Above is a summary of our posting days and Royal Mail strikes (I will try update it every evening). We have daily post collections at 3pm (on non-strike weekdays). Upon collection the postman scans the manifest, which is the paperwork showing a summary of all parcels in the shipment. Then the parcels are scanned later at the mailing centre (24H usually that evening and 48H usually the next morning).
Please note that after the strikes and weekends there are often large backlogs of parcels at the sorting office. This is particularly noticeable for parcels posted on Monday 28th November and Monday 5th December. Often parcels posted on subsequent days are delivered quite quickly, so it seems those from Monday end up at the back of the pile...... and can take awhile to be processed..... first in, last out. I imagine RM do this so that they have a good turnaround time on the majority of parcels sent other days.
Parcels from 28th were eventually scanned 10 days later in Yorkshire, which is 200 miles north of us. As of today (16th Nov) all 48H Tracked and 24H Tracked parcels collected on 28 Nov have been delivered.
The sacks of 48H Tracked parcels collected on the 5th Dec were taken to Milton Keynes which is not our local mail centre. Eventually most of these parcels have been scanned in MK today (16 Dec), so they should be delivered next week.
Please note that 24H Tracked and 48H Tracked are not guaranteed to arrive after 24 hours and 48 hours respectively. The estimated delivery times are shown when you checkout. These delivery times may be even longer due to the Royal Mail strikes and resulting backlogs. We do however suggest you choose 24H Tracked or Special Delivery at checkout, because Royal Mail prioritise these and sacks containing 24H Tracked parcels are processed at the sorting office before 48H post.
We're really sorry that our customers are experiencing these delays. Unfortunately there's very little that we can do about this. We are all in the same boat (I've been unable to complete many of my Christmas gift products due to the delays of materials etc). After several difficult years due to Brexit, Covid and less spending due to the increased cost of living, this is a real disappointment for many small businesses who hoped that the increased orders at Christmas would help improve the situation. But now all small businesses have the added stress of the postal strikes and delays!!
We were unable to post everyday due to the strikes. During this time we've had a banner at the top of the website displaying the strike days and details of when parcels will be posted. We chose not to use other couriers because we know from experience that they become snowed under when Royal Mail are on strike, and we haven't had the best service from some at the best of times. Also, we have used Royal Mail since 2006 and have had very few losses, less than a handful most years. Yes, sometimes there have been delays, but more often than not the parcels do arrive.
Thank you for reading. And if you are still waiting for your parcel I really do appreciate your patience. It is causing me a lot of stress and anxiety, so believe me, I do care about your parcel. Fortunately 99.9% of customers have been understanding and patient, thank you :)
Julia
