Royal Mail investigated again as almost a quarter of first-class mail arrives late
Summary
Royal Mail is under investigation for failing to deliver almost a quarter of first-class mail on time, missing the official target. The postal regulator Ofcom is checking if Royal Mail prioritizes parcels over letters, as the company continues to struggle with delivery speeds despite a large investment to improve service.Key Facts
- Royal Mail missed its delivery target, with 24.3% of first-class mail arriving late in the year ending March.
- The required target is to deliver 93% of first-class mail within one working day, excluding Christmas.
- Second-class mail was delivered on time 90.2% of the time, below the 98.5% target.
- Ofcom has fined Royal Mail £37 million since 2023 for poor delivery performance.
- Ofcom is investigating if Royal Mail prioritizes parcel delivery over letters, which the company denies.
- Royal Mail has not met first-class delivery targets since 2017 and second-class targets since 2020.
- Royal Mail’s parent company was bought by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský for £3.6 billion.
- Royal Mail has raised stamp prices recently due to rising delivery costs and is investing £500 million to improve service over five years.
- The volume of letters sent has dropped from 20 billion a decade ago to 6.7 billion now, while the number of delivery addresses has increased.
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