I just gave the Royal Mail customer services team a call and reported the problems we have had. They were very understanding and assured me that they would contact the sorting office manager who would talk to the team. Frankly the problems seem pretty endemic so if the manager hasn't already noticed and acted then I'm not optimistic that he will now, but the current situation isn't acceptable so perhaps if enough people make complaints then there will be changes made.

The call took me less than 5 minutes as there was no waiting on the line, so I urge anyone else who has had problems to report them too. I have listed the number and also the keys to press to take you to the correct dept below. I made a point of raising separate issues for each i) leaving post half out of the letter box, ii) dropping elastic bands on the path, iii) opening birthday cards, which will hopefully increase the overall complaints count.

Number: 03457 740 740
Shortcuts: 2 , 3 , 4