Residents on a Liverpool street say they are more likely to see Father Christmas with his sack than a postman delivering letters, as they endure three-week waits for mail. People living on Hawdon Close in Edge Hill told the Liverpool Echo they have been without important letters for weeks.
Residents' experiences
Steve Williamson, 70, said Royal Mail had been reliable until the past month. He has not received any letters for three weeks. 'We lost our regular postman, and since then it’s been chaos,' he said. His son, a HGV driver, is waiting for a tachograph card to be delivered. Without it, he cannot work. Steve visited the Sandhills sorting office on June 4 and received two recent letters, but not the tachograph card or hospital letters he had been expecting.
'We see the parcel van shooting around and just dropping parcels off, but no letters are delivered,' Steve said. 'I have phoned a few people, and keep getting emails back saying you should get a delivery in the next few days that will clear the backlog, and then we’ll get back to normal, but you’d be more likely to see Father Christmas with his sack.' Steve and his wife are also waiting for hospital letters and European Health Insurance Cards for a holiday to Spain.
Joan Hughes, 75, last received a letter on May 20. She has been expecting hospital letters and called the hospital to confirm appointments. She worries that a missing speeding ticket could lead to court action. 'I’m not worried about getting the fine, but I’m worried if I don’t get the ticket in time I’ll end up in court,' she said.
National context
In February, the parliamentary Business and Trade Committee launched a snap investigation into Royal Mail’s letter deliveries after widespread reports of late or missing letters. The committee estimated 126 million First Class letters (25%) would be delivered late this year, despite the cost of a First Class stamp rising to £1.80. Second Class service performs better but still sees 93 million late deliveries annually.
In April 2025, shareholders approved Royal Mail’s buyout by EP Group. CEO Daniel Křetínský pledged to maintain the Universal Service Obligation 'for as long as I am alive.' In July 2025, Ofcom announced changes to the USO, reducing Second Class deliveries to every second day, Monday to Friday.
Kenny Major, 61, said, 'I think it’s disgusting that people aren’t getting their post. It’s only when someone asks if you’ve had any letters that you think back. We used to get letters every single day.' Neighbour Graham Moser added, 'People are missing important stuff.' Tom Gibbons noted, 'We’ve not had any letters for a while, and we’re expecting insurance quotes.'
Royal Mail response
The Echo approached Royal Mail but did not receive a response by deadline. Regarding a similar issue in Kirkdale, a spokesperson previously said, 'We know how important it is that letters arrive on time. Our posties continue to make deliveries across the area every day where there are items to be delivered. Nationally, more than 92% of letters are delivered on time and 99.4% arrive within a week. We would encourage any customer awaiting important items to contact us directly.'
