Royal Mail?

Question

Just wondering, can the Royal Mail withhold your mail, or not deliver it, without informing you in advance or telling you at all, or can't they withhold it under any circumstances?

(Asking because I've failed to receive quite a bit of mail I was expecting lately, the sender insists they sent it, and the post office insist they're not holding anything)

Answer 1

From the post office web site -
General exceptions
We cannot deliver to an address if this puts the health and safety of our staff at risk, for example, when an address can only be reached by crossing dangerous terrain. In this instance, we would suspend delivery to this address on a long-term basis. Or, if we suspend service following a specific incident, for example, if one of our staff is assaulted or attacked by a dog, the suspension is likely to be in the short-term.

We cannot deliver when it is difficult to access the address. The two most common reasons for a long-term suspension of this type are:

1. Where the address is on an island, or remote part of the mainland, with access only possible by boat or air. Where operationally possible, we will deliver on days that a scheduled plane or ferry service operates. If no scheduled services are available we try to deliver to islands and remote parts of the mainland once per week, as a minimum, where a contractor can be found.

2. Addresses on poorly maintained roads that require more than a 15 minute round trip by vehicle or foot can be categorised as difficult to access exceptions.

We may temporarily suspend delivery if access to the address is blocked, for example: there is no letterbox.

Answer 2

request it to be sent Special Delivery as that comes seperate from the regular post and see what happens then.

Answer 3

I think they have to deliver it unless the postage isn't paid or the address isn't sufficiently clear.