Telford councillors ‘overwhelmed’ with residents’ post concerns
Postal regulator Ofcom says it shares the ‘deep frustrations’ of Telford and Wrekin residents
Councillors have been ‘overwhelmed’ with Telford residents’ concerns over continual delays in post deliveries, a meeting heard.
Patients have missed hospital appointments, residents have failed to receive vital employment documents, and twins were left in tears after one received a birthday card while the other didn’t.
One councillor – Paul Thomas – who had been in contact with the Royal Mail – revealed that a letter posted from the organisation on January 20, 2026 had been received on Thursday (July 16).
Councillor Rachael Tyrrell was given cross party support in her motion to refer issues to regulator Ofcom.
Councillor Tyrrell (Conservative, Priorslee) told Thursday’s full council that she had received “hundreds of messages and phone calls” some from people in tears.
They included a non delivered DBS certificate needed for work, a cancer patient who had missed an appointment, and someone who missed an appointment for a scan by 10 days.
She added that twins “Jack and Fran” from Priorslee had been upset after one received their birthday card and the other did not.
Her ward colleague Paul Thomas (Conservative, Priorslee) said he had picked up the issue last year and had been communicating with the Royal Mail.
He told the meeting that he had received a letter from the Royal Mail on Thursday that had been posted first class on January 20.
Councillor Ollie Vickers (Labour, Donnington) said he had asked residents to share their experiences with him and has similarly seen an “overwhelming” response.
He and other councillors said that postal workers were not to blame.
“The current situation is unacceptable,” he said.
“The residents have spoken clearly and they deserve much better.”
Council deputy leader Richard Overton (Labour, St George’s) said: “Many feel they are getting the Royal name but not the Royal standard.
“Should they have Royal on the side of their vans?”
He added that it was “not about blaming our posties who go out in all weathers and are doing everything they can to keep the service running.
“They receive complaints but they are working incredibly hard under difficult circumstances.
“Hard working posties deserve proper support.”
Speaker Arnold England declared that a show of hands “appeared to be unanimous” with no votes against.
The motion also asks Royal Mail to provide the council with information on local delivery performance, staffing levels, delivery office arrangements and the steps being taken to improve reliability across the borough.
A Royal Mail spokesperson had told the LDRS last week that it has published an Improvement Plan, which sets out the actions it is taking to improve reliability.
“Our latest results show that more than 92 per cent of letters arrive on time and over 99 per cent are delivered within a week.
“While we are making progress, we know there is more to do. We remain focused on improving reliability for all customers through targeted support for delivery offices, strengthened daily performance management and continued investment in our network.”
What has Ofcom said?
Postal regulator Ofcom says it shares the ‘deep frustrations’ of Telford and Wrekin residents over the Royal Mail’s ‘poor delivery performance’.
An Ofcom spokesperson said Royal Mail is committed to return performance back to the delivery targets by April 2027, and “we will continue to hold it to account.”
The spokesperson said: “We share the deep frustrations of customers who have missed important letters because of Royal Mail’s poor delivery performance in recent years.
“As well as fining Royal Mail more than £37 million for failing to deliver what customers expect and deserve, we also demanded that the company publish a credible improvement plan, backed by investment from its owners.”
Ofcom says that Royal Mail has committed to return performance back to the regulated targets by April 2027, and to invest £500 million over the next five years.
“While the company is now making progress through its improvement plan, we will continue to hold it to account,” the spokesperson added.
Ofcom measures Royal Mail’s delivery performance against nationwide annual First Class and Second Class targets, from April to March, excluding the Christmas period.
“We are currently investigating the company’s failure to meet its delivery targets for 2025/26,” the spokesperson added.
“Royal Mail is also subject to targets in individual postcode areas, to limit variations in performance across the UK, and the company’s performance in all areas of the UK contribute to its overall performance against its national targets.
“Royal Mail is required to publish its quarterly and annual performance data, including a breakdown by postcode areas.”
In the latest performance data for the TF postcode area in April 2026 the company reported that 68.4 per cent of first class mail was delivered next working day, falling well short of its then target of 93 per cent. Across the year as a whole it recorded a figure of 75.6 per cent.