Scots waiting on Christmas deliveries may be hit with delays as popular courier DPD has announced that Royal Mail strike action will put extra pressure onto its operations.
It says that next-day deliveries to around five percent of postcodes in the UK will be suspended, and some postcodes will experience two or even three-day delays.
The courier blamed the delays on the walkouts staged by over 14,000 Royal Mail workers, although DPD confirms that most areas will not be affected, reports the Mirror.
A statement released by DPD reads: "While the service is unaffected in most areas, we have today temporarily suspended next-day deliveries to around 5% of postcodes in the UK.
"The expected delays of 24 to 48 hours and the postcodes impacted are shown on our website.
"Where delays do occur, we update the parcel recipient directly where our customers have provided us with their contact details.
"Any delays at this time of year are hugely regrettable and while the underlying issues here are outside of our control, we would wish to reassure retailers and parcel recipients that our team is doing everything possible to minimise the impact on next-day deliveries."
Full list of Scottish areas affected by delivery delays
Areas which have a one-day delay in deliveries
- Dumfriesshire: DG1-4, DG10-14, DG16
- Dunbartonshire: G81-84
- East Lothian: EH31-36, EH39-42
- Fife: KY3-6, KY11-12, KY99
- Lanarkshire: G5, G11-15, G23, G51, G60-66, G70-71
- Midlothian: EH1-2, EH4-28, EH3 1, EH3 5-9, EH77, EH91, EH95, EH99
- Peeblesshire: EH43-46 1
- West Lothian: EH29-30, EH52-53 1
Areas which have a two day delay in deliveries
- Aberdeenshire: AB32-36, AB54
- Banffshire: AB37-38, AB55
Areas which have a three day delay in deliveries
- Fife: KY1-2, KY7
The delays come as DPD was named as the third best courier last Christmas, with the Royal Mail taking second and Amazon topping the list.
Some 79 percent of DPD customers stated that they were satisfied overall with their delivery, according to the research conducted by Which?.
In response to the rankings, Peter Fuller, chief executive of DHL Parcel UK, said the company was committed to providing excellent service and was always looking for ways to make improvements.
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