He now feels Royal Mail should be reprimanded “because they should not be able to treat people this way”.
Amit Marwaha, who has lived with his mother in their Hackbridge flat for 20 years, said that since April, they have not received any NHS letters regarding urgent hospital appointments.
Both rely on regular diabetes monitoring and hospital visits, but they say the missed appointments are piling up and putting their health at risk.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “She’s been missing her appointments.
“That’s what’s really stressing me out,” he said.
“I have diabetes, high blood pressure, and I’ve had a bad infection recently. My mum has diabetes too. She needs those appointments, and they’re just not arriving.”
He has also received multiple letters intended for others, including neighbours and people living on entirely different streets, suggesting systemic issues with local deliveries.
As a result, his mother is increasingly worried about where her private health information might be being delivered. “She is panicking about where her medical details might be going, it’s quite serious,” he added.
Alongside the NHS letters, they are also missing vital financial documents, including bank statements and utility bills, and now worry that sensitive information could also be misdelivered.
Amit said: “My mum is now really behind on her bills. She didn’t get letters for the water, electricity or her bank statements.”
“My neighbour has come to give me my letters sent to their house,” he said. “My neighbours are good around here, which helps.”
He said he has repeatedly raised concerns with local postmen, but they claim there is simply no post for him.
“I’ve told the postman so many times, but they just say there’s no post for me. I know there is,” he said.
Throughout the ordeal, Amit has made numerous complaints to the Royal Mail, only to be told the post would arrive shortly. He said that these promises have not yet been fulfilled.
“They said I would receive all my mail in 72 hours after I complained, but none of it came,” he said. “They’ve never even come back to me or said sorry, they have no manners.”
Amit also expressed his frustration with having to wait in queues for hours every time he called Royal Mail. “They didn’t even bother to call me after I waited ages and asked them to give me a call about it,” he added.
In a bid to confirm something was wrong, he posted a letter to himself nearly four weeks ago. “It still hasn’t come,” he said. “I knew then something was wrong.”
Amit says the experience has left him feeling helpless and anxious. “I would like to get my mail, so would my neighbours. It’s really stressed me out,” he said.
His situation reflects wider postal issues across South London. Last week the LDRS reported how Royal Mail performance data shows just 71 per cent of first-class post in Sutton, where Hackbridge is located, was delivered on time between January and March 2024, far below the 93 per cent legal target.
In nearby Wallington, one resident told the LDRS she had gone weeks without post, while in Carshalton, another reported having to collect urgent items from the sorting office.
At the time, Royal Mail said that while the vast majority of first-class letters still arrived within two days across the UK, significant drops in letter volumes meant households may no longer receive daily deliveries.
Local MP Bobby Dean has described Royal Mail’s performance as “completely unacceptable” and urged Ofcom to intervene.
Last week, he told the LDRS: “When I contacted Royal Mail for an explanation, they simply said that they had ‘operational issues. That’s not good enough”
“Previous fines have clearly done nothing to change the company’s behaviour. Communities across the UK depend on this service, and there is now an urgent need for greater transparency and accountability.”
Royal Mail told the LDRS that deliveries to Amit’s address have been taking place as normal. Their records indicate that post was delivered on five separate occasions between June 12 and June 23.
However, for Amit and his mother, there are still questions to be asked of Royal Mail’s recent failings. “They should be fined because of the way they have treated people”, he said.
A Royal Mail spokesperson added: “It’s important to note that letter volumes have declined significantly in recent years. As a result, many households no longer receive post every day, which can understandably cause concern for customers who were used to more frequent deliveries.
“We take the timely delivery of mail very seriously and have put extra safeguards in place to monitor and track deliveries to this address. Two long-serving postmen, who are familiar with the residents and their circumstances, regularly speak with the customers and let them know whether or not mail has arrived that day.”
