Regulator Investigates Royal Mail Over Delivery Failures
The postal regulator has initiated an investigation into Royal Mail for once again failing to meet its annual delivery targets, with nearly a quarter of first-class mail arriving late.
The company, which has incurred £37 million in fines since 2023 for consistently missing delivery targets set by the regulator, disclosed on Friday that 24.3% of first-class mail did not arrive on time in the year ending March.
These figures indicate a deterioration in Royal Mail's performance compared to the previous year, when 23.5% of first-class mail failed to meet the one-working-day delivery target established by the regulator.
According to the watchdog's regulations, 93% of first-class mail must be delivered within one working day of collection, excluding the Christmas period.
Second-Class Mail Delivery Also Falls Short
Royal Mail's latest delivery data revealed that only 90.2% of second-class mail was delivered within the three-working-day timeframe, significantly below Ofcom's target of 98.5%.
In October, Ofcom imposed a financial penalty on Royal Mail for missing annual delivery targets, marking the third-largest fine ever issued by the regulator to any company.
Investigation to Examine Parcel Prioritisation Allegations
On Monday, Ofcom announced that its investigation will assess whether Royal Mail is prioritising parcel deliveries over letters, a claim made by whistleblowers and unions, though the company denies these allegations.
“In deciding whether Royal Mail breached its regulatory obligations, we will consider all relevant factors,” Ofcom stated. “This will include the question of parcel prioritisation, as well as identifying whether there were any exceptional events beyond the company’s control that may have affected its performance. Where we determine a breach of Royal Mail’s obligations during our investigation, we will consider whether to impose a financial penalty.”
Royal Mail has not met its Ofcom-mandated delivery target for first-class post since 2017, nor for second-class mail since 2020.
Ownership and Pricing Changes
Last year, Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský completed a takeover of Royal Mail's parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), following approval from a UK government national security review.
In April, Royal Mail increased the price of a first-class stamp by 10p, or 6%, raising it to £1.80. The cost of a first-class stamp has more than doubled since 2020.
The price of second-class postage rose by 4p, or 5%, to 91p. Royal Mail attributed the price increases to the “continued rise in the cost of delivery for every letter.”
Service Adjustments and Declining Letter Volumes
In July last year, Ofcom relaxed Royal Mail’s universal service obligation (USO), ending second-class post delivery on Saturdays and reducing the service to alternating weekdays from Monday to Friday.
A decade ago, Royal Mail delivered 20 billion letters annually, but this volume has declined to 6.7 billion and is projected to fall to 4 billion within four years. During the same period, the number of addresses served has increased by 4 million.
Royal Mail's Response and Future Plans
A Royal Mail spokesperson stated the company will “engage fully with Ofcom,” emphasizing that improving service quality is “a top priority.” They noted that Royal Mail is implementing a significant programme of change, supported by £500 million of investment over five years.
“These reforms are designed to deliver long-term quality improvements for customers as we modernise the postal service and deploy the new delivery model, enabled by the changes to the universal service regulations that Ofcom introduced in July 2025,”
the spokesperson added.
