Several companies in the Stobswell area of the city reported an inconvenience and disturbance to their business without receiving mail at 9 am.

I. B. McLaren & Co Insurance Consultants, on Albert Street, said they have had problems with their mail since Monday.

Ian McLaren said, “Previously we would get our mail between 8.30 and 9.15 am, but, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we didn’t get our mail until 1.30 pm and yesterday we didn’t get any.

“We are sitting in the office wasting mornings because we haven’t had our mail. We are a service industry and we require our mail.”

Mr McLaren said, “I have made numerous complaints this week about the service, but it seems the whole place is in chaos.

“The thing has not been properly organised before being brought into operation. They haven’t a clue what they are doing.

“Royal Mail say the second delivery accounted for only 4% of mail, but, if it is just an additional 4% of mail that has to be sorted in the morning, why does it take four and half hours longer to deliver it?”

Tay Roofing Service Ltd, Langlands Street, said they had also had no mail yesterday and have had similar problems all week with mail not being delivered until later in the day.

A spokesperson said, “Royal Mail said it won’t be like this every day. We are waiting on cheques arriving and it is affecting day-to-day business and we still haven’t received our mail yet today.

On the domestic front, a resident of Castleroy Road, Broughty Ferry, said the new system is a “complete mess”.

The resident added, “It has been into the afternoon before I received my mail all week and yesterday I didn’t get any at all. I phoned and they told me there has been bedding-in problems.

“I live on the end of the route, so I’m later to get my mail anyway. I hope those who didn’t get mail yesterday take priority today, otherwise those at the start of the route will have had two deliveries when I won’t have had any.

“I have made complaints over the years, but we have had a really good postman recently. Now, because of the new system, it is all just a complete mess.”

A spokesperson for Royal Mail said, “Due to an unexpected large volume of mail yesterday some addresses did not receive mail. This has been rectified for today and we have taken on agency staff to help.

“Under single daily delivery the mail is sorted differently. With most major changes there is a bedding in period and it means that they (postmen and women) are on the streets for longer.

“They have new routes and are delivering to different addresses. Things will take time to settle and customers in Dundee East will soon see a regular time of delivery, which may happen to be later in the day.

“Dundee East has just gone on to the single daily delivery service and as with most of the other areas that have gone on to the system there has been a bedding in period.”

Automatic Laundry Services on Langlands Street said they were promised a mail delivery by 5pm yesterday (THURS) but nothing appeared and the company had not received anything by lunchtime today (FRI)

Owner Brian Duncan said, “As the week has gone on the service has got worse rather than better. We were promised a delivery would be made by 5pm yesterday (THURS) but nothing arrived and we haven’t received anything so far today. This is no use for businesses. It is effecting a lot of businesses in the Stobswell area.

“We used to get our mail around 8.30am and we could cope even if we didn’t get a delivery until 10.30 or 11am but later than that is no good for businesses.”