Almost 11 million people hit by post delays over Christmas, research shows

A Royal Mail worker empties a postbox
-Credit:PA Archive/PA Images


Nearly 11 million individuals experienced delays in receiving their post over the festive period, according to Citizens Advice.

Not only were Christmas cards delayed, but around 3.4 million UK adults also faced serious repercussions, including missed health appointments, bills, legal documents, bank letters, fines and benefit decisions. The South East was the region most affected by these delays, with 27% of residents not receiving their post on time. .

Under the Universal Service Obligation (USO), Royal Mail is legally obliged to deliver letters six days a week, although there are no delivery targets during the Christmas period. However, outside of this exemption, Royal Mail has not met its annual first- and second-class delivery targets since 2019.

ADVERTISEMENT

READ MORE: John Prescott funeral in pictures as Labour grandees past and present honour former deputy prime minister in Hull

READ MORE: Woman whipped and kicked in face when joke about her horse led to sickening attack in Sunderland

Citizens Advice, the statutory watchdog for postal consumers, is urging Ofcom to reform the USO in a way that shields consumers from steep price hikes and ongoing delays. Tom MacInnes, director of policy at Citizens Advice, stated: "For far too long, letter delays and poor service have become business as usual at Royal Mail."

He added: "Letter delays aren’t just about missed Christmas cards. Millions of people receiving their post late, or not at all, can experience real and worrying consequences – especially when they miss vital medical appointments or bills. With the future of our postal service at stake, reforms to the USO come at a critical time. Improving reliability and affordability will be essential."

"But cutting deliveries won’t automatically lead to the more reliable service people need – nor should they be expected to pay more for a reduced service. Ofcom has to ensure any revised USO puts consumer needs at its heart – not just Royal Mail’s bottom line."

ADVERTISEMENT

An Ofcom spokesman responded: "Consumers are at the heart of our review. We’ve been speaking directly to postal users to understand how the universal service could evolve to reflect what they need from it.

"If we do nothing, the service risks becoming unsustainable, and people could end up paying higher prices than necessary," warned a spokesperson, adding, "Whatever the outcome, we are absolutely clear that Royal Mail must invest in its network, become more efficient and improve its service levels."

In response, a Royal Mail representative stated: "99% of all items posted by the last recommended posting dates were delivered in time for Christmas. This is despite three severe storms that impacted some deliveries, creating challenges that could only be overcome through the hard work of our colleagues."

The spokesperson continued, "While we accept more work is needed, our efforts are yielding results with deliveries improving year on year."

The data comes from a survey conducted by Yonder, which polled 2,079 UK adults between January 3 and 5.