Royal Mail threatens to stop deliveries over dog attacks

I think that the delivery office managers have to be entirely confident that they will be backed up by their bosses.

I know someone who works in a delivery office, which serves some very big properties in Sussex and there is a problem with vicious dogs, but if the postman refuses to deliver, the owners of the properties phone snd make a massive fuss and the delivery office always gives in.

They need someone GN to sort them out in short measure!!

I think any dog owner should have a self-contained delivery box outside. The fear of not knowing whether you might be bitten is horrible. I'm not a dog owner but different breeds bark more and can be excitable and territorial but don't necessarily intend to bite. But it shouldn't be left to the postie to have to assess the situation. And dogs can potentially be unpredictable, as can some owners. Zero tolerance has to be the norm.

Crumbly159

Really? Any excuse - and Royal (privatised) Mail have plenty of them - to justify their non-delivery performance joke service.

One multiple delivery in 12 days? But that's actually pretty good by their downhill standards, these days.

Rant over. Thank you.

You’re completely confusing the actual workers who over the years have been attacked regularly by dogs with the actual management and owners of RM. Which by the way is another triumph for privatisation and foreign ownership.

Nobody who is delivering to an address should be in danger of being bitten by a dog.
If people can't control their dogs then they should not expect people to put themselves in danger to deliver to them.

I thought this problem was tackled years ago. I have a memory of public announcements being made. They should regularly announce this ongoing problem, as it is unacceptable. I think they do refuse to deliver to known irresponsible pet owners. However I'm not sure how consistently this is enforced.

MartavTaurus

I think the suggested solutions are very reasonable.
- put up an external box on the property
- keep the dog away from the door when post is delivered
It's the responsibility of the dog owner.

I agree - there are solutions at hand if there is a problem, but it is absolutely the responsibility of the dog owner to make sure there isn't an issue for postal workers or other delivery people. No-one should be put at risk from dog attacks in the course of their work - and I'm speaking as a dog owner. As usual though, it is the irresponsible owners who are at fault here.

I do agree BlueBelle. I did the Christmas post one year as a student. My horrible experiences with dogs has left me very wary of them. Even now if I am walking along the street and hear a dog bark it makes me anxious. I approve of the new ruling.

When I went canvassing I was amazed at the number of houses with letter boxes without a protective basket to prevent the dog from snatching letters etc while attempting to bite the hand that inserted them. Seasoned delivers use rulers or wooden spatulas to push them through.
I was also concerned about the number of large dogs confined in small houses who would rush at the door in an attempt to get out when someone approached.

I think it’s a very good rule and I am glad Royal Mail have taken it seriously if somewhat late in the day
When my grandaughter was a papergirl she was often greeted by very vicious sounding dogs behind the door some even getting their snout through the letterbox it was horrible and enough to put you off dogs for a life

I think the suggested solutions are very reasonable.
- put up an external box on the property
- keep the dog away from the door when post is delivered
It's the responsibility of the dog owner.

Really? Any excuse - and Royal (privatised) Mail have plenty of them - to justify their non-delivery performance joke service.

One multiple delivery in 12 days? But that's actually pretty good by their downhill standards, these days.

Rant over. Thank you.

I’m surprised it’s taken them so long

And if you were aware of the amount of posties getting bitten every week it is not surprising