COMPLAINTS against Royal Mail rose by 153 per cent in the last year and consumers received nearly £30,000 in compensation.Postwatch East of England was contacted by nearly 3,000 customers in the region, concerned about postal services, compared to around 1,000 in the previous 12 months.

COMPLAINTS against Royal Mail rose by 153 per cent in the last year and consumers received nearly £30,000 in compensation.

Postwatch East of England was contacted by nearly 3,000 customers in the region, concerned about postal services, compared to around 1,000 in the previous 12 months.

In the IP postcode area, a total of 330 complaints were received and nearly £3,000 in compensation was secured.

The majority of complaints related to lost, delayed and mis-delivered mail, the standard of responses from Royal Mail customer services and failures in redirection services.

Linda McCord, of East of England Postwatch, said: "Whilst the increased complaint levels do indicate Postwatch has successfully increased its profile within the region, there are also an increasing number of people dissatisfied with the service they get from Royal Mail."

A spokesman for Royal Mail pointed out it meets almost all its targets set down in its license and said more than nine out of ten First Class letters are delivered the next day.

He added: "We deliver millions of items of mail each day in eastern England and the complaints received by Postwatch need to be seen in that context."

Postwatch aims to help those dissatisfied with the service they have received from postal operators. They can be contacted on 08456 013265.

WEBLINKS

www.postwatch.co.uk

www.royalmailgroup.com

Have you been affected by postal problems? If so, contact the Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324789 or starnews@eveningstar.co.uk.

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