By Bill Wilson BBC News Online business reporter

The Royal Mail says the backlog has completely cleared

The unofficial mail strikes of October may no longer be top of the national news agenda, but for small businesses in London the fallout from the dispute is still being felt.

Although it is more than three weeks since an agreement between the Royal Mail and strikers to return to work was reached, the row meant there was a huge backlog of mailbags to deliver.

The logjam was not helped by Royal Mail saying it would not allow striking staff to work overtime to clear the bags, as had been done after previous industrial disputes.

The Royal Mail says all affected business post has now been delivered, and a spokesman said:

"We had set a deadline of clearing the backlog by Wednesday, 26 November, but have managed to deliver the strike-affected mail earlier than expected."

We are still getting customers coming to us, but a lot of businesses might be thinking 'what is the point of making a fuss?' Andy Frewin, Postwatch

However, one independent London record company says it could be forced out of business, because of what it claims are continued delays to incoming postal payments, and to its outgoing mail orders of CDs and records.

Sean Worrall, who runs Org Records, based in Kensal Rise in North London, said: "Despite the strikes being over we are still having massive problems with the post.

"People are still not getting their mail order items, and people are still sending me e-mails telling me they will not be using my mail order service again and demanding a refund.

"Payments to me are also still not getting through, or by the time some get through I find the cheques have since been cancelled because the sender worried their payments had gone astray for good."

'Real mess'

Mr Worrall said that at the height of the strike an estimated 700 packages he had posted to customers were stranded in no-mans' land.

Now he worries about the long-term effect on his business's image for reliability and prompt delivery, observing "customers might decide not to use us again".

Mr Worrall claims orders are still not being delivered to customers

He said: "Some people have been waiting for their stuff since October.

"On Tuesday morning I received five complaints from people saying their records had not arrived - two were in Holland, and the others were in Portsmouth, Leeds, and Edinburgh.

"For a mail order company like ours it has been a real mess. We need to keep the orders coming in, and that is not now happening because of the post.

"I think claims that the backlog is cleared is not correct, as we are still experiencing problems."

Mr Worrall, who has been selling mail order records since 1989, has e-mailed Royal Mail chairman Allan Leighton, and also sent a letter of complaint to the company.

'All cleared'

But the Royal Mail is adamant all sacks of delayed mail have now been delivered, with its telephone information line saying "the mail backlog" was cleared by 21 November.

And a message on the Royal Mail website dated 20 November says: "We apologise for the disruption caused to mail collections and deliveries caused by the recent unlawful industrial action.

"We have now cleared all the mail that was affected by the unofficial industrial action."

A company spokesman added: "The backlog has been cleared early."

The strike action spread from London to other parts of the country

But Andy Frewin of Postwatch, which protects the interests of postal customers in the UK, said: "Last week they (Royal Mail) were telling us it would take another two weeks.

"We are still getting customers coming to us, but a lot of businesses might be thinking 'what is the point of making a fuss?'."

He said he was surprised by the claim on the Royal Mail website, and that compensation was available to customers for postal delays.

And Stephen Alambritis, spokesman for the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "We can understand how there may be some lasting problems for business."

But a Royal Mail spokesman said: "All I can suggest is that those who say they are still having problems get in touch with us and we can look into it."

'Very concerned'

During the wildcat strikes, which affected London, the South East, South West, and Midlands, much-needed cheques, which could make or break small companies, were not being delivered.

Dan Bridgett, press officer at London Chamber of Commerce, said: "We are very concerned to hear there are some businesses saying they are still experiencing problems because of the strike.

"Businesses which have been affected in this way will certainly be looking at alternative methods of payment and delivery wherever they can in future.

"This strike has caused real problems to the image of Royal Mail among businesses too."