Peter Dowd MP passed on early Christmas greetings to postmen and women at Bootle & Seaforth Delivery Office

• Christmas is Royal Mail’s busiest time of the year and Peter Dowd MP saw the hard work and dedication of local postal workers to sort and deliver festive parcels, cards and letters

• The last recommended posting dates for Christmas are: Second Class – Tuesday 18 December, First Class- Thursday 20 December and Special Delivery - Saturday 22 December

Peter Dowd MP visited Bootle & Seaforth Delivery Office to see first-hand the operation of delivering Christmas post and to pass on early Season’s Greetings to its dedicated, hardworking staff.

Peter was shown around the office by Ann Marie Topping, the delivery office manager and was introduced to the postmen and women, who will be pulling out all the stops to sort and deliver mail in the local area ahead of the busy Christmas period.

The Festive Season is Royal Mail’s busiest period, as millions of people shop online for gifts as well as sending Christmas cards and parcels. Royal Mail also plays a key role in e-commerce for many businesses sending goods to customers throughout Christmas shopping season.

Peter said: “I’d just like to thank the local team for the extraordinary lengths they go to ensure Christmas parcels and cards are delivered to loved ones on time, despite the cold and wet weather. At no other time is the hard work and dedication postal workers clearer than during the festive period. I wanted to get a feel for the work that goes into delivering the post on a daily basis so I spent a day over the summer with one of the postal workers in the area delivering mail, I’ve seen the huge amount of effort and dedication that goes into delivering a first class service in the area and I’m confident the local team will do just that this Christmas.

Ann Marie Topping, Royal Mail Delivery Office Manager, said: “Our postmen and women will be working extremely hard to deliver Christmas parcels, cards, letters and parcels to people in Bootle. We are grateful that Peter Dowd MP visited the office to see our operation and to support the team.

“We’d like to remind our customers to post early this Christmas and to ensure all their mail is posted by the recommended dates, so that friends and family can enjoy their Christmas greetings and parcels. If everyone uses the postcode on every item of mail, this also helps us greatly in the job that we do at this very busy time.”

Customers do not need to travel to a Royal Mail Delivery office to pick up parcels if they can’t or do not want to. They can arrange a redelivery free of charge on a day that is convenient for them (including Saturdays), or Royal Mail can deliver the item to a different address within the same postcode area. This service can be arranged by calling the number on the “Something for You” card we leave or by visiting our website at www.royalmail.com/redelivery.

Royal Mail can also now leave many mail items with a neighbour* if customers are not at home when we attempt delivery. Customers can nominate a dedicated neighbour to take in their parcels by filling in a form at their delivery office.

The last recommend posting dates for Christmas are:

Second Class – Tuesday 18 December 2018

First Class – Thursday 20 December 2018

Special Delivery – Saturday 22 December 2018

Customers can also help Royal Mail ensure that all their letters, cards and parcels are delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible by taking a few easy steps:

• Post early – Avoid disappointment by posting your cards and parcels early.

• Use the postcode – A clearly addressed card or parcel, with a postcode, and return address on the back of the envelope, will ensure quick and efficient delivery

• Use Special Delivery – For valuable and important packages and parcels guarantee delivery with Royal Mail’s Special Delivery, which means your gift is tracked, traced and insured against loss.

• Wrap parcels well and always give a return address

• For more information about Royal Mail’s last recommended posting dates, please visit: https://www.royalmail.com/greetings or call 03457 740 740.