Royal Mail has warned Scots that Christmas deliveries could arrive later than expected amid an increase of people shopping for presents online.
The firm says that it has provided ‘significant investment’ to services but is experiencing ‘exceptionally high volumes’ of post this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Risks posed by the virus has meant that a huge number of Scots have carried out their Christmas shopping online rather than on the high street.
Large numbers of Scots shoppers have complained to the firm on social media about late or missed deliveries.
Royal Mail says that coronavirus-related measures at sorting offices is also having an impact on the service.
John Lewis, Boots and HMV are among the chains to blame the firm for delivery delays, while small business owners say that it is damaging their reputation.
Royal Mail has taken on around 33,000 people for temporary seasonal positions to cope with this year’s demand.
A spokesperson for the firm said: “Royal Mail is working hard to deliver the most comprehensive and high quality service we can to all our customers, large and small.
“The combination of greatly increased uptake of online Christmas shopping, in no small part driven by the recent lockdown, and the ongoing Covid restrictions mean that all delivery companies are experiencing exceptionally high volumes this year.
“Every single parcel, letter and card is important to us.
“Despite our best efforts and significant investment in extra resources, some customers may experience slightly longer delivery timescales than our usual service standards.
“This is due to the exceptionally high volumes we are seeing, exacerbated by coronavirus-related measures we have put in place in local mail centres and delivery offices.
“In such cases, we always work hard to get back to providing our usual level of service as quickly as we can.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
Non-essential retail has been allowed to reopen in Glasgow and 10 neighbouring council areas today as the three-week level four lockdown comes to an end.
Shoppers have been flocking to out-of-town shopping centres to get last minute Christmas gifts in before the big day.
Nicola Sturgeon has urged shops to stick with social distancing measures to prevent another surge of the virus in Scotland.
