More than half of all households have been affected by Royal Mail delays over Christmas – with important letters arriving late
- Charity Citizens Advice says 31 million people posted late in December
- Worse still, many homes missed important legal and healthcare letters
More than half of UK adults were affected by Royal Mail delays over Christmas, according to charity Citizens Advice.
Many Royal Mail workers went on strike for 18 days over the festive period.
Letter volumes have fallen by 7% in the last three months of 2022, while parcel volumes have fallen by 23.6%, according to the owner of Royal Mail International Distributions Services today.
Royal Mail strikes over the festive period have delayed deliveries of many letters and parcels
The charity said 31 million people posted late over Christmas. Around 6.2 million people missed important mail like medical appointment letters.
Eleven percent of people missed an important document like a letter of insurance or legal document in December. Another 8 percent said they had missed a health appointment.
Between mid-December 2021 and mid-January 2022, the charity found that 28% of households experienced mail delays. A further 31% were also left waiting for post in January 2021.
The Royal Mail is exempt from its normal delivery targets during the busy Christmas period.
Citizens Advice is now asking communications regulator Ofcom to consider scrapping this Christmas exemption.
The charity is also lobbying for the Royal Mail to stop raising the price of stamps until the service improves.
Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Mail delays have real and worrying consequences, particularly when people miss medical appointments or receive late bills.
“Royal Mail’s virtual monopoly on letters means Ofcom must take action to protect consumers from further harm. He must investigate Royal Mail’s culture of poor performance and stop letting the company off the hook during the festive season.
Royal Mail has been approached for comment.
