AS Patrick Delafield wrote in his letter (JEP 5 March) I, too, am thoroughly sick of the ‘service’ provided by Jersey Post.
To be fair I think this should also include the postal service worldwide, as once post from Jersey has left the Island Jersey Post does not have much control over letters and parcels.
Having said this, as far as sending letters locally is concerned, it has now got to the stage where I send official letters twice – ie two copies each in separate envelopes. This means I pay twice to ensure that a recipient receives a communication from me. Not everything can be sent by email or discussed over the phone, particularly in the case of letters to financial institutions and States offices as this type of message often gets disregarded with unfortunate (and often costly) results.
I can also identify with the débàcle over Christmas cards, as many of my friends received Christmas cards I posted in the middle of December in January and vice versa.
Strangely enough parcels from Amazon hardly ever get lost, but parcels from anyone else frequently get ‘lost in the post’ and have to be re-sent at a loss to the supplier.
I ordered something from a supplier (not Amazon) in the middle of January. When it did not arrive they sent a replacement and now the replacement has also got ‘lost’.
We are encouraged to ‘buy local’, but not everyone can. I am disabled and cannot walk around St Helier or drive around the Island to buy goods.
I have no alternative but to buy much of what I need online. Due to Covid local firms are beginning to deliver goods, which would obviate the need to buy online and wait weeks and weeks for parcels that sometimes never arrive, but often local firms have either a minimum ‘spend’ or charge at least £10 before they will deliver.
A lot of people are in the position of either having to go without goods they really do need or wait and worry about whether goods they have ordered will actually arrive.
Holmgate Court, Claremont Road, St Helier.
For more Letters to the Editor, comment and opinion pieces, see today’s Jersey Evening Post
