and G53)
- Dursley DO (GL11, GL12 and GL13)
- Westhill DO (AB13, AB14 and AB32)
- Dunstable DO (LU5 and LU6)
- Paisley DO (PA1, PA2 and PA3)
- Brixton DO (SW2)
- Seaham DO (SR7)
- Erskine DO (PA7 and PA8)
- Altens DO (AB10, AB11, AB12 and AB35)
- Pontefract DO (WF7, WF8, WF9 and WF11)
- Warrington DO (WA1, WA2, WA4, WA5 and WA55)
- Clevedon DO (BS21 and BS49)
- Lichfield DO (WS7, WS13 and WS14)
- Johnstone DO (PA5, PA6, PA9, PA10 and PA12)
- Londonderry DO (BT47 and BT48)
- Belfast West DO (BT10, BT11, BT12 and BT17)
- Dundee East DO (DD4, DD5 and DD7)
- Sleaford DO (NG34)
- Lisburn DO (BT26, BT27 and BT28)
- Wigan DO (WN1, WN2, WN3, WN4, WN5 and WN6)
Delivery offices in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and multiple major English cities are among those experiencing serious backlogs. In some cases, parcels and letters have been delayed for more than ten days. According to Royal Mail, a rotating delivery system is being used to minimise the delay to individual addresses, and “targeted support” has been deployed to affected delivery offices.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers. We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.” The company apologised for the disruption and said customers would be updated regularly as the situation develops.
Customer Frustration Mounts as Delays Stretch Past Ten Days
Frustrated customers have taken to social media in recent days, describing long waits for first-class mail, untraceable parcels, and missed delivery dates. According to multiple posts on X (formerly Twitter), items sent as early as 3 December are only now arriving, if at all.
One user wrote: “Finally, I received the letter, sent 1st class on 3rd December, telling me that my water may be contaminated. It took @RoyalMail 13 days to deliver this important letter sent 1st class!” Another said: “48 hour delivery service. They’ve only had the the parcel for 8 days now without it being delivered.”
According to coverage by Everything Money, some customers reported that tracking data had vanished, or that their parcels were marked as delivered despite not receiving anything. In other cases, customers who paid extra for express or priority delivery have reported their items still undelivered.
A customer in Deeside wrote: “They said it would be delivered today and I’m still waiting!” while another questioned why Royal Mail continues to offer next-day delivery services it “can’t fulfil.” Despite the staffing boost ahead of the Christmas rush, the current wave of disruptions mirrors issues seen in previous years. According to Royal Mail, efforts are ongoing to restore full service across the network.
