The plethora of Royal Mail strikes have caused chaos in the postal system, with people waiting longer than usual for deliveries. The run-up to Christmas is always a busy time in any event and this year no doubt there has been disappointment with cards and parcels going astray.
Postal workers have walked out in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions with frequency over recent months, including in the two days before Christmas. People were urged to send things earlier and the traditional last posting dates ahead of the festive season were moved forward, reports the LiverpoolECHO.
And some people will have missed their deliveries due to not being at home or not getting to the door in time. There's a special code used by the Royal Mail for a failed delivery - P739. It's the code nobody wants to see.
If you receive a P739 card this means you will have to collect the item from the sorting office yourself and this can mean having to wait until the next day depending on what time you find the card. However, in some cases you may be able to organise a redelivery.
Last year, one postal worker vowed not to deliver mail to a resident after they left a ranting note accusing him of "pretending" to ring their doorbell with a parcel. The postman adamantly denied the accusation.
A Royal Mail spokesperson at the time said: "Every single item of mail is important to us. Our postmen and women work extremely hard to deliver to mail to customers across the country, six days a week, in all weathers.
"Thankfully the vast majority of items are securely delivered to customers, but if we believe a customer is not at home, we will attempt to deliver the item to a neighbour and leave a card. If we can't deliver to them, we'll leave a card and take the item back to the Customer Service Point where customers can either collect it or arrange a redelivery. We would advise anyone who has delivery concerns can contact the Royal Mail customer service team."
